Turion vs. Centrino (srry for another thread!)

[noteef]

hi,

I know there was just a thread about this issue but mine is kinda different. I am looking for a notebook that will sufficiently run video editing applications at a good speed. Ive been looking at both amd and intel based systems but dont know what is best for video editing. To me, it seems like an amd system will have a longer future without upgrading, since the new windows will be coming out next year. Since video editing relies a lot on both on cpu and memory, i am not too sure of what to pick. I am looking at the Acer Ferrari 4000 and the Acer TravelMate 8100, the ferrari is a turion, and the 8100 is centrino...

http://us.acer.com/acerpanam/page4.do?dau22.oid=10478&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&CountryISOCtxParam=US&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&crc=923069118
http://us.acer.com/acerpanam/page4.do?dau22.oid=7985&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&CountryISOCtxParam=US&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&crc=2424625818

This is my graduation gift and a big investment for my parents, grandparents, and other relatives, so i just want to make the best choice possible.
Thanks a lot!!!

[Rampax]

I actually started the other thread and I had the same dilemma, and it was also my grad gift. Basically they are both the same machine. I had a chance to try both machines before I made my decision.

The Ferrari was my choice because it provided better performance (overall) on gaming and multimedia content creation. The graphics board on the Ferrari ran about 200mhz faster (I forgot the actual number), despite the fact that both machines have the same board. Also, according to benchmark tests from various review sites, generally the Ferrari had the better overall score. The Ferrari also runs cooler and has some hidden features (like the wi-fi speedbooster) that they don't tell you one the spec sheet. Also, when running on battery, I found that the battery lasted longer than what was on the spec sheet (3 hours, 21 mins when surfing the net; not wi-fi), although it is still not as long as what was on the Travelmate. The Ferrari will actually outlast the Travelmate when using it for simple applications (liek word) due to some new technology (I don't know what it is) in the turion.

The Travelmate is the faster machine when it comes to cpu and memory benchmarks. This is due to the fact that the Travelmate has more cache, and it has faster ram. If I had one complaint about the Ferrari, it would be that they socketed 333mhz ram on it, rather than 400mhz. However, the Travelmate suffers from a weaker graphics board. The Travelmate runs a lot warmer even with the fan constantly on (both machines fans are constantly on), but you can always turn the fan off both machines and it will turn on when the machine become overly warm. It also has high definition audio, whereas the Ferrari doesn't, although I don't like onboard sound and would recommend buying an external sound card.

Now for the little things. The clicking on the keyboard on the Ferrari is slightly softer and the keys have a softer feel to it. Both keyboards have a 5 degree curve on it and (from my experience) is very comfortable. The trackpad on both machines have a good design, allowing for tapping clicks, and scrolling on the right and bottom sides. It also has corner tapping which you can program, and many other settings that can come in handy depending on how you use it. The only problem is that it gets warm on the trackpad and on the left side.

Overall I would suggest to go with the Ferrari 4000. For me the choice came down to price. The difference between the two machines was about $400 CND. With the money I saved, I bought an external sound card, which in turn gave me better sound quality than the Travelmate and I bought some DDR 400 ram. If you rely on onboard sound, the Travelmate would give you better quality. For games, the Ferrari will be the better choice due to a more powerful graphics card, and with the DDR 400 ram that I got, memory speed for both machines are comparable. For me, the AMD chips always felt faster than Intel chips. Intel chips are also more expensive than the AMD chips.