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Turion or Centrino for the casual gamer

post #1 of 68
8/9/05 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
I am <--> this close to purchasing a laptop for lawschool coming up next month, and have it narrowed down to the Acer Ferrari 4005 or the AsusZ70 (whether i can wait for the refresh is a whole different story)


My question is, for a light/casual gamer, are there any advantages to AMD or 64 bit processing beyond games. I play Grand Theft Auto SA and a few others, but not very seriously.

Best i can figure, the Turion has worse battery life, but is more "future proof" as 64 bit is the wave of the future. This laptop has to last me 3 years of school, but i doubt ill be gaming all that much during that time


Any comments or suggestions?
Ive learned more than i even thought possible since i came to this forum, but still know that I dont know much
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post #2 of 68
8/9/05 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by odbyrne
I am <--> this close to purchasing a laptop for lawschool coming up next month, and have it narrowed down to the Acer Ferrari 4005 or the AsusZ70 (whether i can wait for the refresh is a whole different story)


My question is, for a light/casual gamer, are there any advantages to AMD or 64 bit processing beyond games. I play Grand Theft Auto SA and a few others, but not very seriously.

Best i can figure, the Turion has worse battery life, but is more "future proof" as 64 bit is the wave of the future. This laptop has to last me 3 years of school, but i doubt ill be gaming all that much during that time


Any comments or suggestions?
Ive learned more than i even thought possible since i came to this forum, but still know that I dont know much
centrino wins hands down. Turion is cheaper. I recomend centrino. Centrino has more battery life and is faster but not that much. Honeslty the preformance difference is noticlble but now that noticlble and centrino is quiter. But correct me if i am wrong turion is cheaper.
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post #3 of 68
8/9/05 at 8:24pm
"Centrino" is simply a marketing term for a laptop that includes specific Intel chipsets, an Intel wireless card, and the CPU. The CPU in question is actually the Pentium-M. First off, the 25W Turion MT uses 2W less than the Pentium-M, which uses 27W. Obviously, battery life will be comparable. However, benchmarks have shown that the Pentium-M delivers much better gaming performance.

Also, 64-bit may be the wave of the future, but its a slow moving wave. It'll probably be slower than the DVD movement, due mainly to the fact that most people have 32-bit processors now. So saying its future proof would be like buying a $100,000 car and saying that, just because its more expensive, it'll outlast any normal wear and tear. Windows Vista will be released in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, much the same way XP is now.

Quote:
centrino is quiter
If your processor is making noises, I'd head over to the nearest support office... Prices are comparable.
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post #4 of 68
8/9/05 at 8:38pm
Personally I'd say Turion.

also about

"Pentium-M. First off, the 25W Turion MT uses 2W less than the Pentium-M, which uses 27W."

Is not true, Pentium M ranges from 18W-27W
and Turiions range from 25W-35W

The 18W are the ones used in 10inch pcs wich tend to be 1.4ghz max.
The 27w are the faster and more consumption chipsets like 2ghz+.
Most others run at 23-25W.
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post #5 of 68
8/9/05 at 9:01pm
Turions don't "range", they come in 2 flavors. The ML-XX's run at 35 Watts and the MT-XX's run at 25 Watts.
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post #6 of 68
8/9/05 at 9:03pm
Turion laptop will always use more energy than a Centrino laptop because even if the Turion uses the same power as the Pentium-M. The Centrino package have much better battery saving features than any AMD laptop.

The best example is the Acer 8104 and Ferrari 4005. They use the same screen, chassis, battery and pretty much have the same features but the Battery life is 4 hours vs 3 hours according to Acer's Spec.

That's said. The X700 in the 8104 is clocked a bit slower than the 4005 so that would account for some of the battery life difference but not by a large amount.

If battery life is not too important for you, the 4005 is a great choice but don't get it because it's future proof. Your new laptop (no matter what you end up getting) will be obsolete by the time at 64bit applications and games becomes common.
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post #7 of 68
8/9/05 at 9:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiz33
Turion laptop will always use more energy than a Centrino laptop because even if the Turion uses the same power as the Pentium-M. The Centrino package have much better battery saving features than any AMD laptop.

The best example is the Acer 8104 and Ferrari 4005. They use the same screen, chassis, battery and pretty much have the same features but the Battery life is 4 hours vs 3 hours according to Acer's Spec.

That's said. The X700 in the 8104 is clocked a bit slower than the 4005 so that would account for some of the battery life difference but not by a large amount.

If battery life is not too important for you, the 4005 is a great choice but don't get it because it's future proof. Your new laptop (no matter what you end up getting) will be obsolete by the time at 64bit applications and games becomes common.
The Ferrari also uses an ML processor for some reason, which means 35 watts vs 25 watts for the MT. Also the gaming performance of the Pentium M compared to the Athlon 64 is often exagerated because for a long time the M Athlon 64 was stuck without a decent chipset, that at least has been corrected to some extent recently. And if the gaming benchmarks between the Ferrari are not to be chocked up to the CPU's then the AMD laptop has rather more than a slight difference in the GPU clocks, because it's noticably faster in games based on the benchmarks I have seen.
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post #8 of 68
8/9/05 at 10:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiz33
The best example is the Acer 8104 and Ferrari 4005. They use the same screen, chassis, battery and pretty much have the same features but the Battery life is 4 hours vs 3 hours according to Acer's Spec.
If you look at this review the battery life is actually comparable, matters if we're looking at full load or idle:

