<p>Why are most people choosing Core 2 Dual over AMD Dual-core?</p>
<p>Well, the short answer, is that they're better. I'm not in the mood to link you to a bunch of benchmarks and articles, but the Intel's original Core Duo architecture is about comparable to AMD's X2 line. The Core 2 Duos, and certainly the new Santa Rosa Core 2's (T7100, T7300, etc) are even better. Of course they'll cost you a bit more, but it's worth it for extra speed, battery life, and seamless integration with other components.</p>
<p>I have a 1.6GHZ intel core 2 duo...and it converts dvd to avi as fast as my pentium4HT 3GHZ did...</p>
<p>Core 2 Duo rapes AMD and spits on it when it's done.</p>
<p>
[quote]
that's right, the Core 2's are so nasty they actually RAPE other processors...especially those weak, helpless AMD X2's...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>For comparison, my 1.6Ghz AMD X2 TL-50 is about 40% as fast as my P4 680 operating at 3.6GHz. But, my desktop is a beast, the processor, is mostly likely the system bottleneck (aside from the system bus).</p>
<p>hehe i have core 2 extreme and it pwns all</p>
<p>oh...laptops nvm</p>
<p>"Core 2 Duo rapes AMD and spits on it when it's done."</p>
<p>LOL!!!
haha</p>
<p>wheres the cheapest place to buy HP core 2s? i looked on their site and its kinda expensive. also looked on bestbuy/circuitcity. are there better places to look?</p>
<p>Pft, core 2 extreme. How about two extreme quad core Core2's in parallel, with 8GB ram, two 15,000 RPM drives, and two 8800 Ultra's in SLi.</p>
<p>No, that's not mine, but my uncle just built one like that. And guess what? It still runs like **** because he's running Vista Ultimate!</p>
<p>For HP Core2 Laptops, there are a few good places. The best deals usually show up on Compusa's weekly sales, and occasionally at best buy. However, you're more likely to find a deal on a regular basis at Fry's or another online retailer.</p>
<p>I'd use a site like <a href="http://www.dealnews.com%5B/url%5D">www.dealnews.com</a> or <a href="http://www.dealigg.com%5B/url%5D">www.dealigg.com</a>, both of which will let you know when something you want is on sale.</p>
<p>Also, HP's Home Store occasionally has sales (which will be listed on the two aforementioned sites). That should save you $200 or so, and you can customize your PC. I'd recommend a 2500t by the way, with a T7300 and 2GB ram, with discrete graphics. Yep.</p>
<p>"Pft, core 2 extreme. How about two extreme quad core Core2's in parallel, with 8GB ram, two 15,000 RPM drives, and two 8800 Ultra's in SLi.</p>
<p>No, that's not mine, but my uncle just built one like that. And guess what? It still runs like **** because he's running Vista Ultimate!"</p>
<p>--lol yeah, now i feel inferior</p>
<p>don't worry, i do too....but look on the bright side: you can buy a new car AND a dual core laptop for what it cost him!</p>
<p>Now that i think about it, the quad-cores might be Xeons. Anyway, he's a cardiologist, and needs that kind of power to effectively run the scans from his cardiology machine.</p>
<p>Most people choose it (INCORRECTLY!) because Merom (or the core 2 duo) does rape the AMD dual core.</p>
<p>Just keep in mind that very very very few people will EVER need the power of Merom. Vista may seem new and cool, but honestly, you probably won't see a big need for it until a few years from now.</p>
<p>IMO, you should stick with a more inexpensive processor unless you like burning cash just for the sake of having the newest cutting edge technology (which will be outdated or available for less money within 3 months) OR you are a hardcore gamer who simply can't game without the fastest technology available.</p>
<p>So unless you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, don't waste your money to get merom. You should stick to some of the older (and still highly effective btw!) processors. </p>
<p>I'm sitting here on a core duo laptop but I still wonder why I didn't get a core solo and save a few bucks. Hell, I could've even saved more money (and get more battery life) if I stuck with a good ol' 1.8 gHz Pentium M.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as future-proofing (I laugh at everyone who got Turion64 years ago). By the time 64-bit technology really rolls around to the average consumer, Merom will be an average low-mid range processor. </p>
<p>Don't waste your money.</p>
<p>crap, i though sum1 was mad at me!!</p>
