Processor Recommendation/Question

[mrinaldi]

I am looking at buying a new laptop and wanted to get some opinions on processor options. I will basically only be using the computer for internet browsing and running Microsoft Office. I will probably do some occassional gaming as well but this is less of a priority. I am looking for a reliable processor that will perform well for my modest application.

The processors that I'm looking at are

Pentium Dual-core T3200 (2.0 GHz, 677 MHz FSB, 1 Mb Cache)
Pentium Dual-core T5800 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 Mb Cache)
AMD Athlon QL-60 (1.9 GHz, 3600 MHz bus speed, 1 Mb cache)
AMD Turion Dual Core RM-70 (2.0 GHz, 3600 MHz bus speed, 1 Mb cache)
AMD Turion Dual Core RM-72 (2.1 GHz, 3600 MHz bus speed, 1 Mb cache)

Questions:

Pentium vs. AMD for my application - which is best?
How is AMD's bus speed different than Pentium's FSB? Is the higher AMD speed an advantage?
Would the 2 Mb cache in the Pentium T5800 be a major advantage over the other, 1 Mb models?

 

[o1die]

If you're not gaming, not much difference between 1 mb cache or 2. The smaller cache may actually run cooler, a definate plus in laptops. My best recommendation is to use at least 2 gb of memory with vista; 4 is better, but don't pay too much of a premium for it. Laptop memory is dirt cheap at Fry's electronics when they have specials listed in their ads.

 

[mrinaldi]

I am leaning toward one of the AMD processors but am not sure yet. Has anyone had a similar application with any of these specific processors?

Also, any thoughts on 32-bit Vista versus 64-bit? Which is better for an application like mine? What are the general pros and cons of each? Is 32-bit limited to a max of 3 GB RAM? How about 64-bit?

 

[NMDante]

Check this site out:
Notebook Review

You might find the answers you're looking for there.♠

 

[ainarssems]

For the internet browsing and office it really does not matter much. Just get the cheapest one wich suits all Your other requirements. For ocasional gaming look for one that has at least half decent video card. If You give links to exact laptops You are looking at it might be easier to point You in the right dirrection.

 

[Zenthar]

Also, any thoughts on 32-bit Vista versus 64-bit? Which is better for an application like mine? What are the general pros and cons of each? Is 32-bit limited to a max of 3 GB RAM? How about 64-bit?

Vista loves RAM and to have lots of RAM, you need 64 bits. However, since this is a laptop and the price of getting >4GB of RAM is about the price of the laptop itself, the gain might not be worth it.

As for the max RAM for 64 bits OS, Microsoft put an artificial limit of ~128GB, but technically, the limit (under linux for example) would be around 16.8 million terabytes