Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question in Computer Hardware Discussion/Reviews http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20979319 en Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:38:31 EDT Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:38:31 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21001683 3SGTE :
said by battlesite See Profile :

My computer has been in the shop for repairs FOUR times in three years. That would have cost a lot.
Wow, that's insane.

I have had 2 notebook PCs over the years.

One was a 486 DX2-50 which needed a mainboard twice, and the current one is an ASUS M3000 which is over 4 years old and probably the best piece of electronics that I have bought in the last 10 years. Knock on wood, the ASUS hasn't been in for service even once; even the original battery is still good.

I hope this one works out better than the last one did.
--
Striving for Parfection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21001683 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:29:43 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21000524 battlesite : Update:

I took the $379 credit for my old laptop, and upgraded a little bit to a Compaq Presario CQ50-110US notebook computer. It has an AMD Turionj X2 Dual-core Mobile Processor RM-70, 200GB HD and 3 gigs of RAM. I've only had the new computer for a couple of days, but so far I am extremely happy with it.

It cost me $530 for the computer (sale price, down $150 from $680) plus $200 for the extended warranty. I know that people say you should not buy extended warranties, but they have been a godsend for me, especially with this last computer.

My computer has been in the shop for repairs FOUR times in three years. That would have cost a lot.

I did not have to deal with returning my computer to a manufacturer each time. That's a pain in the ass. I just took it to the Fry's service counter. No problem.

Each time required at least six weeks for them to service it. My warranty guaranteed me a free loaner each time. I would have been screwed without those loaners.

At the end of it all, I got $412 (that's $379 + tax and disposal fee) credit towards a new computer.

So all in all, that $200 for the extra warranty has been worth every cent, and I'm glad as hell that I bought it.

Thank you all again for your posts. You guys are great.
--
There's always free cheese in a mousetrap.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21000524 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:01:12 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20980513 tipstir : Well true it uses more power in AMD, but you can download the AMD Power add on software to reduce the CPU down thus increasing battery life. Like 1.8GHz would be 800MHz. That's how Intel does with mobile CPU but unlike them AMD give you the choice to go full power again. Intel P-M and Centrio whatever is based on the PIII mobile CPU features. AMD X64-bit and up is better than Intel, as with the AMD you can to a lot with the CPU. I repair systems and laptop. I've even taken out the CPU in a laptop and make one laptop faster than the other. Old PIII DELL C600 series can have the CPU take out and jack-up to 1GHz, remove the HDD which is a slow poke and put in a Hitachi 40GB 7,200RPM HDD or better just update the BIOS so you can use larger 2.5 HDDs. Run XP Pro do a lot with these still.

I even got 10 year Toshiba Tecra 8000 PII 266MHz L2 512KB, 256MB SDRAM, 256-bit Video, still going and it runs XP Pro with graphics and Firefox 3.1. Still I only use that for surfing the web, but it can run Sun Open Office. Again the trick here is to get rid of the old HDD in these laptops. Replace the LCD panels if they're gone or dark, still I keep them running until you can's use them any more. You can also turn them into WDS Hopper, just need 10/100 or 10/100/1000 MiniPCI NiC or swap that out for Tp-Link 802.11 b/g/n 300mbps or just use PCMICA 802.11 b/g/n with the Mini PCI 10/100/1000 miniPCI. Just need a cross over cable and some minor adjustments to the network configuration. Wala you got your own WDS Hopper!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20980513 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:41:32 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20980397 battlesite : Thank you, everybody for the replies. You've been a big help.

I just read that the Athlon uses considerably more power, and therefore runs hotter than the Turion. Battery life might be a problem.

Other than that, I guess it's an okay trade. Maybe I can talk them into some kind of a deal on something with a Turion.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20980397 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:23:33 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979994 Xtort : I've used a few Turion X2 and Centrino based notebooks and the battery life is nearly the same. I'm using a Toshiba Satellite-Pro A200-01H at the moment and the battery life is pretty much the same as my HP Pavilion dv2000.

At this point, I would say that you are not getting a downgrade. The Centrino notebook that you had could have been 3 years old by now. If your processor was labeled as the Pentium-M and not the Core Solo, you definitely have one of the early generation Centrino notebooks, probably the Sonoma platform. Sonoma being a Pentium-M / GMA 900 graphics / Intel 2200BG wireless adapter combination.

The new notebook that you would be getting or already have is definitely an upgrade. You get a dual-core processor that is capable of running 64-bit Windows, DDR2 memory, and a graphics system that is much better than the GMA 900. Even if the graphics system is the GeForce 6150, it's still miles ahead. The battery life would be the same as the Turion X2 uses less power than the old Pentium-M Dothan.

If you concerned about battery life, see if the notebook comes with a battery that has more than 6 cells in it.
--
GA-P35-DS3R / E6850 @ 3.78 / 4 x Crucial PC2-6400 / 8800 GTX]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979994 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:09:26 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979868 m8trix : well just from a cpu vs cpu the athlon whether it be athlon xp or athlon 64 its better then a single core centrino at the same speed]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979868 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:50:33 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979401 battlesite :
said by 3SGTE See Profile :

I don't see it as an upgrade.

Is battery life a concern?
It's not supposed to be an upgrade so much as an equal trade. I just want to be sure it's not a downgrade.

Yes, battery life is a concern. It will very often be used away from any outlets.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979401 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:26:42 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979319 battlesite : EDIT to original post: I originally said that my computer had a Penium Centrino. I meant an Intel Centrino. I apologize for the confusion. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20979319 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:10:41 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20978544 3SGTE : I don't see it as an upgrade.

Is battery life a concern?
--
Striving for Parfection.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20978544 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:41:30 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20977687 CCNnorthcali : I would say, based of the processor alone, that AMD Turion would be faster than your previous Pentium M. Since the new computer probably runs Vista, it may not feel as quick as the old one mainly depending upon the amount of RAM the new system has.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20977687 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:53:18 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20977003 battlesite : You're right. I was wrong about the dual-core. It's just an Intel Centrino, which I know little about.

The Compaq has an Athlon. I thought that was below a Turion.
--
There's always free cheese in a mousetrap.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20977003 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:41:38 EDT Re: AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20975596 eX_NihiLo : Are you sure you have a dual core CPU? Based on the age, 3yrs, and the price you paid for it, it's more likely you have a Pentium M processor in which case the replacement is is fair if it is an Turion 64 X2 CPU (CPU designation TL-50 or TL-52 for 1600Mhz).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20975596 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:29:29 EDT AMD Athlon VS Pentium Centrino Question http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20975461 battlesite : I have a three year old generic laptop from Fry's Electronics. They are giving me a warranty replacement computer, but they no longer make mine, so they are substituting a refurbished Compaq.

My original computer had an Intel Centrino, 1.6 mhz processor. I think it cost about $650 at the time.

The refurb Compaq sells in the store for $379. It has an AMD Athlon, 1.6mhz processor. The Technician guy also said that based on that price, that's as much as they would be willing to give me in store credit toward any other replacement computer.

I know nothing about AMD's, and I'm worrying about them trying to screw me. I was thinking about insisting on a Pentium. Not that I think that they're any better than AMD's. I just know more about them, and I like to go with what I know.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20975461 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:00:07 EDT