Home > Hardware > What to buy AMD X2 or Core 2 Duo - read before you buy a Notebook / Laptop

What to buy AMD X2 or Core 2 Duo - read before you buy a Notebook / Laptop

January 5th, 2008

Many, many new computer users are asking me one basic question about their computing need, a very basic question, that, What to buy ?? will it be core 2 duo or will it be an AMD X2 based computer !!

Which is Better between Intel Core 2 Duo and AMD Athlon X2 ??

To be honest, this is a subjective question, there are 2 answer for the question, depending on your budget and need (use of the PC / Notebook / Laptop)…

You must understand, its not just the processor which you buy, its a full PC which contains many other parts, some of them contributes more than a processor to the overall performance of the PC / Notebook / Laptop…

If you just compare just those 2 processor, then, yeah, its the Core 2 Duo always comes as clear winner over AMD X2 range but as I said its the full system which ensures the performance for your PC… So a Core 2 Duo highest end processor based PC which contains other improper hardware may stay behind an AMD X2 based system with proper hardware support…

There are 2 major aspect of making or chosing a system configuration… The 1st one is to judge is that would the real use for the system ?? Do you really need a higher end processor and such when you plan to do basic office job with some entertainment ??

For example, I receive many emails asking to suggest a notebook for Rs. 45,000 (USD 900 more or less) with main need for Basic office job and some entertainment, music, movie !!! Most of them prefer to spend the total amount of a higher end config, which them self may never use…

Few quick facts…

Compaq C702TUwith 1 GB RAM (it comes with default 512 MB, so ask the your vendor to update it to 1 GB) is fully vista premium compatible… Comes with Intel GL960 chipset with GMA x3100, which means it will run all vista animation and Aero effects with full acceleration, its Rs. 25,200/- (INR) with 1 GB RAM and incl all TAX… Though it comes with Celeron processor but can run any software, even Adobe Premiere Pro… However just the processing time would be lot longer for such resource demanding softwares… !!!

So what I want to point is that even you can buy a Notebook with as low budget of Rs. 25000/- to satisfy all your needs, but only when, you understand the meaning of the work which you intend to Carry out…

Therefore with Budget of Rs. 45,000/- to Rs. 50000/- for a notebook which you plan to use for mainly some office job, some imaging, little home video editing and entertainment, AMD X2 range would provide a better solution !!!

There is no real benifit for a core 2 duo processor if it comes with a Intel 946 chipset of GMA 950 as one AMD X2 with Nvidia 7150 or such chipset will out performe the Core 2 Duo based notebook then…

So ever woundered how about this bellow setup if you have a budget of Rs. 45000/- to 50000/- to spend on your notebook ??

Compaq V6608AU with 2 GB RAM upgrade Rs. 35,400/- (INR) and Invest the rest of the ammount (10 to 12k) for a 19″ TFT display such as View Sonic vg1930wm which is Rs. 9800/- and a good 2.1 speaker system…

Use most powerful confuguration at budget of Rs. 35,000/- at move and enjouy full screen movies and bigger screen at Home !!

Related posts:

  1. Which Laptop / Notebook to buy - A notebook / laptop buying guide (August 2008)
  2. Quick look at enrty level notebook / laptop configuration (Celeron M 530 / Intel GM965 / x3100 / 1 GB) With eve
  3. Quick look at Windows 7 Hardware performance / requirements Microsof
  4. Intel agrees on their typos about Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 web page Finally I
  5. List of motherboard / mainboard for Intel Core i7 (Quad / Eight) processors with support of LGA 1366 The fir

Choto Cheeta Hardware

  1. krishna kant pal
    May 13th, 2009 at 14:10 | #1

    hi…
    i m going 2 buy laptop for doing animation work ..
    i think to go with cq45-106AU. becoz i herd that amd processor is best for animation work …
    its a amd turion x2 dual core processor 2 ghz ..
    it has ati radeon hd 3200 graphics …
    is it ok to buy this in 32500 rs ?
    plz help me out !!!
    thanking you

