eMachine M5310 (CPU core inquiry) / widescreen laptops

[lightningbaron]

Does anyone know which core (Thoroughbred or Barton) the eMachine M5310 is built on?
http://www.emachines.com/products/produ ... ines_M5310

The laptop does have an attractive price at approximately $1200 USD.

I have been considering a widescreen laptop from Compaq X1000 series with Intel Centrino or Toshiba P25 series with Intel Pentium 4 (Hyper Threading).

The Toshiba P25 has a nice 17" widescreen display and resolution, but at 9.9lbs, this is more of a desktop replacement, comes with Windows XP Professional, lowest end model is $1800 USD before sales tax.

The Compaq X1000 series is my second choice and can be customized when ordering online, comes with Windows XP Home (option for Windows XP Professional), it's under 7lbs like the eMachine M5310. When customized, I'm expected to spend $1800 USD before sales tax.

The eMachine 5310 not flexible in configuration, the only unanswered question is the core, comes with Windows XP Home, the retail price is $1200 USD, if I order from eMachine directly, I only pay $40 in shipping. If odering from Best Buy, I gotta pay NYC sales tax at 8.625% and then wait for $150 MIR. Probably I may order from eMachine directly?

Any comments, feedback or additional information is appreciated. Thank you.

[Ian]

What are you going to use the laptop for? Are you more concerned with performance or portability? What size of screen are you looking for? What kind of weight?

[Ian]

Does anyone know which core (Thoroughbred or Barton) the eMachine M5310 is built on?

I checked AMD's website and its not really clear. I'd email eMachines and see what size L2 cache the CPU has. 256k (Tbred) or 512k (Barton).

Since its a 2400+, I'm betting its a Tbred.

[lightningbaron]

I like a balance between portability and performance, but I think any laptop up 7 lbs with battery is acceptable.

Hoping to get 2-3 years out of it.

I spend a lot of time in spreadsheets with many columns on my job.

It will be used for both personal and business, but when it comes to work, I'm dealing with MS Office, MS SQL Server, Lotus Notes, etc... In terms of personal use, probably MP3 encoding and playback, occasional DVD movie.

I am not looking for a desktop replacement. All 3 models I considered will have a baseline of 512MB RAM. The only negative I see on the eMachine is the memory sharing architecture with main system memory and video memory.

Presently, I am using an IBM ThinkPad T23.

Thank you guys again for any feedback, input or comments!

[Winterwolf1964]

Yes, the M5310 is based upon the Barton core...per info from AMD. The following is from their technical support department:

"Unlike their desktop-counterparts, the 2400+ XP-M is a Barton core."


Also, you can get one cheaper from www.tigerdirect.com

Hope this helps!!! Drop a line Lightning, if you need anything else.

Kevin