Question:
dilemma
Hey, can someone help me with this dilemma? I have the choice between two laptops. One: MSI M677 & the other: Toshiba Satellite A100-405.
Where is the dilemma?
The MSI one has a Turion X2 TL52 (1.6Ghz) =64bit + 100 GB HDD + integrated webcam + carrying bag + 3 hours of battery life
& the Toshiba has a Core Duo T2050 (1.6 Ghz) =32 bit + 160 GB HDD + 2 hours of battery life
For the rest they both have 1GB DDR2 RAM & 256 MB dedicated Geforce Go 7600.
The Toshiba is a bit cheaper, but I'm afraid is less good for gaming and windows vista will probably not be as smooth as the MSI because vista will be optimised for 64bit procs. However the 160 GB HDD in the Toshiba may compensate for the performance loss?
I don't know which one is suited best for my needs, I'm planning on gaming quite a lot with my new system, also reading ebooks and studying, but I want a laptop because of the portability (I don't want a desktop anymore so don't tell me to buy that instead :) ). Hmm, which one would you choose?
Answer:
Re: dilemma
The Core Duo will outperform the Turion X2, in general. So it depends on whether you intend to use the 64-bit edition of Vista or not.
Answer:
Re: dilemma
Are you sure? Can you give me some statistics/benchmarks? It's the T2050 I'm talking about.. & I actually thought the Turion X2 would perform better with 64bit Vista (and application of course) than the T2050 on Vista 32.
Oh and another thing I found out: the Toshiba has a 160Gb 4200 RPM HDD whereas the MSI has a 100 Gb 5400 RPM HDD. Does this make lots of difference too gaming-wise and multi-tasking?
Which system will be able to perform the best in general, multi-tasking in optimal conditions (Turion with 64bit Vista or T2050 with 32bit Vista)?
Also, I'm not sure, but it could be that the 7600 is underclocked on the Toshiba, whereas I'm sure that's not the case with the MSI.
Answer:
Re: dilemma
The Core Duo and Turion X2 that you have stated, should perform about the same. Jetstar is right that generally Core Duo performs better, but the Core Duo in this case is slightly slower in clock speed and has a smaller FSB at 533 MHz. If your just doing normal multi-tasking, with a few different programs open, then they should performa about the same.
The slower hard disk in the Toshiba will slow it down when loading games. 5400 RPM has become the average speed in notebooks for hard disks these days. What graphics does the MSI have? If it has the same performing graphics as the Toshiba, go for the MSI. It is a better package overall. More battery life, carry case, and a faster hard disk. Also has a 64-bit processor, although that won't make an immediate difference.
Answer:
Re: dilemma
They're both 1.6 Ghz. But okay if you say so, I will go for the MSI. It seemed like the best buy anyway. And they both have a 7600 Geforce Go with 256MB dedicated.
I did hear something about Vista has TurboCache standard enabled with all graphic cards even if the card itself is not intended to have this. Any truth in this? It would be cool to have this option as I'm interested in playing Crysis when it comes out & this can maybe make some difference too.
I'm also a bit worried about the durability of these laptops, but that's something no one can give an answer to anyway. I hope it lasts 3-4 years at the very least (without overclocking).
Answer:
Re: dilemma
Don't you have other options? The FAQ might help.
Answer:
Re: dilemma
Nope, I can only buy in this specific store and those are my best chances :). Thanks anyway!
So does anyone know about this TurboCache feature in Vista?