<p>^ lmao....</p>
<p>yea im trying to save a few bucks but dont some cornell classes require good laptops?</p>
<p>which classes (ILR)? is this true? because i'm about to buy a new laptop (MacBook Pro)...</p>
<p>You don't need a powerful notebook for classes. As for the software that some classes may require you to run (like Matlab or Dr. Java for intro comp sci), you could easily do it on a Pentium M and 512 mb RAM.</p>
<p>As for notebooks in classes... whenever I see anyone with a notebook, they're either playing solitaire, playing some online game, checking e-mail/facebook, or in one extreme case viewing lesbian porn (and sitting in the front row. At least he had the sense to turn the volume down).</p>
<p>I haven't checked the computer minimal requirements for Cornell for about half a year, but the last time I did check, minimal requirements included things like Pentium 3, Pentium 4, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, and do yourself a favor and don't buy from bestbuy/circuit city or those kinds of places. You're much better off with places like <a href="http://www.Newegg.com%5B/url%5D">www.Newegg.com</a>. They offer much much better deals and their representatives know what they're talking about.</p>
<p>Not only does Bestbuy not offer the best buy (sorry, I couldn't resist :p), but the people who work there rarely know what's going on. There have been a few times before I decided to shop for computers/parts online where I asked a best buy employee for help deciding on a computer. When I realized how incompetent most of them were I started pretending to go and ask just for my own amusement:</p>
<p>Me: "Hi, I'm looking for a relatively powerful system that can handle gaming graphics and video rendering."</p>
<p>Employee points me to a desktop that is equipped with a Celeron D and integrated graphics. Why? Because the processor ran at 2.93 gHz and the Intel GMA 950 had 128 mb of VRAM...yeah, seriously</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Me: "I'm looking for a laptop and battery life is my most important consideration."</p>
<p>Employee points me to a variety of systems that includes computers with Pentium 4M and Turion64. It's too bad that Pentium M destroys the 4M and edges out the Turion64 in battery life.</p>
<p>I agree completely with LaptopLover when he says you don't need the latest and greatest technology. Firstly, you'll never need more than $600 worth of machine for any reason as a student. Secondly, it's much more cost effective to go cheaper.</p>
<p>For example, you can get a a laptop with a Core 2 processor (Conroe, the older ones), 1GB RAM, DVD+/-RW, etc for about $800. Drop to an older "Core Duo" or AMD X2 and it could go as low as $600. These deals are very common for PC's from Dell and HP.</p>
<p>If you wanted the latest Merom processor, 2GB ram, discrete graphics, and a large 7200 RPM drive, it would cost you at least 3x the price, but you wouldn't be getting nearly three times the performance (not that you'd ever need 3x). I'd guess that you'd see about a 50% increase overall (though better for gaming with discrete graphics).</p>
<p>Honestly, as a student your best bet is buying a $600 laptop, and use it as long as you can. If it breaks, just get a new one! One year later, you'd be able to get that comparable 50% increase in speed for $600, and you get a brand new machine! Doesn't that make more sense?</p>
<p>However, I would not recommend getting something older than the processors I just mentioned. The reason is, you won't save very much money, and power and battery life will decline quickly.</p>
<p>Laptop power is basically normally distributed (bell-shaped). At the lowest end, you'll still pay $400-500 for a really crappy machine (celeron, or AMD MK, 512MB RAM, etc). They should be less, but retailers have a tough time selling you a machine for $200, due to LCD costs and hence squeezed margins. If you want to maximize your price/performance, you have to hit the peak of the curve. At this very moment, that peak resides where I just mentioned, at about $600-$700. After that, price begins to rise exponentially, and hence, Price/Performance suffers. Plus, this $600 range usually gets you some nice extras too, like built in webcams, multimedia buttons, etc.</p>
<p>And LaptopLover is right, the staff at big name retailers don't know the first thing about computers.</p>