Computery Laptop Question

[~~Tides~~]

Just looking at two HP laptops trying to decide which one to buy, but,

one has this processor:
AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology Processor TL-58 2 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache
and is £400

the other:
AMD Sempron 3800+ (2.2GHz) Processor
and is £330

Apart from the processors they are more or less identical, the more expensive one has a slightly bigger HDD. So why then, when the £330 has more Ghz, is it less expensive?? Which one would be better?

Any help greatly appreciated.

[teddybear1873]

Just looking at two HP laptops trying to decide which one to buy, but,

one has this processor:
AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology Processor TL-58 2 GHz, 1 MB L2 cache
and is £400

the other:
AMD Sempron 3800+ (2.2GHz) Processor
and is £330

Apart from the processors they are more or less identical, the more expensive one has a slightly bigger HDD. So why then, when the £330 has more Ghz, is it less expensive?? Which one would be better?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Personally i would go for the cheaper one. It all depends, one laptop may have better memory and graphics, bigger screen. Take a good look at all the specs of each laptop then compare them.

[RIR]

Hi

The Sempron was designed as a budget processor, suitable for lower end tasks, i.e., word processing, browsing the web, etc.

The Turion is 64 bit capable, has a larger cache, is more suited to "high end" tasks such as video editing, games, etc., and is lighter on the battery.


Cheers

Ian.

[Colin Manson]

So why then, when the £330 has more Ghz, is it less expensive?? Which one would be better?

Any help greatly appreciated.

The Turion is a dual core processor, the Sempron only has one core.

The two cores of the Turion would be much faster than the Sempron. I did some research before I bought my Laptop I'd have to recommend a dual core Intel system, they come out on top in the benchmark tests.

[~~Tides~~]

So it doesnt really matter that the Sempron has more Ghz? They both have 1GB of ram...

[RIR]

No. Because the Turion runs at double (two processors in one, if you like) its quoted Ghz speed, i.e., 2Ghz x 2, (if the software you're using/bundled with supports it).

Though if it's being supplied with Vista, I would ask for 2Gb of RAM.


Cheers

Ian.

[~~Tides~~]

So, in effect, the dual core really is 4Ghz?

It's just got one gig of RAM, but it is bundled with XP. Personally I am happier that it is XP as I truly hated any Vistas that I have used.

So would everyone agree that £400 is a v. good deal for a dual core laptop? Is the £70 more than the Sempron one really worth it / justified? (both are subject to HP's £50 off deal if you buy them in March).

[Bobinovich]

Definately the Turion - much more sensible.

With you on the XP preference too! :D

[blueivy]

So, in effect, the dual core really is 4Ghz?

It's just got one gig of RAM, but it is bundled with XP. Personally I am happier that it is XP as I truly hated any Vistas that I have used.

So would everyone agree that £400 is a v. good deal for a dual core laptop? Is the £70 more than the Sempron one really worth it / justified? (both are subject to HP's £50 off deal if you buy them in March).

The dual core isn't quite 4Ghz - it's processor running at 2Ghz with two cores in there (so it can do two tasks simultaneously almost - simplicity wise).

The Sempron is a budget processor and if you can afford the extra £70 (which I'm sure you can or you wouldn't be thinking about it) then the Turion is the way to go.

1Gb RAM will keep XP happy.

I think Vista is a lot better than it was, certainly from the view of device support. The latest Service Pack was recalled, however it is supposed to increase stability. We'll see. The trend of bigger and heavier operating systems needs to stop somewhere and fortunately Vista may be the last one of those that we see from Microsoft.

From July onwards it's going to be nigh on impossible to get a machine without Vista (unless Microsoft put the date back again). So keep those XP disks handy and pray you can get drivers.