Sorry AMD/Welcome Intel

[cdru]

I did it and I almost feel dirty. For years I was an AMD fan. I think my last Pentium processor was a Pentium-90 I got as a high school graduation gift. Ever since, it's been AMD all the way with a K2, and then 3 or 4 Athlon processors ending with my current system (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=33340&highlight=2800), a Athlon XP 2800+. I was always happy with the performance and the price-performance ratio was always excellent. AMD was the underdog in the CPU race and I never minded sticking it to the establishment by not going with Intel.

My computer that I won is still doing great, but it was time I upgraded. I'm starting to do more and more work where it would be nice to have something mobile, so I started looking into laptops. I knew I wanted something with dual cores or 64-bit support, or preferably both with the future upgradability in mind. So it was really between the Turion 64 X2, Core Duo, and Core 2 Duo.

I found several laptops in my price range that had what I was looking for at a minimum: XP MCE, 1GB ram, 60+GB hard drive, 15" screen. The AMD based laptops came in $50-100 less then the Intel-based ones, but that was after signifant rebates so the actual up front costs were more.

After a bunch of comparisons, I narrowed it down to two models I was interested in. The AMD laptop would be the Acer 5102WLMI (http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&context=&keyword=5102WLMI&searchSection=All&go.x=26&go.y=13) and the Intel would be the Inspiron e1505 (http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/entnb_e1505?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs). The Acer had the benifits of 2x the hard drive space, integrated webcam, and memory card reader, but it also had the lesser processor and a higher up front cost. The Dell had the option for either the Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor.

So after weighing all my options, I ended up going with the Dell e1505. Here's the final specs:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5500 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™
60GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Audio
Dell Wireless 1390b/g (54Mbps)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
Total: $803 after instant discounts

It's not the fastest, but I think it will be more then adequet for some time to come. I wish I could have more hard drive space, but it wasn't in the budget and it can always be added later. I probably could have waited for a better deal to come along, but I had several trips in mid-October that I wanted a laptop on if I was definitely going to get one.

I'm sorry AMD. No hard feelings. There was nothing that you could have done. I just went with the most bang for the buck and the Core 2 Duo is a more or less new processor design while yours is several years old. Something can be said for stability and tried-and-true design, but in the end it came down to I thought the Dell was the better deal for me. I hope that we can work together in the future.

[DonLandis]

CDRU- I'm sure you tested that machine but I can tell you the ones using the core 2 Duo at 1.83 Ghz. are real snappy. If you plan to work multiple applications I would suggest you consider the 2Gb upgrade or the core 2 will not run like it should. I was told by Dell that the memory is very expensive due to it's dual capability. I don't fully understand this but it is pricey compared to other laptop memory. Did you look at the price of the 4Gb upgrade. That is insane!

Also, it appears that the benchmarks done are running about 40% faster with this Core 2 Duo as opposed to the Athlon T64? not sure the number but it is similar in cost specs.

You certainly got a machine a whole lot lower cost than the one I bought, but I wanted to be sure what I got would last me for quite a few years in the video business I do.

[cdru]

CDRU- I'm sure you tested that machine but I can tell you the ones using the core 2 Duo at 1.83 Ghz. are real snappy. If you plan to work multiple applications I would suggest you consider the 2Gb upgrade or the core 2 will not run like it should. I was told by Dell that the memory is very expensive due to it's dual capability. I don't fully understand this but it is pricey compared to other laptop memory. Did you look at the price of the 4Gb upgrade. That is insane!I actually went with the C2D 1.66. It was an extra $50 to go up to the T5600 (1.88GHz/2MB cache) and $125 for the T7400 (2.0GHz/4MB cache). While obviously I wanted as fast as I could get, I couldn't justify the $125 for the T7400 and the performance increase between the T5600 and T5500 was marginal enough that I went with the cheaper.

My model laptop has a max of 2GB of memory. Standard was 512 but I upgraded it to 1GB (2-512MB PC4200 SODIMMS) for $65. 2GB was an extra $250 over standard which again put it out of my price range. Generic 1GB SODIMMS can be found for around $100/GB so I can always upgrade later. You can mix and match sizes as well although it's best to keep them paired the same.

Your laptop comes standard with more expensive PC5300 memory plus it's dual channel. Production is also very limited on 2GB SODIMMS. So put those all together and that's why you get the $1500+ memory upgrade. Wait 6 months and I bet the price is much lower.

Also, it appears that the benchmarks done are running about 40% faster with this Core 2 Duo as opposed to the Athlon T64? not sure the number but it is similar in cost specs.Benchmarking is difficult anymore because there are so many variations of CPUs and creating a common test bed is difficult. Also coming up with an accurate test is difficult as there are so many applications. Computing pi to 2 million digits is mathmatically challenging, but puts a very different type of load on a processor then what ripping a DVD would do. More generic benchmarks like SysMark give a better picture, but how do you compare multiple processors of dissimilar speeds? Generally speaking though the C2D appear to run faster with less power then the TuX2 counterparts.

