Need Laptop Suggestions Please

[AMDSoldier]

Here are a few things I'm wondering about to start things off...

How does a P3M 1ghz vs. A4 1ghz perform? Does performs matter with different OEM's since they maybe using different mobo's? I hear from places that a 1ghz Athlon 4 performs on pair with a 1.13ghz P3M, anyone care to comment? Are there any benchmarks around the net?

Now here's the thing I don't get, for AMD laptops, why don't they have any DDR ones? They take less voltage and will improve performance, so why not come out with some DDR systems? I mean DDR has been out for over a year now, I'd think it's time for DDR laptops..

Also with ram, Crucial PC133 144pin SODIMM's should work fine with most laptops correct? Please give the most detailed response here.

Next order of questions ( ), how fast are the harddrives you find in most laptops? From what I hear it's anywhere between 3600-5400 rpm for modern laptops. When I place a order how do I know which harddrive I will have? Like take Dell for example, doesn't say anything on what brand, speed, whatnot. Can I order a laptop with a weak harddrive and than put a new one in it myself or will it not be worth it? On pricewatch I see a 45gb for $115 without shipping.

And the videocard, how does the Radeon 7500 compare to the GeForce2 Go 32mb? If you guys can, please provide some links to benchmarks.

Lastly the battary life, do Intel or AMD laptops differ at all? And how much effect will it have if say I have a Radeon 7500 with a 5400rpm harddrive and a 1ghz+ cpu make on my battary time? I'd like to use it at least 3 hours with one battary. Speaking of which, do Dell's support dual battaries?

I think that covers my questions for the most part. My budget is around $2,000 USD, but I don't wanna spend that much if I don't need to for a nice laptop.

Please guys I'm going to order here shortly and really need your feedback!

 

[AMDSoldier]

One more thing, for most laptops at stores I can test the speakers. But I can't with Dell's and the like that you order online. How is the sound on them? I know my cousin got a laptop from HP and it's really quiet, sucks cause you can't even watch dvd's on it without some external speakers.

 

[mindiris]

As a rule, speakers in notebooks are small, and are more utilitarian than "good". And you simply can't expect much bass response with 1" speakers External speakers are just about required.

HD's I believe they don't say what you get so they can swap in whatever drive they want. You might need to specify what HD you want by specifically requesting it.

I think as long as the specs and form factor match (CAS2, PC133, etc, SODIMM), there's no reason for it to not work. It will be very expensive RAM otherwise to have different RAM in different packages for different notebooks.

The thing I've noticed is that AMD systems are generally targeted at the lower end notebook market, independent of how good it actually is. My bet is Intel is giving one hell of a discount to OEMs for PIII-Ms.

 

[AMDSoldier]

<< As a rule, speakers in notebooks are small, and are more utilitarian than "good". And you simply can't expect much bass response with 1" speakers External speakers are just about required.

HD's I believe they don't say what you get so they can swap in whatever drive they want. You might need to specify what HD you want by specifically requesting it.

I think as long as the specs and form factor match (CAS2, PC133, etc, SODIMM), there's no reason for it to not work. It will be very expensive RAM otherwise to have different RAM in different packages for different notebooks.

The thing I've noticed is that AMD systems are generally targeted at the lower end notebook market, independent of how good it actually is. My bet is Intel is giving one hell of a discount to OEMs for PIII-Ms. >>



Yeah I know speakers suck on laptops, but some suck harder than others though.

You guys know anybody else that makes laptops, say like Alienware? (besides- Compaq, HP, Toshbia, Dell, etc) I ask because Compaq on there website really doesn't let you configure it well.

I'd still like to know what the difference between A4 and P3M is as well.

 

[Dug]

A p3m is the new tualitin core. It's .13 and has 512kb cache as opposed to 256.
All laptop speakers suck. I don't find Dell's any better or worse than the others.

You have to jump up to a 48GB hard drive or higher to get 5400 rpm speeds. These are all made by IBM.
All other sizes are 4200 rpm.

The Radeon 7500 IS 50% or more faster than the Geforce Go. It also doesn't cause any lock up problems.
If you can get this. This will limit your choice to a Dell 8100 with an UXGA screen.
Which isn't a bad choice, because the cost is the same as other manufactuers that don't have those 2 things.

The Radeon 7500 will actually require less power than the Geforce will.

The things that will suck down your power are your screen and hd access.
Dell's do support dual batteries. You should be able to get 4 1/2 to 5 hours this way.

Get your ram from Crucial not when you order your laptop. Its much cheaper this way.

 

[AMDSoldier]

<< A p3m is the new tualitin core. It's .13 and has 512kb cache as opposed to 256.
All laptop speakers suck. I don't find Dell's any better or worse than the others.

You have to jump up to a 48GB hard drive or higher to get 5400 rpm speeds. These are all made by IBM.
All other sizes are 4200 rpm.

The Radeon 7500 IS 50% or more faster than the Geforce Go. It also doesn't cause any lock up problems.
If you can get this. This will limit your choice to a Dell 8100 with an UXGA screen.
Which isn't a bad choice, because the cost is the same as other manufactuers that don't have those 2 things.

The Radeon 7500 will actually require less power than the Geforce will.

The things that will suck down your power are your screen and hd access.
Dell's do support dual batteries. You should be able to get 4 1/2 to 5 hours this way.

Get your ram from Crucial not when you order your laptop. Its much cheaper this way. >>



Wow thanks for the help!

I think that answers most of my questions. Only thing is, I'd like to see a comparison between a P3M 1ghz+ and a A4 1ghz, but don't think it will matter since Dell is the only one carrying a Radeon 7500 and UXGA screen. Thanks again.

 

[AMDPwred]

"Dude, you're getting a Dell."

 

[andrey]

<< How does a P3M 1ghz vs. A4 1ghz perform? Does performs matter with different OEM's since they maybe using different mobo's? I hear from places that a 1ghz Athlon 4 performs on pair with a 1.13ghz P3M, anyone care to comment? Are there any benchmarks around the net? >>



Laptops based on Intel Pentium III Mobile have a much longer battery life than AMD-based laptops.



<< Also with ram, Crucial PC133 144pin SODIMM's should work fine with most laptops correct? Please give the most detailed response here. >>



Once you have the laptop, just go to Crucial's website, choose the make and model of your laptop, and you'll be able to choose from available RAM options.



<< Next order of questions ( ), how fast are the harddrives you find in most laptops? From what I hear it's anywhere between 3600-5400 rpm for modern laptops. When I place a order how do I know which harddrive I will have? Like take Dell for example, doesn't say anything on what brand, speed, whatnot. Can I order a laptop with a weak harddrive and than put a new one in it myself or will it not be worth it? On pricewatch I see a 45gb for $115 without shipping. >>



Ask the place where you purchase your laptop!
In my case I have IBM Thinkpad T22 which came with 32GB IBM Travelestar hard drive (5400 rpm).



<< Lastly the battary life, do Intel or AMD laptops differ at all? And how much effect will it have if say I have a Radeon 7500 with a 5400rpm harddrive and a 1ghz+ cpu make on my battary time? I'd like to use it at least 3 hours with one battary. Speaking of which, do Dell's support dual battaries? >>



Same as #1.
Again, my IBM Thinkpad lasts for about 4 hours on the battery power. GeForce2Go consumes a lot of juice, so the more powerful video card you'll get, the less battery life you will have (unless you don't mind carrying case of batteries with you everywhere. At the same time it will defeat the purpose of portability, but that's optional for everyone...)