  2. devendra verma
    March 18th, 2009 at 05:54 | #2

    i want to buy a good laptop with very good processing speed.My job is into marketing.mY JOB REQUIRES presentations and usual MS office jobs i can also use it for Statistical packages like SPSS and SAP work.
    rgrds
    devendra verma
    9453073525

  3. Heaven
    February 26th, 2009 at 13:29 | #3

    I’m going to buy a laptop, exactly compaq cq40. but i was confused by the processor. i search around and got a cq40 with specs as below :
    - Dualcore 2.16
    - Ram 2 GB
    - HDD 320 GB
    - 14.1 display screen
    - webcam
    - multiDVD
    - win Vista home premium
    but my problem is, some ppl told me that dualcore isn’t too good, better c2d, but i couldn’t find any cq40 with c2d processor got a large storage than the one cq40 with Dualcore.
    and also cq40 with c2d is over-budget..
    can you please solve my problem??

    and i wanted to know the difference between dualcore and core2duo?

  4. Bunty
    February 15th, 2009 at 08:19 | #4

    AMD or Intel?

    Both of these are highly powerful devices….
    For your day to day work both of these will give you the best performance…
    You will notice that you even won’t able to utilize their power 100%….

    “People don’t buy engines they buy cars”.
    - Jagdish Khattar, MD, Maruti Suzuki

    The above quotation is worth to consider when you are buying a laptop or a computer.

    I know that the PROCESSOR is very important part to be considered while purchasing a machine but it is not the only one.

    For eg. most of the time you may notice that the CPU utilization is very few times reach at it’s peak.

    So, when you are searching for the best one, don’t take the decision based on processor.

    What I have experienced so for you can consider the below points as well…

    1) For what purpose or what kind of work you need a machine… wanna play games watch movies… or for your business or…. for programming…

    2) Primary Storage or memory type or size and it’s maximum limit…

    3) On processor cache size…. (L1 & L2)

    4) Secondary storage or HDD speed (eg. 5600 rpm )… as this the most time consuming operation… the HDD better rpm will definitely improve the performance.

    5) On board or mother board architecture…. some architecture can really help in improving your system performance…

    6) In case of laptop… you should prefer the hardware that is specifically configured or built for the laptops… hint: look for the “Mobile Technology” logo on it…. such systems are specially optimized….

    7) The last but the most important is the”Service after sales”..

  5. rex v
    February 10th, 2009 at 07:38 | #5

    sir choto, do u mean amd perform better than c2d. i’m planning to buy a laptop but some of my friends says c2d pros. and says amd…which is which sir choto pls.

  6. January 22nd, 2009 at 19:07 | #6

    Hi domnic,

    Can you please tell me your budget ?

    Thanks.

  7. domnic
    January 22nd, 2009 at 13:54 | #7

    i need a cheap lap top with processing power tht can run live OS on ram and many net allpications at a time, rest all wifi/cam n fancy features r not needed..which one wud hv tht, in terms of AMD i mean.

  8. fey
    October 13th, 2008 at 03:56 | #8

    hi..

    I plan to buy a laptop..but my boyfriend wants me
    to have either Presario B1293tu or the newer model
    CQ40-107au coz of its compact size. Both are of same
    brand but have different processor. I been asking him
    whats best for me and for him since we will be the
    one to use the unit. I usually do a little grafix
    editing, typing, i also do Visual Basic programming
    and PHP. and my boyfriend does play his music, watch DVDs, a bit of photoshop, online games-tactics, and
    alot of downloads-software, drivers, movies, etc.

    Now im asking, whats your suggestion Choto, which is ideal for us with our budget of 30k.

