Thread: buying a laptop ; intel dual core?

  1. #16
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Even AMD dual-core is a bit hyped. There comes a point at which performance becomes a matter of an app loading in 2 seconds, or 3. For me, 3 seconds is not worth the price tag.

    I've got an AMD 3200 XP with a GeForce 7800 AGP (yes AGP) and I have no frame rate issues on any games. Granted it's not an AMD 64 FX 50 with a GeForce 7800 GT PCI-E, but it still gets the job done.

    When it comes to laptops, just buy what is going to get the job done - or the most bang for the buck.

    I'm not saying don't go dual-core, I'm saying don't just get it because of the hype. Hype sells, but hype rarely delivers what it is selling.

  2. #17
    ... kermit's Avatar
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    Dual core is a nice option for Gentoo Linux people I am waiting for the prices to come down on the chip I have my eye on, and then I am gonna grab one, flash my BIOS and enjoy extending the life of my socket 939 board for as long as I can..

  3. #18
    The Right Honourable psychopath's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bubba
    ... with a GeForce 7800 AGP ...
    How did you get an AGP version? I bought a 7600GS a little while ago and was forced into getting PCI-E (and subsequently upgrading my motherboard) because AGP wasen't available.
    M.Eng Computer Engineering Candidate
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  4. #19
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    I have a dual core, and it most certainly is worth the price. People may say it is worthless for things other then games/graphic work, but it is good for anything. It allows you to multitask. You could be programming, listening to music, debugging your software, etc all at the same time without any performance loss. Plus, most things are going to eventually become multithreaded.

  5. #20
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
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    Plus, most things are going to eventually become multithreaded.
    Everything sounded good till that line. Everything now is multi-threaded.

  6. #21
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kermit
    Dual core is a nice option for Gentoo Linux people
    What's our particular advantage?
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  7. #22
    Crazy Fool Perspective's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CornedBee
    What's our particular advantage?
    Gentoo linux is now multi-core. They've included two parallel copies of the kernel on the same piece of linux. The first one manages the computers resources while the second one provides a flashy name.

  8. #23
    ... kermit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CornedBee
    What's our particular advantage?
    I remember reading somewhere of a shootout between the FX-57, the X2 4800+ and Intel's best chip at the time - anyway, when it came to compiling applications (running Gentoo), the 4800+ spanked the other chips - IIRC it compiled Firefox in less than 15 minutes.
    Last edited by kermit; 07-24-2006 at 04:31 PM.

  9. #24
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    This is completely unrelated...... but I have a friend who has a laptop that literally has a AMD 64 chip inside his laptop! The battery on a full charge lasts less than an hour. Maybe you should get one of those .

  10. #25
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Ah yes, Gentoo can of course make great use of parallelism.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  11. #26

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    Well I went with the solo core, and it just arrived today. I am very happy with it. I actually would not have bought a laptop if my school did not require it. They also require that the computer have wireless networking capabilities...this is my first laptop, and I was tickled pink to be going poop while reading the news! I am not, however, pooping while I post this.

    As a side note, I totally forgot that my router also had wireless capabilities, so when I started my computer and it said it was connected to the internet, I was actually mad because I thought something was wrong...then I went to yahoo.
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

  12. #27
    The Right Honourable psychopath's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobMcGee123
    and I was tickled pink to be going poop while reading the news!
    Some things are better left unsaid. ;p
    M.Eng Computer Engineering Candidate
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  13. #28

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    But It Was So Exciting Man!
    I'm not immature, I'm refined in the opposite direction.

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