AMD Turion 64 x 2 TL50 vs Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2060

NEW LAPTOP FAQ AT BOTTOM

Hey guys, I was looking at getting a new laptop this year and I was trying to decide which one would be best performance wise for the money, the two systems I was looking at are:

Acer Aspire AS5100 Notebook, AMD Turion 64 x 2 TL50 Duo Core, 1.6 GHz, 1024MB, 100GB, Dual Layer DVD+/-RW, 15.4'' TFT, Wireless, 56K Modem, NIC, Intergrated Web Cam,Win Media Center OS, Factory Refurbished with 90 Day Warranty

LX.ABH0J.091
Acer Aspire AS5100 Notebook
* AMD Turion 64 x 2 TL50 Duo Core
* 1.6 GHz
* 1024MB
* 100GB
* Dual Layer DVD+/-RW
* Integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 1100
* 15.4" TFT
* Wireless
* 56K Modem
* NIC
* Integrated Web Cam
* Win Media Center OS
Factory Refurbished with 90 Day Warranty

$579.95



And:

Acer Aspire AS5610-2328 Notebook, Intel T2060, 1.73 GHZ, 1024GB, 120GB, DVD-RW/CDRW Combo Drive, 15.4'' TFT, WebCam, 56K Modem, Wireless, NIC, Vista Home Premium, Factory Refurbished with 90 Day Warranty LX.AXK0X.001

# General Features:
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed w/COA
# Intel Pentium Dual-Core 1.60 GHz processor
# 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache
# 1 GB DDR2 RAM (4 GB maximum)
# 120 GB hard disk drive
# DVD±RW Super Multi DL drive
# Memory card reader
# No floppy drive
# Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 integrated video
# Integrated Intel ICH7 high-definition audio w/built-in speakers
# Integrated 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN
# 56K V.92 integrated modem
# 10/100 integrated Ethernet controller
# Keyboard with touchpad
# Integrated webcam
# 15.4-inch WXGA CrystalBrite TFT LCD display

$579.99



which one would you think is the better buy? I was kind of leaning towards the Dual Core intel for the 20 gb, Vista Premium, and Extra USB port but which looks better overall? I dont want to spend more than $600 if you guys know of a better deal...



General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$600 or less

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen


3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
United States

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Whichever is Recommended

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Using Photoshop CS2 alot, Website Design, some game playing (AvP2, Diablo 2, Starcraft, etc), Instant Messaging

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it with me places

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Aliens vs Predator 2, Dialbo 2 LOD, Starcraft, Warrock(maybe)

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Not really crucial as it will be plugged in most of the time

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I dont mind as long as there are images

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
whichever OS is recommended(Definitely Windows though)

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
either works, but widescreen is nice

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Normal
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.


Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.



13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
No preferance

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Somewhat, but performance is first

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
As long as I can get out of it, had my desktop for 4 years and going strong

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
100-160 GB would be nice

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive would be excellent

 

I think that the Acer with the Turion X2 would be the better buy as the ATI integrated graphics is better than the GMA950. In addition, I also think that the Turion X2 TL-50 is probably a bit faster than a Pentium Dual-core too.

Is battery life of importance to you though? As the Intel chip would likely have better battery life.

 

the turion is much better. pentium dual core chips are not core duo chips. pentium 4 based, i think.

the turion should have much better battery life and performance, along with graphics capability.

also they have 64 bit capability for the future should you choose to run a 64 bit os, the pentium dual core *might* but i dont think so.

 

Actually, I believe that Pentium Dual-Core are basically the same as a Core Duo but with half of the L2 cache only (1MB instead of 2). So it would be based on the Core Duo and not the Pentium 4.

 

The Pentium Dual-Core is very similar to the TL-50, i.e. it has a lower cache than the non-budget alternative. While the Intel does have a better clock speed than the Turion, the far superior graphics on the AMD system make it a better buy, in my opinion.

 

Do you mind me asking where you are purchasing?

I would recommend neither for $580 since they are refurbished. New ones could be had for around that price.

For instance,

CompUSA HP Laptop
AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 1.7GHz Processor, 1GB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, 15.4-inch WXGA TFT Display, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, Windows Vista Home Premium for $550

Even a Dell Vostro would fit the bill for much cheaper in my opinion.

 

Well the intel model was through Geeks.com and the AMD through saveateagle.com but I see your point about the new ones being just as cheap if not cheaper, maybe you could lend me a hand finding better buys for that price range then I thought I had some good finds but apparently not haha.

Acer Intel : Here

Acer AMD : Here

DO you know of any other good buys for under $600 admlam?

 

If you could post a FAQ, it would be helpful, but in general you can look at the Dell Vostro 1000 or 1500 models, the Compaq C500t or the Compaq v6000z series. I'd recommend trying to get an APP discount for the Compaq models

 

It would help to know what you would be using this notebook for.

Feel free to answer the FAQ in the other section of the forum for more help.

If you're a gamer, I would suggest spending an extra $50 and opting for the Vostro 1400 with the 8400GS graphics card.