    The B1293tu which has the following specs:
    -Dual Core 1.86GHz T2390
    -1gb RAM
    -120gb HDD
    -12.1? display screen
    -DVDRW
    -BlueTooth
    -webcam

    while CQ40-107au has:
    -Athlonx2QL60 1.9ghz
    -1gb RAM
    -160gb HDD
    -14.1? display screen
    -DVDRW
    -HDMi
    -5in1 card reader
    -webcam

  9. fey
    October 13th, 2008 at 03:55 | #9

    hi..

    I plan to buy a laptop..but my boyfriend wants me
    to have either Presario B1293tu or the newer model
    CQ40-107au coz of its compact size. Both are of same
    brand but have different processor. I been asking him
    whats best for me and for him since we will be the
    one to use the unit. I usually do a little grafix
    editing, typing, i also do Visual Basic programming
    and PHP. and my boyfriend does play his music, watch DVDs, a bit of photoshop, online games-tactics, and
    alot of downloads-software, drivers, movies, etc.

    Now im asking, whats your suggestion Choto, which is ideal for us with our budget of 30k.

    The B1293tu which has the following specs:
    -Dual Core 1.86GHz T2390
    -1gb RAM
    -120gb HDD
    -12.1? display screen
    -DVDRW
    -BlueTooth
    -webcam

    while CQ40-107au has:
    -Athlonx2QL60 1.9ghz
    -1gb RAM
    -160gb HDD
    -14.1″ display screen
    -DVDRW
    -HDMi
    -5in1 card reader
    -webcam

  10. fey
    October 13th, 2008 at 03:37 | #10

    hi..

    I plan to buy a laptop..but my boyfriend wants me
    to have either Presario B1293tu or the newer model CQ40-107au. Both are of same brand. I been asking
    him whats best for me and for him since we will be
    the one to use the unit.

    Now im asking whats what your suggestion Choto,
    The B1293tu which has the following specs:
    Dual Core 1.86GHz T2390
    1gb 120gb 12.1″ DVDRW BT webcam FreeDOS

  11. Bunty
    October 9th, 2008 at 19:03 | #11

    I suggest the following configuration if you want a cost-effective but a power-packed machine.

    1. AMD x2-64 TL6x series (You have a choice of Turion, Phenom, or Athlon - I will suggest to go for Turion x2 family if your have more budget you can go for Phenom x3/x4)
    2. 2GB DDR RAM (must be expandable up-to 8 GB as you can get advantage of 64 bit based architecture)
    3. 1MB or more L2 cache
    4. 160 GB SATA
    5. Windows Vista (Premium or Ultimate, 32 bit or 64 bit)
    6. Connectivity through- Wi-fi, blue tooth, internal modem, card reader slot
    7. and web cam

    Check out compaq presario or hp pavillion.

    I myself own a Compaq V3702AU - with the below configuration.
    - AMD Turion x2 TL-60 with 1 MB L2 Cache
    - 3 GB RAM (1 GB+upgraded with 2 GB) expandable up to 4GB
    - Windows Vista Basic 32 bit - (Soon I am going to upgrade it to premium)
    - 14.1″ wide screen
    - Wi-Fi, Blue tooth, internal Modem, Card reader slot, web Cam
    - DVD RW
    - internal modem
    - ethernet card
    it cost me around 36,000 INR including upgrade cost. HP’s support service is also good. You can reach technician 24×7 through email, chat, phone, or you can even join forums specific to your product. check out http://www.hp.com/ or http://welcome.hp.com/country/in/en/welcome.html

    Hope, it helps. ENJOY!!

    Buy AMD. Use YAHOO.

  12. prasad holla
    October 9th, 2008 at 13:36 | #12

    Hi
    How is Del Vostro 1310. Is it rugged laptop. I am looking for a low cost laptop which is good for rough use.

  13. Honey Varshney
    October 5th, 2008 at 20:33 | #13

    hello chotu bhai.

    I want to purchase a laptop and my range is not more than Rs 50,000. Can any one tell me about any good deal.

