buying a laptop... amd vs intel

[Ravenous Enemy]

hey - I don't know that much about tech kinda stuff but I was hoping someone could help me with their superior knowledge of this area.
I'm lookong to buy a laptop, and I've found two that I like.
They are almost identical, except one had and INTEL CENTRINO 1.7GHz processor, and the other has an AMD Athlon 64 3400+ processor (i think I got that right...).

Which one would you go for and why ... ie which is best?

I've heard that the AMD is more "futureproof" because it supports 64 bit software, but when is this kind of software likely to be available?
What about actual processor frequencies - I take it the AMD will be more like 2.0GHz, right?
I greatly appreciate any help or advice.

 

[Firedwarf]

Weighing clockspeeds isn't usually an accurate way of comparing two totally different processors. I'm guessing the AMD processor will outperform the Intel one, but I think the Centrino might be more battery efficient? What sort of stuff will you be doing? Unless you're doing really CPU-intensive work, I'd just get the Intel one because it's probably a lot cheaper.

 

[hypocrisy86]

For power and bits go for the AMD when the Windows Longhorn which is a 64-bit operating system comes out, you can use it on your laptop.

 

[NAD]

AMD v. Intel thread

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

Thanks for the advice.
The two are the same price, but yes the Centrino is much better on battery life.
(apparently the Centrino isn't a prossesor, it's just a bundle, the 'M' is the prosessor)
I'll be doing quite a lot of creating music, with Cubase etc which I know can take quite a lot of prosessor power.
Any Idea when Windows 'LongHorn' will be out?

 

[Abhorsen]

Centrino processors are the finest on the planet right now IMHO. Longhorn won't be out till 2006 at the earliest, and it's from MonsterShaft, which means it'll be buggier than a Mummy movie with Brendan Frasier at the start. I'd go with the Centrino. Not that there is anything wrong with AMD mind you, but the Centrino is the more impressive chip design, as it was conjured specifically as a laptop chip, hence the better battery life and integration with wireless connectivity 80211b/g cards.

 

[DE]

Centrinos aren't even processors. Centrino laptops use P4-Ms, and have crazy gadgets like integrated WiFi and whatnot.

 

[Arch]

Go for AMD, because they take less wattage and run cooler than Pentium 4s.