cmh_sprint Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop and have narrowed it down to 1 with an Intel i5 -430m (2.26 GHz) processor and 1 with a AMD Phenom II Triple-Core N870 (2.3 GHz) processor. The both look comparable on paper and benchmark tests. I'm looking for any real world insight. The price difference is less than $20 for machines that are otherwise identical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Butters Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 2.3>2.26 ...amirite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 2.3>2.26 ...amirite?Yep, but looking for input in regards to heat, etc. To much BS on ther interwebz to figure out which is better so I come to the OR collective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblosser Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I5 is 4 cores, AMD is 3 cores.Real world: you won't notice any difference, assuming both machines have the same amount of RAM and comparable hard drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I5 is 4 cores, AMD is 3 cores.Real world: you won't notice any difference, assuming both machines have the same amount of RAM and comparable hard drives.Thanks. Both have 6G RAM and 640G HD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVTPilot Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Take this as friendly advice, but you're encroaching Ford/Chevy territory here. Some of us being Intel guys, others being AMD. 2.26 vs. 2.3 is splitting hairs really. I'd be just as interested in the FBS rating for the mobo for each proc. A wicked fast proc is wasted if it's gotta run through a tight little bus. Personally, I can speak well of the intel i5 here as it's what I have in my work laptop and it runs very well. I don't do much in the way of graphics, but I do a good bit in the way of VMs and multiple RDP sessions and have yet to encounter any issues with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rctaylor Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 IIRC the 430m is a dual core with hyperthreading, the AMD is tri-core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crf69 Posted March 31, 2011 Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 I5 cpu (shows four processors running)650 @ 3.20ghz4 gig ram64 bit windows 7 service pack 1thats what im on these days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted March 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2011 Take this as friendly advice, but you're encroaching Ford/Chevy territory here. Some of us being Intel guys, others being AMD. 2.26 vs. 2.3 is splitting hairs really. I'd be just as interested in the FBS rating for the mobo for each proc. A wicked fast proc is wasted if it's gotta run through a tight little bus. Personally, I can speak well of the intel i5 here as it's what I have in my work laptop and it runs very well. I don't do much in the way of graphics, but I do a good bit in the way of VMs and multiple RDP sessions and have yet to encounter any issues with it.I thought about that after I posted. Purchase made, thanks for the input from those that responded. I went with the Intel over AMD, too concerned about the heat output from the AMD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vf1000ride Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I5 cpu (shows four processors running)650 @ 3.20ghz4 gig ram64 bit windows 7 service pack 1thats what im on these daysThe I5 650 is a dual core cpu with Hyperthreading. Not a true 4 core CPU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 AMD > Intel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jporter12 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 With laptops I worry more about who made the thing than the CPU inside it. Most mfg. make a good product these days, but some are known to hold up better, and just run better even with the exact same specs. They all seems to put some bloatware on them, and some are worse than others with that as well. I'm a pretty big fan of Toshiba, and have a laptop that's over 2 years old, has seen heavy use, been in a dusty dirty environment quite a bit, it was a refurb., and has been very reliable. I did load a clean copy of Windows 7 on it, and upgrade the hard drive and RAM a year ago, and replaced the battery with a cheap ebay unit this year, but I've still spent less than $1000 on it including purchase price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVTPilot Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 ^^ +1There are some comapnies good at making laptops, and some that IMHO are very bad at making them. HP/Compaq for example...I do more side work jobs on HPs than all others combined. Lots of dead mobos and shit HDs. They have all the nice, shiny fit and finish, and have crap under the hood. On the other side, Lenovos look blah and drab, but the ones I have been around (and supported for 4 years) run like champs. At my current job we have Dell, which I haven't been a huge fan of since buying one of my own years back. However the Latitudes that we have been buying seem very reliable, and don't seem to be built as chintsy as the one I had several years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonzie Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I thought about that after I posted. Purchase made, thanks for the input from those that responded. I went with the Intel over AMD, too concerned about the heat output from the AMD.Soooo... What'd you end up getting?Linky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_silverfox Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) AMD > Intel I'd agree with that, especially when building custom PC towers. Been an AMD user for over ten years and I run nothing but those on my personal machines. They're cheaper, run just as fast (if not faster), and are easy to overclock (if you really had to). It comes in quite handy when you're editing and rendering HD video. Still unsure about AMD laptops, though. Has heat dissipation on those chips improved? I figure if it's gotten good enough to throw in a laptop then it's probably okay.With laptops I worry more about who made the thing than the CPU inside it. Most mfg. make a good product these days, but some are known to hold up better, and just run better even with the exact same specs. They all seems to put some bloatware on them, and some are worse than others with that as well. I'm a pretty big fan of Toshiba, and have a laptop that's over 2 years old, has seen heavy use, been in a dusty dirty environment quite a bit, it was a refurb., and has been very reliable. I did load a clean copy of Windows 7 on it, and upgrade the hard drive and RAM a year ago, and replaced the battery with a cheap ebay unit this year, but I've still spent less than $1000 on it including purchase price.I love my Toshibas. My current Toshiba is a netbook that I'm running Linux Mint on and it's flawless...great for those campouts at Barnes and Noble or Panera Bread. Last one I owned before that was a Portege that I bought used on eBay in high school and was my main traveling laptop halfway through college. All it needed was a quick RAM upgrade and a wireless card to keep up with the times. You realize very quickly that if you're just doing office work, e-mail, etc. having an overkill machine isn't necessary at all. Edited April 1, 2011 by the_silverfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Soooo... What'd you end up getting?Linky?I bought an HP dv7 (NIB) off of ebayi5 - 430m 2.26GHz6G RAM640G HD17.3 screenBlue-rayswitchable graphics$690 shippedHP may have a quentionable rep but this one had pretty good reviews based on my research and was in the ball park for price. If I had FU money then I would have went the Apple route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmh_sprint Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 (edited) double post...... Edited April 1, 2011 by cmh_sprint removed double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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