You certainly got a machine a whole lot lower cost than the one I bought, but I wanted to be sure what I got would last me for quite a few years in the video business I do.Hopefully they both last a long time. I'm mainly doing web work or other programming with regular "office" type activities. I'll probably be encoding movies as well, but not to the extent that you will be.

[DonLandis]

Yes, I had to consider that when I'm on the road working in the evening, I may need to do e-mail work and a render change in the background using Vegas. I won't have time to spare and everything wioll need to be done in a few hours in the evening. Now, I often have to do this with my laptop and then set the alarm to wake me up at 3AM to do an upload to the server. That's why it is important for me to get the rendering done as fast as possible while not hampering my e-mail replys. I've even carried two laptops when work got really busy just before a trip. I'd be digitizing video on one machine to an outboard USB drive on one machine and preparing a presentation video on another that I needed to show the next morning. At home I typically work 5 CPU's with projects throughout the day. I get one set up rendering, digitize 3-9 hours of footage on another and be preparing a DVD on another. Lots of my work is 5 minutes of adjustments followed by 1-3 hours of render time. On the road, not quite as intense but a good laptopm will certainl;y pay its high price with one or two emergencies.

Hey, I just heard that our new Laptops are being banned by Quantas Airlines due to battery explosion. Heard anything about that?

Off topic but in that same news flash it said California has outlawed a driver holding a cell phone while driving, except if it is a Nextel. What the heck is that about? Does Arnold use Nextel? Nextel will be outlawed by drivers in 2011. Ity becomes a moving violation like speeding now to touch a cell phone while behind the wheel.

[cdru]

Hey, I just heard that our new Laptops are being banned by Quantas Airlines due to battery explosion. Heard anything about that?More info here (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2162942/dell-laptops-welcome-qantas). Short answer, they aren't banned, they just can't be ran off of batteries on Quantas. The battery has to be removed or the contacts taped over. My guess is that it's a lot like liquids on airplanes. A single instance (or in case of the battery recall very few) batteries were causing problems so the airlines have a knee jerk reaction that it's a huge problem. Wait a month and it won't be an issue.

I know the few times that I've flown I've only been able to open my screen once in coach. There just isn't enough room to open a 14" (let alone larger) screen in a coach class seat and be at a decent viewing angle. The one time that I could open it was when I was flying on a 300 passenger plane with 15 people and I sat in an exit row.

Off topic but in that same news flash it said California has outlawed a driver holding a cell phone while driving, except if it is a Nextel. What the heck is that about? Does Arnold use Nextel? Nextel will be outlawed by drivers in 2011. Ity becomes a moving violation like speeding now to touch a cell phone while behind the wheel.It doesn't specifically exempt Nextel until 2011, it exempts push-to-talk type phones (read: Nextel) until 2011.

[P Smith]

Drifting offtopic ... removing sell phones from our hands defintly is NOT enough - driving to work this morning I followed other nice car ( new SAAB ?) in middle lane - the man pushed his brake so many times at 50 mph and I saw NO cars at front - man ! when I decied to pass him on right lane I saw him peacefully talking using HANDFREE cell phone. Arnold did the law with huge whole - we are will suffer from that ! I see it now. :(.

[DonLandis]

It depends on the airline- I used to fly delta all the time and they cram an extra row or two by squeezing the legroom. I switched to SouthWest 2 years ago thanks to Delta screwing me over on skymiles reimbursement, and discovered the extra legroom, just enough for me to use my older style 15 " square screen without trouble. I think the new 12.1 inch widescreen of my new Dell will make it even easier. One of the reviews said there is enough room to open it up, with the seat in from fully reclined and still have room for coffee cup. In part this is really what I wanted with the smaller machine. For technical production reasons I often travel with a small 17" LCD screen or a DLP projector. If I get really tired of using the 12" screen or want to watch a DVD like at home, I can hook up the projector in the hotel room assuming I can find a white wall to, wait... I carry 36" foamcore boards in the van for reflector boards. I may just have a mobile Home theater! :)

[cdru]

Dell had originally estimated a ship date of 10/12. I was hoping it was going to come sooner as I was leaving on a week trip that day and wanted to take my new toy to play with. It looks like it shipped (or was at least readied to be picked up) yesterday so it might get here 9 days ahead of schedule. Yippie.

[DonLandis]

Same here! Mine was scheduled to ship on the 5th but I got an e-mail on Friday saying it shipped but the tracking would not be ready until today. Now I have to scramble because, arriving early will have it coming to my office when I'm traveling. Hope UPS doesn't do their usual bone head, return to sender if you don't pick it up in 2 days. I try to call to hold it at the center but UPS employees don't understand that and ignore those requests often. Everytime I go there to pick up there is 3 or 4 people complaining about the same thing. You'd think they would eventually realize their error.