 

Here is my FAQ for my laptop, i dont plan on gaming MUCH besides those games, so graphics arent essential but would be nice to have..

General Questions

1) What is your budget?
$600 or less

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen


3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
United States

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Whichever is Recommended

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Using Photoshop CS2 alot, Website Design, some game playing (AvP2, Diablo 2, Starcraft, etc), Instant Messaging

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it with me places

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Aliens vs Predator 2, Dialbo 2 LOD, Starcraft, Warrock(maybe)

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Not really crucial as it will be plugged in most of the time

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I dont mind as long as there are images

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
whichever OS is recommended(Definitely Windows though)

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
either works, but widescreen is nice

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Normal
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.


Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.



13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
No preferance

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Somewhat, but performance is first

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
As long as I can get out of it, had my desktop for 4 years and going strong

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
100-160 GB would be nice

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW/CD-RW combo drive would be excellent

 

I'd recommend trying to get a Dell Vostro 1400 with dedicated graphics, for around $600 - $650 depending on configuration. Or you could look at some of these, though they won't be as good for gaming, they should be okay for your needs.

 

Well unfortunately my CAP for spending is $600, i really dont want to go over that (i was originally looking at $450 laptops to give you a better idea)

It seems that overall people seem to think that AMD's have better results, so I was really looking at an AMD with a 100+ HDD, 1GB ram, and a DVD+-RW drive .. what exactly does the L2 cache do? I see people saying "x" only has 512k L2 and i dont get what they mean, is it really necessary?

The one that was posted before here looks like a really nice PC: Here

It has an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor TK-53, NVidia GeForceGo 6150 (those are good arent they?) and some nice specs, the only thing is its a 512k L2 and would be nice if it had 4 USB slots but I really wouldnt ever need it because ive got a 4 slot USB adapter (for a total of 7 available USB slots) and its only $550 after the rebates... does anyone know of any better buys?

 

Yes, with the rebates, that's a very good deal. For a total price of under $600, you won't get much better than that.

 

Alright cool, I think i might wind up going with that one then (oh it also comes with a free printer )

Now my question is what exactly is the L2 Cache? Does only having 512Kb on that laptop make much of a difference?

Also I see on alot of the others I was looking at one have a 533Mhz FSB when this one says it has 1.6 Ghz what exatly is the Front Side Bus and does that much of a difference incrase performance?

It also says it has 285 MB memory alloted for graphics, that sounds amazing compared to my desktop's 96 Mb, is that a decent amount of memory? The Nvidia site says the 6100 GeForce Go only has 128 Mb though(shared), so im not sure. Overall the compure looks pretty amazing for the price ($550 for the laptop and a printer).

I'm not very good with computer hardware but I really would like to learn more if you could fill me in

 

It's not really important to know what it is. It does increase performance, though. Your processor is definitely a budget processor, as is shown by the low cache size, though it shouldn't affect everyday usage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_cache

FSB speed can't be compared between brands. AMD usually has high FSB speeds, like 1600MHz, while Intel generally has lower FSB speeds, like 533MHz or 800Mhz. Within a processor brand, a higher FSB speed usually indicates better performance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_side_bus

For integrated cards, it doesn't really matter how much memory it can share, as the important thing is if a card has dedicated memory to use, which yours doesn't. However, among integrated cards the 6150 is actually fairly good. Read this to see what kind of performance you can expect out of it.

 

So overall, for the price and what im getting out of the PC, would you say that the performance would be average, below or above?

The PC seems like it would fit well for me, I only do some moderate gaming and the 256 Mb for graphics should definitely blow away my desktops 96Mb correct?

The only thing now that really seems it would be nice to have would be a 1Mb L2 cache rather than a 512k, and I doubt I could upgrade to a Turion 64 with a 1Mb cache through them.. anyone have any thoughts?

What are the differences between an Athlon 64 X2 or a Turion 64 X2?

I just wish it had an integreated webcame like the Acer 5100 from my first post ^_^ but Im not sure its smart buying a refurbished one after what admlam said...

 

The Athlon 64 X2 was a name created to distinguish the budget TK-53 from a normal TL-5x or TL-6x series card, much like Intel created the name Pentium Dual Core to distinguish from a normal Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor. For the price you're paying you'll be getting above average performance. Overall (not considering price) that would be an average or slightly below-average setup for normal tasks and light gaming.

 

Hmm ok, seems like I wont be getting too much better of a PC for under $600 then huh? I will keep this as my #1 for now unless someone sees anything better. Unless I want to spend around $900-1200 and get a 2+ Ghz 2gb Ram 1-2Mb L2 cache I dont think ill find much better than this haha (i dont know if those are even real specs or not, im bad with ahrdware ), its just the lack of a 1Mb L2 that has me teetering on this lappy...

Im a bit confused about the laptop though because on Amazon's review list, as well as some pictures, this laptop IS shown and said to have a built in webcam, however on the CompUSA site the laptop does not have one.. maybe ill swing into the store to check it out tuesday...

