AMD Phenom II Dual N620 vs/or Intel i5-420M

[Hrant]

All my computers over the years have had Intel. But HP is offering a good deal at Costco on an AMD, So I have two options for my daughter college bound.

Both come with LED screen, 500GB hard drive/7200 RPM; and 4 GB DD3 Ram; and BlueRay. Price is only a few dollars difference. I checked Dell as all the laptops have been Dell so far, but HP's warranty/service seems to be better.

The 15.6" screen and the 17.3" screen

I know there are folks from both camps, so lets hear it :tongue:

 

[RJPKRP]

First thing I always do is check CPU specs...

AMD 2-Core, 2.8ghz, 2MB L2 cache, 35W
Intel 2-core, 2.4ghz, 3MB L2 cache, 35W

Personally, I prefer higher cache over higher frequency. That's just me though and these are just raw numbers. Next thing I do is look at Passmark benchmarks for the processors.....

AMD pulls 1804 marks
Intel pulls 2503 marks

I also check Notebookcheck for Processor Benchmarks too...

AMD Notebook Check
Intel Notebook Check

Based on those numbers I'd say Intel all day over AMD given these two particular processors.

That being said, I just bought my wife a new laptop and went with a Phenom II X4 P920 over a i3-330 even though the marks we about equal. I wanted her to have the quad core processor.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Intel is better than AMD when it comes to mobile in both performance and power consumption. Stick with Intel for the notebook. For desktop, Intel has the performance edge but AMD isn't too far behind and offers good bang for the buck.

 

[Hrant]

I am not the techie type, just looking for something that will still have enough umph by the time she graduates - in 4 years. Does AMD's 2.8GHz processor over Intel's 2.40 make a difference? She loves to hoard music videos ...

This is the comparable Dell in 17.3" and i5-240. Available only on-line from Costco and I understand they tend to have delays in delivery.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...se=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4017745 4294967022&Mo=15&No=2&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C

 

[RJPKRP]

I am not the techie type, just looking for something that will still have enough umph by the time she graduates - in 4 years. Does AMD's 2.8GHz processor over Intel's 2.40 make a difference? She loves to hoard music videos ...

This is the comparable Dell in 17.3" and i5-240. Available only on-line from Costco and I understand they tend to have delays in delivery.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11531710&whse=BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4017745 4294967022&Mo=15&No=2&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C

Well for hording music videos you want more storage rather than processor speed. So look for a large hard drive.

Processor speed isn't the only factor....if you look back at the Pentium series vs the Core series. The Pentium D 960 was 3.6ghz, twice the speed of the Core2Duo 6300. However, the 6300 dominated the D 960.

Part of that was due to the faster front side bus (FSB) of the Core 2 Duo. However, it just goes to show that the processor speed is only a small portion of the equation.

In the case of the two processors you listed in the first post, the Intel is definitely the better of the two.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Well for hording music videos you want more storage rather than processor speed. So look for a large hard drive.

Processor speed isn't the only factor....if you look back at the Pentium series vs the Core series. The Pentium D 960 was 3.6ghz, twice the speed of the Core2Duo 6300. However, the 6300 dominated the D 960.

Part of that was due to the faster front side bus (FSB) of the Core 2 Duo. However, it just goes to show that the processor speed is only a small portion of the equation.

In the case of the two processors you listed in the first post, the Intel is definitely the better of the two.

Good points.

A bit OT but the Pentium D was part of the old Netburst architecture with the long pipelines that had problems with heat and power. That long pipeline was a killer for performance but enabled them to have higher frequency ratings. That's how Intel lost the performance crown to AMD. The team at Intel that opposed the Netburst architecture went over to AMD to work on K8.

Hrant, just go Intel on the notebook, you won't regret it in this case.

 

[Hrant]

Intel it is :smile:

Now we have to figure out which one she would prefer as more "" the HP 15.6" or the Dell 17.3". She may like the bigger screen of the Dell but it might take some time to arrive; the weight and portability of the HP plus the new metal look may win over :wink:

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Intel it is :smile:

Now we have to figure out which one she would prefer as more "" the HP 15.6" or the Dell 17.3". She may like the bigger screen of the Dell but it might take some time to arrive; the weight and portability of the HP plus the new metal look may win over :wink:

That extra 1.7 inches will wear you out after some time. i much prefer carrying my 14" notebook around vs my 15.6".

 

[RJPKRP]

That extra 1.7 inches will wear you out after some time. i much prefer carrying my 14" notebook around vs my 15.6".

I agree. If you are lugging it around, lighter is nicer. I went from a 15.6" to a 13.3" for that reason.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Hrant, if you haven't bought yet, this is a very good deal on a Core I7 Lenovo... Available at that Fry's in Sacramento and also in Roseville...

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2039986

Very good processor...

 

[Hrant]

Yes, this does look good. I have never had good luck with purchases at Fry's. Their prices are good but service is just awful.

Costco's additional 1 year - plus charging on AmEX gives me 3 years of warranty. They also have a tech support that can come handy.

Interestingly, I am finding that most of the laptops now come with no software at all or only 30-60 days trial. This is good in one respect for you can install only what you will use and avoid all the other junk - but this also means the final $ tally does not end with this purchase.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

Yes, this does look good. I have never had good luck with purchases at Fry's. Their prices are good but service is just awful.

Costco's additional 1 year - plus charging on AmEX gives me 3 years of warranty. They also have a tech support that can come handy.

Interestingly, I am finding that most of the laptops now come with no software at all or only 30-60 days trial. This is good in one respect for you can install only what you will use and avoid all the other junk - but this also means the final $ tally does not end with this purchase.

I remember some years ago at that Fry's in Sacramento shortly after it converted from Incredible Universe, a colleague and I were out to lunch and he was joking about working at Fry's. One of the employees overheard him and straight out told him "If you knew how much we were making you wouldn't be joking around."

Regarding the software, I hate those stupid little trials they install on the systems. It takes nearly an hour to remove them. For instance, you have to uninstall about 4 or 5 different Office components to clean the machine off. Most students only need Office. If you don't have a friend who can help you get it, you can run Open Office which is a free open source version which works well... MS Office is better though...