Search for new laptop

[ZuperDuper]

I am looking to get a new laptop for myself, and I basically have a question about the Athlon-64 vs P-4.
What is the better way for me to go? Should I get a 64-bit processing and sacrifice clock processing? The problem I think is that I probly will not be using the 64-bit power for maybe another year or two untill longhorn comes out.
But the athlon64 has 1meg cache.
I just dont know what the performance would seem to me.
I need it for school - compiling. And for movies, music, etc.

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.

 

[rye8261]

I have a 64-bit athlon laptop and it performs very well. The main reson i got the amd computer is because it was a couple hunderd cheaper than an intel of similar specs. so i spent that extra savings on more memory which will speed up your computer more than processing power will. If it was my choice again, i would save a little on an amd and get double the memory.



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[ZuperDuper]

So, you would not get the 64bit amd and go with the standard athlon, but add more ram instead? or you would just get a lower end amd-64 with more memory?

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.

 

[rye8261]

I would get the 64bit athlon because its only a little more than the athlon xp and runs faster, then get more memory for the athlon 64 laptop.

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[ZuperDuper]

Ok, so it looks like athlon64 with upped ram would be the best thing for me right now.
With the new widescreen laptops I keep seeing, the choice for the screen format is begging to be brough up.
I figure that wide screen would be better, but I dont know exactly why would it be better besides watching widescreen movies.
I am thinking that I would be able to write longer lines of code, but thats about it. Do these screens take up more battery power, are they prone to break downs more often? I imagine they use same technology as standard screens.

And finally, what would be the better brand? I have looked at dell, sony, toshiba, compaq, hp, gateway, acer. So far it looks like compaq has a much better deal.

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.

 

[rye8261]

I have a compaq and i dont have many complaints with it, the only real complaint that i have is that the processor fans exhaust vent is located on the right side of the computer and i am right handed, so it blows heat onto my hand. The widescreen screen is pretty much standard on most new laptops, it does make a big differenct for editing code and image work for me, i like being able to open up two pictures next to each other and edit them.
As for the brand to get, this is up to you. I have had 2 sony laptops and both screens went bad, i have worked with a few toshiba models and all of them had to go back for repair at one point, dell never had a problem with, hp never used, compaq have no problems with mine now (had it for about 8 months).

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[ZuperDuper]

Thanks, for reply. You know what, my friend had a sony 17" laptop and his screen gave out also, it just faded to be so dark, that it is unusable. Plus Sony's are expensive, well that rules out sony laptop.
So you do like the compaq? Hmm, maybe a good choice then, I ll do some more research on them.
Thanks,

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.

 

[rye8261]

I do like the compaq that I have, its a R3000z i think, something like that. It has the AMD 64bit chip, the battery lasts about 3 hours depending on what i am doing and how bright i have the screen. The JBL speakers are really good for laptop speakers. I just wish the vent wasnt right where my hand is.

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http://www.northernohiohouses.com

 

[ZuperDuper]

Thats the laptop I was looking at on the compaq site!
I think that lower end athlon64 with 523mb ram would be fine. Wondering if its worth paying more for 64 bit video card, or more for one slot ram chip - that might be much more usefull in the long run.

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.