    I want good speed as i am a regular internet user and have a good interest in gaming. Preferably I want Sony VAIO but can go with any brand offering good deal.

    I have searched for many brands and finally come for these models..

    1.LG R2oo with dual screen and 4 MB cache with 1 GB RAM and graphics card.
    2.SONY VAIO VGN-CS 14G
    3.DELL STUDIO
    4.Compaq-Presario CQ-137TX

    any of the above or any other model u suggest, please provide me some good knowldge and comments.

    thanx n regards

    Honey

  14. Aniruddha
    October 5th, 2008 at 08:41 | #14

    I also wish to buy a laptop. Already have a desktop at home. This one is more to use when I go abroad to chat with my family here and also my wife can use it for some VLSI designing work for her office work.
    Budget - not planning to exceed 40k. Also not so confident about using VISTA. Instead, thinking to install XP legal copy.
    After lot of confusion - zeroed on Compaq/Dell/Lenovo. But cost wise, Compaq seems to be cheapest.
    As usual, the confusion with AMD/Intel - though I have desktop with AMD and is doing fine.
    AMD would work out cheaper as well.

    Which brand is better - Compaq/Dell/Lenovo - overall service wise/quality wise. Feature wise all seem to be same.

  15. rohan
    September 23rd, 2008 at 08:19 | #15

    I want to buy laptop with budget ranging from 25k to 30k suggest me which one would be lucrative & beneficial. AMD ATHLON X2 or INTEL CORE 2 DUO and acc. to INDIAN market which company’s product would be better

  16. prasad holla
    September 20th, 2008 at 10:56 | #16

    Hi
    I am planning to buy laptop. which will be better

    presario CQ45-106AU or CQ50-107AU

    Please suggest me.

    What are the other good models available in range 30000 - 40000

  17. September 7th, 2008 at 18:11 | #17

    @ARUN

    Why BenQ ?? Any problem with brands like Dell or Lenovo ??

    @pradeep

    See under 38k right now one model I can point you to take a look at, which is Compaq Presario CQ40-144TU.

    It should come within 40k incl TAX.. Would be worth to buy because of GMA 4500mHD !!!!

    http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/in/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3752105-3815420.html

    Where as another great config would be Compaq Presario CQ45-106AU which comes with Turion X2 along with HD3200 as GPU

    http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/in/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3747524-3781151.html

    @Rahul Bhaga

    Take a look at Compaq Presario CQ45-207TU. Only thing would be missing is the screen which in this case is 15.4″ !!!!

    http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/in/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3752105-3815420.html

  18. Rahul Bhagat
    September 6th, 2008 at 07:43 | #18

    Hey Choto Cheeta,

    Was going thru ur site and really u seem to have helped a lot of ppl in distress. Kudos to you and hopefully my mind would also get cleared once u respond to my query :)

    I am looking at a notebook which I can use for graphic designing (shd be able to run quark, photoshop, illustrator etc. really well).I also want to use it for viewing flicks and gaming (all latest ones as well).
    What I require is a notebook with a nice graphics card, though I am not really biased towards any processor. Also, the screen size needs to be at least 15.4′. Other specifications that Im lookin at are a DVD writer, a built-in camera, 2 gb RAM and at least a 250 gb hard disk.

    I have seen all brands but am not able to zero-in on a laptop. My budget is about 45k. Need your help really badly and urgently.

    Thanks!

  19. pradeep
    August 30th, 2008 at 15:22 | #19

    hello,
    i want to buy a laptop specialy for gaming purpose and my budget is around 38K.

  20. August 3rd, 2008 at 07:12 | #20

    hi ! chotocheta !

    i am going to buy laptop between 40-45k

    my options is

    benq s32 or s41 model

    dont know about benq company …

    going to use laptop purely for programming and travel .. what

    is your opinion ..

    whether benq s32 will be better

    i will be more happy if you reply soon

  1. No trackbacks yet.