We used an Asus A6JA for testing, thanks to a loan from this early adopter of Intel's new Centrino Duo Mobile Technology. Along with an Intel Core Duo T2500 (2.00 GHz) processor, this machine also includes a 15.4" TFT display, two 512 MB DDR2-533 memory modules, and the 945PM Express chipset. ATI's high end graphics chip - the Mobility Radeon X1600 - works in tandem with 512 MB of dedicated video RAM to handle video data.

To compare the Centrino Duo to a Centrino single (older model) we selected the LG Electronics LW60 Express. This is one of the fastest 15.4" Sonoma notebooks, and also belongs in the second generation of Centrino components. LG's LW60 Express includes a Pentium M 760 (2.00 GHz) and two 512 MB DDR2 memory modules that operate in dual channel mode. To determine if the Intel Core Duo T2500 runs faster than the fastest Pentium M currently available - the Pentium M 780 (2.26 GHz) - we also conducted a handful of measurements with this processor in the LW60 as well.

HP's nx6125 represented the AMD faction, which we outfitted with a Turion 64 ML-40 and 1 GB of DDR333 memory. For those who don't already know, the integrated memory controller in the Turion 64 CPU supports neither energy saving DDR2 RAM nor faster dual-channel mode operation. This unit uses an ATI Mobility Radeon X300 integrated into the chipset, which offers sufficient performance for most standard applications.