AMD vs Intel

[mnchkin]

I'm needing a new laptop and I've been checking out the Dell Studio 15's. I found one on sale at Staples but it has an AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core mobile Processor RM-74. Is there really a difference between AMD and Intel? Most of the other laptops I have looked at had an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor.

[Neon]

I've had a couple of notebooks with AMD processors, an emachines (mobile athlon) and a Gateway (Turion). They both work great, no problems with the CPU.

The Turion X2 based notebook will likely give you considerably better graphics performance, but poorer battery lifetime versus the Core 2 Duo. However, that is a broad generalization, and a lot will depend on how Dell has configured their particular model.

Don't be afraid to seriously consider the Turion based notebooks, if you can find one with features and price that you like.