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jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
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i just saw a laptop with the amd xp mobile processor which is the newest thing since they released their mobile athlon 4 last year

like the mobile athlon 4, the mobile athlon xp has quantispeed and this 1.4 ghz chip is called by its equivalent speed if it were a pentium 4

...so this laptop had a mobile athlon xp 1600+ and had 256 mb of sdram and 30 gb hard drive was 1700 bucks

sure, the tibook is a mac and thus infinitely better and easier to use and maintain, but the wintel folks are giving us apple users a run for our money

two months ago or so, i saw the 16.1" screen of a sony laptop and it was impressive

what do you think apple will do for mwny?
 

SilvorX

macrumors 68000
May 24, 2002
1,701
0
'Toba, Canada
in this case its not really a wintel...more like a winthlon ;) since most of the athlon lovers who i know HATE intel almost as much as u guys ;). i heard bout the mobile athlon xp processors, i think i saw a laptop the other day with one of them in it :S
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
Hey jefhatfield, what screen size did the thing have?? Video card?? Who makes it?? You know, all the info that will let people pick it apart.

As for AMD users disliking intel, that's because people that know the difference know that intel charges wayyyyy too much for their chips. You can get the top speed AMD chip for around $200, where intel charges closer to the $700 mark for their top chip.

I hope that Apple releases a speed bump for the G4 towers, something to bring all the models up to the 1GHz+ mark. I wouldn't expect any updates for the TiBooks since one happened just a short time ago. There could be another TiBook update at the next expo after NY. I also feel that we could see Jaguar released at MWNY, which could be a big part of the keynote.
 

TypeR389

macrumors member
Apr 9, 2002
80
0
Seattle
Originally posted by SilvorX
in this case its not really a wintel...more like a winthlon ;) since most of the athlon lovers who i know HATE intel almost as much as u guys ;). i heard bout the mobile athlon xp processors, i think i saw a laptop the other day with one of them in it :S

The problem with the Athlon notebooks is there is no good chipset to talk to the CPU. I get a PC notebook through work to use, and I sorta have an open license on what hardware I can choose, but the athlon notebooks are severly limited by a REALLY old chipset that limits RAm, buspeed etc. I currently am using one of those 3.5 lb super tiny notebooks with a P3 in it, and it serves my purposes for the most part, but I really would like to get an iBook, though only with a G4. The TiBook is nice, but just too big and fragile. The iBook is a sweet machine, and the new 700 Processor is temping, but throw in a G4, and maybe bump the RAM limit to 1GB and I am sold in a second...
 

AmbitiousLemon

Moderator emeritus
Nov 28, 2001
3,415
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down in Fraggle Rock
ok here is some really crappy number crunching, but its all we have to go on since jef didnt give us more stats:

back in the day i recall that a 400mhz g3 was comparable in speed to a 800mhz p3. i havent really seen good speed comparisons sincem so i typically use this to gauge things regarding pure megahertz. so we have a700mhz ibook for 1400 and a 1400 mhz p4 for 1700. considering the p3 is faster than the p4 at like megzhertz i would make the rather flimsy (flimsy since the numbers here are so arbitrary and out of date) argument that the ibook would outperform this athlon at all tasks and be considreably cheaper.

problem is my speed comparison is a bit out of date, this chip is an amd not an intel and we have no idea what the bus speed, chipset, graphics card, screen size, weight, or battery life of this machine is.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
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Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
ok here is some really crappy number crunching, but its all we have to go on since jef didnt give us more stats:

back in the day i recall that a 400mhz g3 was comparable in speed to a 800mhz p3. i havent really seen good speed comparisons sincem so i typically use this to gauge things regarding pure megahertz. so we have a700mhz ibook for 1400 and a 1400 mhz p4 for 1700. considering the p3 is faster than the p4 at like megzhertz i would make the rather flimsy (flimsy since the numbers here are so arbitrary and out of date) argument that the ibook would outperform this athlon at all tasks and be considreably cheaper.

problem is my speed comparison is a bit out of date, this chip is an amd not an intel and we have no idea what the bus speed, chipset, graphics card, screen size, weight, or battery life of this machine is.

i think the video card was 16 MB and the bus speed was 200, 233, or 266

the thing was over six pounds

battery life...we all know that in most pcs, it's very little...and to many, battery life is the single most important feature of all

and yes, it was one of those typical flimsy bodies so its not as tough as ibook and tibook

i was just amazed that amd got the mobile xp out so soon...i am starting to think amd is the competition, and not intel
 

King Cobra

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2002
5,403
0
I have also noticed that many of the supposed best PC notebooks, according to CNet, seem to have either a bulky style, small screen, limited battery life, no firewire port, or a combination of these. However, according to CNet, the Powerbook G4 (667MHz) had the battery life (5 hours, compared to 3 or 4), the firewire port, the lack of a bulky style needed for a portable computer, and the large screen.

