Suggestions on notebook

[James Kramer]

On 3/5/06, Mark J. Dulcey <mark at buttery.org> wrote:
>
>
> I have a Compaq V2000Z with the Turion 64. It works well with Linux for
> the most part, but the wireless networking requires the use of
> ndiswrapper; so far as I know, there is no native Linux driver for it.
> The wired networking, USB, and memory card reader work straight out of
> the box with Ubuntu. I haven't yet tried the FireWire interface. Getting
> acceptable performance from the video requires installation of the
> proprietary ATI driver.
>
> This machine uses the Radeon XPress 200M, which is integrated on the
> motherboard, and very slow for 3D gaming under either Linux or Windows
> (mine is set up to dual-boot), but fine for everything else. So far as I
> can tell, the dv5000z (the one with the Turion 64) is only available
> with the ATI graphics; the NVidia graphics chip is used in the
> Intel-based variant. However, there is an option for dedicated graphics
> memory (my machine only offers shared memory), which should improve
> graphics performance (and also compute performance when running
> graphics-heavy applications); it's only $25 extra, and includes the
> memory card reader and FireWire port as a bonus, so I'd recommend
> springing for it. It probably still won't match the graphics performance
> of the NVidia graphics chip that is an option with the dv5000t (the
> Intel-based version), though.
>
> By the way, the Compaq V5000z is pretty much the same machine as the HP
> dv5000z, with different cosmetics and a different menu of options
> available. The HP version may also have a nicer keyboard; the Compaq is
> a bit less expensive.
>
> The Turion 64 is a good performer, and runs 64-bit software quite well.
> On the other hand, it can't quite match the battery life of Intel
> Centrino systems, and the new Core Duo should significantly outperform
> it running 32-bit software. (But no 64-bit support at all; for that, you
> have to wait for Intel's next generation of notebook chips, and by then,
>   there should be a dual-core Turion 64 as well.)
>


Thanks for the information.  I will help to focus my research efforts. I can
take a little time to decide, but my Tohsiba Tecra 8100 has lost a key and
it is becoming increasingly aggravating to type on it.  It appears that I
would be happy with the HP, Compaq or IBM.  I don't do much gaming although
I use 3D graphics for modeling so I will select the dedicated memory.  I can
easily get by with 32 bit, but 64 bits sounds appealing to my inner geek
side. The price of new notebooks is becoming more affordable so it should be
fun hunting.  I am certain that soon after I make the purchase, Toshiba will
come out with their cell processor line of notebooks using graphics drivers
derived from Playstation 3.
Thanks again everyone,
Jay
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