Intel Sonoma vs. AMD Turion 64

by humebudde | February 25, 2005 4:44 AM PST

I am in the market for a new laptop and was considering a laptop incorporating the new centrino platform code-named Sonoma suchs as the IBM Thinkpad T43. However, I want the laptop to have longevity in terms of being useful and effective 4-5 years from now. Considering that, 64 bit computers, 64 bit Operating systems, and 64 bit software apps seem to be the future; so i would think it wise to get a 64 bit laptop such as the anticipated Turion 64 from AMD (which will debut first half of 2005) that will run 32 bit and 64 bit software. And by that time, the Windows XP Professional x64 edition from microsoft should be ready (not longhorn). I could also wait till the first half of 2006 when Intel is expected to introduce their 64 bit laptop chips. But would it be worth the wait? Will good laptops with the AMD Tuiron 64 be hard to find? I ask because generally the bigger names in the PC business such as Dell, HP, and IBM that generally tend to make better laptops and/or have better service/support generally use Intel chips as opposed to AMD chips. So any advice about this issue would be much appreciated, thanks.

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Just you wait...

by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | February 25, 2005 4:46 AM PST

Intel made a lot of announcements this week about EM64T and more. You can get your Intel fix if you have any reservations about AMD. Our little company just acquired a pair of Compaq Athlon 64s and they are very very nice.

Bob

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Are u sure?

by humebudde | February 25, 2005 5:41 AM PST

I seached on Cnet, Intel's Website, and other tech news sites and couldn't find anything about upcoming soon-to-be released Intel mobile chips that incorporate EM64T. Intel is, however announcing that is is releasing new chips for desktops that incorporate EM64T, mabey you mixed those up. I did read that Intel planned to release 64-bit chips for notebooks in the first half of 2006. Given this, would it be better to get a Sonoma laptop now, wait for the AMD Turion 64 to come out in may/june, or wait till the first half of next year for Intel to release their 64-bit chips for laptops?

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Just you wait.

by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | February 25, 2005 7:10 AM PST

I'm drawing from developer conferences on CPUs. It's your choice to get by with 32-bit CPUs if you can. This is something you need to make a conscious decision on.

In our little company, we will not be acquiring any non-64-bit machines from here on out.

Bob

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by humebudde | February 25, 2005 3:09 PM PST

But why would none of the tech news websites (including CNET) and Intel's own website, not mention anything about soon-to-be released 64 bit chips for laptops? Is your source reliable? If so, and Intel is about to release the 64 bit mobile chip, then which chip Turion 64 or Intel's is more anticipated? Which one should be better? Thanks

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Why....

by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | February 25, 2005 10:34 PM PST

Maybe you just didn't read the right web page or maybe you are not attending seminars and conferences. (I do.)

I can't tell what would be better for you in a laptop. I do know that our little company has raised the bar to 64-bit capable only for new purchases.

Bob

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But. . . .

by humebudde | February 26, 2005 5:22 AM PST

I went back and did a comprehensive search for any inidications about a soon-to-be released 64 bit MOBILE chip from intel, and came up with NOTHING, except for tons of news and reports about intel's release of 64 bit chips for DESKTOPS and SERVERS (NOT LAPTOPS). But you seem confident that your source is reliable, so I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE it if you could give me A FEW LINKS TO WEBSITES THAT VERIFY what you?re saying. I hope u are right because I would be willing to wait a couple of months for a Intel 64 bit mobile chip, but I don't want to wait if it isn't going to be released until next year, or at least I don't think I want to wait, I might just wait for the Turion 64 from AMD targeted toward thin-and-lights. One last thing, do you know if either of these 64bit mobile chips will support PCIe (express) and Express Card? Thanks again.

Here is a list of sites that reported the release of of intel 64 bit chips; all of them said the chips were for desktops and servers, NOT LAPTOPS.

"Intel has announced five new processors for the desktop PC market"- http://news.techwhack.com/757/2202-intel-pentium-4-processor-extreme-edition/

"Intel is bringing next-generation, 64-bit computing to the desktop with the official unveiling of five new Pentium 4 chips"-
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nf/20050222/tc_nf/30611

"Intel on Tuesday detailed plans for 64-bit computing across the desktop environment"-
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=59302038

"This will be a 64-bit desktop processor"-
http://www.i4u.com/article2871.html

"Intel Corp. is getting ready to expand its 64-bit chip capabilities into new areas: the enterprise desktop and high-end Xeon-based servers."-
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1762850,00.asp

"Intel will come out with a server chip next quarter that adds 64-bit power to its current x86 line of processors."-
http://news.com.com/Intel+reveals+new+64-bit+server+chip/2100-1006_3-5160169.html

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Just you wait...

by R. Proffitt Forum moderator | February 26, 2005 6:02 AM PST

Such will be forthcoming over the next month or so as the information engines crank it out.

What you have to decide is how long you need a purchase to last or ... what is your motivation.

For us, we are beginning to make 64-bit versions of our applications. Since the Athlon 64 is here and now in laptops, that's what we use today.

Bob

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