I think Apple has done an excellent job with the design of their Powerbook and I would expect even better as more and more revisions proceed to the GHz level and beyond.
_________________

Fear the King.
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
Originally posted by TypeR389
The TiBook is nice, but just too big and fragile.

Fragile my a$$. You handle it as you would something you spent good money on ($2500+) and you will have a laptop for ages. Anyone that flings a laptop around needs to get their head examined, or has more money then brains. Would you toss a tower that you just spent that amount of money on around?? I don't think so. Would you toss around your dvd player, cd player or tv?? If you do, then you really don't care how long your investment lasts and probably have to replace the item every few months from impact damage.

Treat your computer with some respect and it will last. Treat it like a pad of paper, and I hope you have a fat wallet.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
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Originally posted by King Cobra
I have also noticed that many of the supposed best PC notebooks, according to CNet, seem to have either a bulky style, small screen, limited battery life, no firewire port, or a combination of these. However, according to CNet, the Powerbook G4 (667MHz) had the battery life (5 hours, compared to 3 or 4), the firewire port, the lack of a bulky style needed for a portable computer, and the large screen.

I think Apple has done an excellent job with the design of their Powerbook and I would expect even better as more and more revisions proceed to the GHz level and beyond.
_________________

Fear the King.

the only wintel portables i seem to be attracted to are the sub notebooks under four pounds...it is simply something apple does not offer...yet

laptop magazine's latest issue has among other things, a 10.4" inch screen wintel sub notebook for $1699 ...and i like the idea of having a fully funtional, with optical drive, laptop for out of the house uses, that weighs just over three pounds...it was one of this month's best buys

laptop magazine always likes apple portables as does mobile computing magazine

i can't wait for apple to come out with a 2.5-3.5 pound sub notebook (something with one usb, one firewire, 10.4" inch screen, and optical drive...for the traveling person)

i hope it happens:D
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
So, jefhatfield, I take it that the laptop couldn't really compete with a TiBook. Keeping processor speed numbers aside, did it have FireWire, DVI video, a 32MB Radeon 7500 GPU or better?? How about screen resolution or size??

I would still like to know which brand peecee laptop this was, so that I can check the specs for myself and rip it apart.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by AlphaTech
So, jefhatfield, I take it that the laptop couldn't really compete with a TiBook. Keeping processor speed numbers aside, did it have FireWire, DVI video, a 32MB Radeon 7500 GPU or better?? How about screen resolution or size??

I would still like to know which brand peecee laptop this was, so that I can check the specs for myself and rip it apart.

sony vaio i think

they also introduced the first laptop i have ever seen with a duron

even steve jobs likes sony:p

your tibook and harley are still the best, dude;)
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
Originally posted by jefhatfield


sony vaio i think

they also introduced the first laptop i have ever seen with a duron

even steve jobs likes sony:p

your tibook and harley are still the best, dude;)

Thanks for the info and props... ;)

If I remember properly, the slim Sony laptops that are about 3 pounds, do not have optical drives inside them. They have them inside a docking type station that they clamp onto. This also increases their thickness to over 1" as well as increasing their weight.

I will have to see about finding the one with the AMD XP processor and see what it's spec's are.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
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hey alphatech,

check out my new thread on untimate sub notebook...i stole one of your cosmetic ideas
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
let the ripping begin

Alright... I just checked the spec's and finished laughing. There is no way this thing can compete with the TiBook. MAYBE with the iBook, but that's not saying much. When the iBook gets either a speed, or chip, boost, it will leave this thing in the dust. The ONLY thing it has over the TiBook is processor speed numbers...

A quick rundown of the spec's....

Processor...1.3GHz AMD Athlon XP
Cache size: 256K (integrated on-die L2) no L3
Bus Speed: 200MHz
Memory Technology: SDRAM
Installed Memory: 256MB
Maximum Memory: 512MB
Hard drive Capacity: 30GB
It has a combo drive that can write (r and rw) at 8x, read at cds 24x and dvds at 8x (same as inside the TiBook)
Includes a floppy... big whoop
Sound Support: 3D Audio (no sound chipset listed)
Video Chipset: ATI Rage Mobility (BOTH the iBook and TiBook beat that, hands down).
Installed video memory: 8MB
Resolution: 1024x768
Display size: 14.1"
Network Support: Ethernet 10/100Mbps
Modem Speed: 56Kbps
Battery life (average): 2.0-2.5 hours
Operating system: windblows heXPee home edition (eeeww)
Color: Grey
Height: 1.9"
Width: 12.8"
Depth 10.5"
Weight: 6.7 pounds
Limited Warranty: 1 year (no mention of extending it or cost to extend it, but I didn't look too deep there)