Anyone have any more insight?

(btw +rep for you odin, you've been extremely helpful )

 

Hmm I found another nice looking buy and I need some more assistance, im up against 2 PC's now:

HP Pavilion dv6405us

Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Athlon 64 X2 Processor TK-53
Processor Speed: 1.7 GHz
Front Side Bus: 1.6 GHz
L2 Cache Size: 512 KB
Memory Type: DDR2-SDRAM
Installed Memory: 1 GB
Maximum Memory: 2 GB
Memory Slots Total: 2
Memory Slots Available: 0
Total Hard Drive Capacity: 120 GB
Drive Controllers: SATA-150
Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM
Optical Drives: Double Layer DVD+/-RW SuperMulti Drive:
Additional Drives: DL DVD SuperMulti
Sound Support: Digital Audio (16-bit)
Video Chipset Brand: NVIDIA
Video Chipset: GeForce Go 6150
Total Available Graphics Memory (Vista): 287 MB
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Screen Size: 15.4 in
Screen Type: Active Matrix LCD (TFT)
Physical Aspect Ratio: 16:10 (Widescreen)
Free Printer

$549.99


OR

Toshiba Satellite A215-S4697

Processor brand: AMD
Processor type: Turion 64 X2
Processor speed: 1.60GHz
Bus speed: 1600MHz
Level 2 cache: 2 x 512KB
RAM: 1GB
RAM expandable to: 4GB
Hard drive speed: 5400RPM
Hard drive size: 160GB
Other Drives: DVD SuperMulti drive RW+-
Burns DVDs: Yes
Screen size (diagonal): 15.4"
Maximum screen resolution: 1280 x 800
Video memory: 319MB
Video memory type: Shared
Video Type: ATI Radeon® X1200
Free Printer, Free Router, Free Norton Internet Security 2007

$599.99



So which of the two would you say is more worth my dollar? The toshiba has 40Gb more HD, 512kb more L2, and expandable up to 4Gb RAM, but is the ATI Radeon X1200 a big step down from the GeForce Go 6150 or are they about on par?

 

Hmm to me it seems that the Toshiba will give me more of my money, however I am unsure about the Athlon vs Turion of the two notebooks. Is there any significant difference in power? As far as i've read it seems they have almost equal power however the Turions were designed for notebooks, and generally produce slightly less heat (negligible though) and take less energy to run, is that correct?

Also on the graphics, is the Radeon Xpress1200 any different than the GeForce Go 6150? Both of them were listed under the Category 5 in the review so apaprently they both suck (but not as bad as my desktop Intel Extreme 2 ) but is any one of them better than another?

It seems the Toshiba is better overall, is that correct? The Turion, 512k more L2, 40 More HD, up to 4GB Max RAM opposed to the HP's 2, and an Extra USB slot.

The only thing that seems "better" on the HP is integrated Altec Lansing speakers, and im not sure what the Toshiba has, it just states "Internal Speakers"

 

Yes, the Toshiba is better in every respect, except possibly the processor. I think it has the TL-50, or TL-52, the TK-53 is a newer 65nm processor, with a better clock speed. I'm not sure about direct comparisons, though, but the difference shouldn't be huge. The x1200 would actually be a little better than the Go6150 in most things.

 

yea it has a TL-52 in it at 1.6 ghz compared to the TK-53 at 1.7 ghz, but is that difference much?

 

No, that's not much of a difference.

 

Alright so for $40 more you think that the Toshiba is a much better buy? Seems like a great deal to me

 

Yes, it does seem like a better deal. It should serve all your purposes well.

 

Alright great, thank you so much for your help Odin, a guy in the "Which notebook to buy" forum said the HP is "built better" but im not sure what he means by that and he hasnt responded, i think the Toshiba is much better myself. Plus it comes with a free printer and router, and my router right now is crap (Toshiba PCX5000, thing doesnt even have port forwarding >.< )

 

Well, in general, the HP would be better built, in terms of sturdiness and such. However, the Toshiba overall appears to be a better deal, and for that price, you really can't complain too much if the thing isn't built like a tank

 

haha true enough, but Toshiba's arent total crap are they? If the thing is going to fall apart on me then why buy it? the thing looks like its pretty sturdy... are HP's just well known for building more solid notebooks?

 

No Toshiba's aren't "total" crap. HP is very well known for building durable consumer/budget notebooks. The Toshiba shouldn't fall apart on you, it's just that it won't "feel" as sturdy, if that makes any sense.

 

Ahh ok, like its lightweight and will feel like its not as bulky of a notebook as the HP... well the one that I have now (Dell Latitude C600) is falling to pieces so it cant be worse than that.

The only reason im getting a new one is because this one has gotten insanely slow lately and the battery doesnt work at all, if its not plugged in, its useless, the thing takes like 10 minutes to startup and login.. plus Its missing 2 screws and i've had to take it apart twice to fix the keyboard and look at the touchpad (which doesnt work) also the monitor flickers and the color goes wacky which I think was from me taking it apart)