help with processor

[retman88]

I am getting a new notebook soon, and I need a little help with my processor and graphics card. First of all, as I'm looking at prices for processors, and I notice a big difference in a pentium 4 670, 3.8 GHz with 2 MB cache, and pentium 4 570J, 3.8 GHz with 1MB cache. What is cache and will 2MB of it be necessary for a computer used mostly for videos and gaming (and school related projects). Also, what is the best graphics card that can go into a laptop (without regard to price).

Also, I've heard alienware is the best computer company out their. Should I buy from alienware or is their another company that is as good or better.

 

[Trotter]

Alienware is overpriced for what you get, IMHO.

If you're looking at gaming, look more toward an AMD CPU. The Turions are really good.

HP has a decent notebook right now, the L2000. It is a tribute to Lance Armstrong, and uses the AMD Turion CPU. It starts at $899, and comes with a Radeon Xpress 200M vid card.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ivestrong&series_name=L2000_series&catLevel=2

Of course you can customize it to your heart's content, if you want to pay for it.

 

[pc_boy]

you have to get this:

http://ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=126

 

[cakeMate]

I know the high clock frequency sounds really attractive, but for someone purchasing a laptop, he has to give up some of that. Why? Because a high performance CPU generates tons of heat. Especially if you are a laptop gamer, when you start to play 3D games very soon you will hear the laptop's fan starts screaming, and if you put your hand there you will feel the burning. This is the situation for my IBM thinkpad I bought last year, and my computer uses Pentium M 1.8GHz. Therefore if you buy a poorly designed laptop with non-mobile CPU, you will suffer a lot by puting the computer on the stove. Also due to the laptop's limitation, mobile CPU's clock frequency are usually about 2.1GHz, that 3.8GHz is way too high for a laptop. The graphic card I'm using is ATI Mobility Fire GL T2 bought last summer, which is the best one I could get from the new thinkpad series. Remember you can't compare a laptop's performance with a desktop, and the laptop's performance in games is ALWAYS lower than a desktop. Go get a desktop if you want really good graphics.

 

[Trotter]

Turion = mobile CPU.

It is AMD's new low voltage 64-bit mobile processor.

 

[pc_boy]

The graphic card I'm using is ATI Mobility Fire GL T2 bought last summer, which is the best one I could get from the new thinkpad series.

isn't that a CAD 3D rendering video card?