[cdru]

You might put a note on the door that asks the driver to just hold it for pickup. I've done that once before without issue. Or if you have a trustworth neighbor, ask to have it delivered to them for them to sign for it.

Or you could always leave it on the doorstep. I'm sure someone would "look out" for a large Dell box on someone's doorstep. :)

[DonLandis]

UPS Note arrived today but being away I missed the delivery. Fortunately the UPS center now stays open until 8PM so I drove over there and picked it up this evening. I won't have much time to configure it until the weekend, however. Got an e-mail from Dell that my small DLP projector was shipped today, but at the same time I received a notice from DHL they attempted to deliver it??? DELL is working faster than the speed of e-mail it appears.:) I should be done with this project tomorrow in time to receive the DHL 2nd delivery.

[cdru]

UPS delivered my laptop yesterday afternoon. It shipped Sunday from Nashville, delivered yesterday afternoon, and Dell notified me last night that it shipped Sunday. Way to keep on top of things. :)

I played around with a little but not a whole lot. It took a little over 3 hours for Norton Ghost to image/burn the 3-DVD backup set so that I could blow away the complete system. Vista was put on by about 12:30 AM so that I could play around with it before going back to XP-MCE.

I really like the 15.4" WS. I don't know if it's because of it being a widescreen or what, but it looks quite a bit larger then a 15" monitor. The keyboard is also large enough that my fat fingers feel comfortable and it doesn't feel like I'm going to hit several buttons when I type.

Now all I have to do is find an affordable bluetooth mouse that I like. I'd like the Microsoft Intellisense mouse, but new it's nearly $100. Ebay might be my friend.

[DonLandis]

Since I'll be traveling by air alot with mine, I'll be sticking to the tethered Targus USB mouse with the rollup cord. I found it was alot less hassle and no batteries. The BT battery consumption will get old fast whebn you forget to shut it off. Been there done that.

I know how you feel with your new wide screen. I have an older HP that is 15.4" wide screen and it does appear bigger. Speaking of bigger screens. My Dell projector arrived today and when I need a bigger screen, I can go really big! Or watch the DVD's with a 10 ft display as long as I have a big enough wall in my hotel room. Right now I am working with it in a close up mode and a 30" computer display. Nice!

The good thing about waiting so long to upgrade the laptop is it is such a big shift into the future.
But it doesn't have everything- Here's what I'm missing:
1. Serial Port. But I have a USB to serial port adapter cable I'll need to install the driver for.
2. Compact Flash memory card. But I have an EXPRESS card on order that will handle that. It will most likely be the only Express card expansion I will need so it is planned to be stored in the computer.

Need advice-

I have always used the AVG antivirus software on all my computers. This one came with a 15 month subscription to McAfee internet security package updates. So I installed it to see how it goes. What do you think about this? Is McAfee a PIA, like Norton's stuff? Let me know what I'm in for with this product.

[cdru]

Since I'll be traveling by air alot with mine, I'll be sticking to the tethered Targus USB mouse with the rollup cord. I found it was alot less hassle and no batteries. The BT battery consumption will get old fast whebn you forget to shut it off. Been there done that.Battery life is a downside, however I have more or less the same potential for problem with my wireless Intellimouse and batteries typically last 3+ months.

1. Serial Port. But I have a USB to serial port adapter cable I'll need to install the driver for.What on earth do you still use a legacy serial port for?

I have always used the AVG antivirus software on all my computers. This one came with a 15 month subscription to McAfee internet security package updates. So I installed it to see how it goes. What do you think about this? Is McAfee a PIA, like Norton's stuff? Let me know what I'm in for with this product.I actually prefer Norton's (v9, Corporate Edition IIRC) over any of the other $$$ antivirus software. I've never had a good experience with McAfees. Many times their AV gets bundled with their security software and it causes all sorts of problems so I just steer clear of them anymore. Right now I have the free AVG and I'm happy for the most part although its UI isn't as refined as the others. My laptop came with a free 90-day trial to PC-Cillian which promptly was deleted when I reloaded my laptop.

[DonLandis]

Serial control- Nothing for amateur world devices except the MX-800 remote control programmer that I use in my home theater. Also, there are a number of edit control systems and deck controls that use RS422 which is converted to RS232 in software for computer interface. Not that I would use this new laptop to control my linear edit suite but the computer that does has 4 RS-232 ports. 3 for VCR controls and one for the edit jog, shuttle wheel. Legacy never means obsolete when it comes to productivity.
But if I edit efficiently with the laptop it would certainly use the Contour ShuttlePRO which is USB for hard drive AVI files and DV 1394 deck control. I also have a box that, among other tasks, converts the 1394 control functions to RS422 for these analog decks, but this box runs about $2000. I only have one for single betacam VCR control when editing from modern system digital editing to analog tape output / input.