Acer Ferrari Review

Just my 2 cents
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post #9 of 68
8/9/05 at 10:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unleaded
Turions don't "range", they come in 2 flavors. The ML-XX's run at 35 Watts and the MT-XX's run at 25 Watts.
well sorry for saying range...but then again if you look at their namign scheme of MT and ML, that means there are plans wether it be soon or 5,000 years from now on MM, MN, MO, MP, MQ, MR, MS, than...than I will finally have my "range"
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post #10 of 68
8/9/05 at 10:58pm
And if I wait long enough that tree in my backyard WILL start growing money
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post #11 of 68
8/10/05 at 12:00am
Ay, you never know...imagine all the trees die in the world and you tree will become the last source of oxigen..then in a way..it grows money
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post #12 of 68
8/10/05 at 12:09am
Well, like somebody already mentioned, the Ferrari uses the ML processor, which uses 35W. Its not designed to be the most mobile; the MT is, as it uses 10W less. Also, the Pentium-M uses 27W, but obviously, undervolting decreases that--but since Turions are similarly comparable, it'll suffice to say you're going to get a few minutes more out of the Turion--maybe.

Anyways, Centrino more or less means "all Intel," and some of their wireless cards (I'm thinking of the 2915) consume more energy than competing brands, such as the Atheros chipset. Turions can be really confusing with the MT/ML ordeal, so make sure you check which kind it is.
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post #13 of 68
8/10/05 at 1:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unleaded
And if I wait long enough that tree in my backyard WILL start growing money
I'm from the government. We would like to chop your tree down and send it to the mint for processing, so that it can be made into money. Just give me your credit card number and we'll find you.
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post #14 of 68
8/10/05 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
I had no clue.

Now, I have read up on undervolting the Asus (intel) and seems straightforward enough that even a dummy like myself could do it.

Is undervolting the AMD much different, or even possible?
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post #15 of 68
8/10/05 at 2:13am
I believe the Centrino would be better. By that, of course, I mean P-M. It uses less power, and I believe it's more powerful.

By the time everything is in 64-bit, you will need a new computer, and also by that time, everything will be dual, or even multi core, so you will need a new laptop for that. You're screwed either way.
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post #16 of 68
8/10/05 at 4:09am
Thread Starter 
okay. convincing enough for me
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post #17 of 68
8/10/05 at 4:15am
Yes, Turion is a processor while Centrino is a package (Pentium M plus 855/915 chipset and an Intel 2100/2200/2915 wireless card).

AMD has always suffered from his partners. AMD doesn't have interest in producing chipsets, so it relies on other vendors to supply them. Anyone with a little experience with AMD knows that ALL problems concerning AMD based platforms come from the auxiliary components. The Via MVP3 chipset of the K6-2 era comes to my mind.

It is true that there is a low voltage version of the Pentium M (I have one), but the problem is that, unlike the Turion, you can't simply install it on a laptop and expect a longer battery life. The processor comes in a different packaging (BGA while regular Pentium Ms are PGA) wich very few laptops have.

On a regular Turion laptop with the ML flavor you can extend your battery life by just popping the MT version.

So, no, in my opinion, a good Turion laptop based on a decent chipset (I bet ATI is better than both Via and SiS) is better than a Centrino one. Spcially if you paid much less for a comparable laptop (no one is like anyone else, so are the laptops).
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post #18 of 68
8/10/05 at 9:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freak4Dell
I believe the Centrino would be better. By that, of course, I mean P-M. It uses less power, and I believe it's more powerful.

By the time everything is in 64-bit, you will need a new computer, and also by that time, everything will be dual, or even multi core, so you will need a new laptop for that. You're screwed either way.
This is not an issue of dual cores or anything. Dual cores are already out, but having one on a laptop will drain 2x the voltage.

The pentium M does not surpass turion by that much, only by around 10% in general. On the other hand, turion has 64bit and suppostly runs 1 1/2 more powerful or more on 64bit environments then it does on 32 bit. 64 bit environments are already out like Windows XP64, linux 64 and the comming Windows Visita in 2006.
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post #19 of 68
8/10/05 at 4:24pm
But the thing is, it's hard to find commonplace 64-bit environments, and by the time everyone will be using 64-bit, it will be time to buy a new computer. Also, by that same time, there will be dual-core processors that use the same amount, or just a little bit more power than the single core mobile processors of today.
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post #20 of 68
8/10/05 at 4:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freak4Dell
But the thing is, it's hard to find commonplace 64-bit environments, and by the time everyone will be using 64-bit, it will be time to buy a new computer. Also, by that same time, there will be dual-core processors that use the same amount, or just a little bit more power than the single core mobile processors of today.
What you don't get though is that he isn't hoping to buy a dual processor, it is a different story and shouldn't be included anyway.

1) Every person is differnt, me for example I buy a pc once 5 years. so 1 desktop and 1 laptop every 5 years. but 2.5 years difference between the two.

2) Once I get a new pc, I don't throw out my old ones...If you gonna buy a laptop, so its best to get another one later and have 2 latops. With intel, i'd be kidna forced to throw it out sicne 64bit tech wont work on it.

3) If intel pentium M was 2x better, thats oen thing, but as it stands, its better as 32 bit processing is cocnerned but by only a small margin.

4) You usually need a new latop when there is a "need" for it. A turion as it is can last quite a while and survive.

5) 2006 will be filled with 64 bits tech...why would you want to go "darn, I gotta wait 2 more years before I'm getting a new latop thats 64 bit to use this awsome application/game" and even if that hting has 32 bit comaptibility, 64bit version would be better.
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