All in all, I'd say Apple has nothing to fear from that brick.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
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the mobile athlon xp is amd's answer to intel's mobile pentium 4 and i think amd has the edge when they put ddr ram with the mobile athlon xp in the future like they probably will

still, the 800 tibook is the most advanced laptop on the planet, that is until apple comes out with something faster like a 1 ghz tibook...could you imagine that? it would be too cool and if it had ddr ram and 64 mb of video ram? i predict that for sometime this year.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
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hey alphatech, now that portables have 64 mb of video ram, when is 128 mb of vieo ram coming?

i am chomping at the bit:p
 

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
I'd say that when ATI release a mobile Radeon with 128MB if memory (DDR of course) we will see it make it's way into laptops. It only took a month or so for the mobile Radeon 7500/7800 chips to make their way into laptops, so I would predict (putting on my Amazing Kreskin turbin) in less then a year, we will have laptops with 128MB of DDR Vram on the market. In about 1 year we should see Apple laptops with the same Vram amounts, and cards.

How's that??? :D
 

AmbitiousLemon

Moderator emeritus
Nov 28, 2001
3,415
3
down in Fraggle Rock
o wow, until alpha looked up the specs i was thinking it may not be a bad portable (for a pc) but damn those are some wimpy stats for a pc. thanks for bringing them to us alpha.

also i really think its unfair to compare it to the Ti. i mean the Ti can take on nearly any peecee desktop. we already know our top end can beat em. but i would say the new ibook's could easily take this thing on. probably blow it out of the water in fact. nice to see apple's bottom of the line computer can still clean up. :D
 

TypeR389

macrumors member
Apr 9, 2002
80
0
Seattle
Originally posted by AlphaTech


Fragile my a$$. You handle it as you would something you spent good money on ($2500+) and you will have a laptop for ages. Anyone that flings a laptop around needs to get their head examined, or has more money then brains.

I am not saying I don't take care of my machine, but when you travel ALL the time, give your laptop to security scanners at the airport, have to bike with it in your backpack (yes, I have a sleeve) it will invariably get subjected to stress and strain. The laptop that I have now is a gateway(yea, i know it has a cow on it, but my company prefers us to use them)

All I am saying is I wish the TiBook was as rugged as the iBook is. My pc subnotebook has some of the same issues as the TiBook, key marks on the screen, a case (magnesium I think) that marks easily etc. One thing to note though, I actually think the screen lid on my notebook is a tad sturdier than on the TiBook, it is just a tad thicker, maybe 1mm or so, but you have to press MUCH harder to get the screen to discolor...

I love the form factor though, 12" screen, .9" thick (optical drive in dock, but I never carry it with me)750Piii,20GB drive, 640MB ram, 1 usb, 1 firewire, 1 type2 pccard 10/100 and modem, vga out etc. My only bean with it is short batterylife with standard battery(double battery does give honest 4 hours) and having to run windows... The cpu is fine for me, but I did buy this a year ago. For me, out a 667G4 in the iBook, leave everything else as is to save cost and I am there, in a heartbeat. I will add a little weigt and form factor for having the optical drive with me, and better batt life...
 

eyelikeart

Moderator emeritus
Jan 2, 2001
11,897
1
Metairie, LA
Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
o wow, until alpha looked up the specs i was thinking it may not be a bad portable (for a pc) but damn those are some wimpy stats for a pc. thanks for bringing them to us alpha.

damn...after u guys going round for round on the browsers poll...I am a bit surprised to see that...he he he...:D

ps: sorry for not "contributing somethine relevant" to the thread...I just wanted to make a political statement...of sorts...;)
 

AmbitiousLemon

Moderator emeritus
Nov 28, 2001
3,415
3
down in Fraggle Rock
Originally posted by eyelikeart
damn...after u guys going round for round on the browsers poll...I am a bit surprised to see that...he he he...:D

well id like to say i dont hold grudges and im just a great guy like that (i try to be but...) and this is the old alpha that i remember from the good old days... but its more likley that all this morphine is making me happy, im a little dizzy and nauseous but i feel good :D :D :D
 

eyelikeart

Moderator emeritus
Jan 2, 2001
11,897
1
Metairie, LA
Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon


well id like to say i dont hold grudges and im just a great guy like that (i try to be but...) and this is the old alpha that i remember from the good old days... but its more likley that all this morphine is making me happy, im a little dizzy and nauseous but i feel good :D :D :D

very true...he's got a reputation to uphold u know...he cannot go soft...people would hate him...he he he...

anyway...back to the topic...sorry for being hypocritical for a moment here...;)
 
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