The new Acer's are looking pretty nice.

PCMag's review noted that whiel the screen was very nice, it wasn't 'glossy' and probably not the best choice for graphics oriented tasks. Dont' know if I believe 'em. They like Dell's screen and I think it sucks.

I'd go for a 7200rpm drive (it'll cost more, but be worth it). Love that webcam on there!

i took a look at one in the store and it is a glossy screen--but disappointed with the resolution- is 1280 x 800--

This is the one I was referring to (you'll see the comment about it being 'matte' half way down):

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1907155,00.asp

I am sure the res on this one is very good (1600xsomething)

Nice looking machine.

I bought an Acer Ferarri last year (precursor to the new dual core travelmates). The screen kind of sucks for graphics- it's kind of dull (I was used to a Mac). I'm selling my Acer and just bought a configured Sony Vaio FE with the same specs as the Acer Travelmate 8204 above (15.4 screen, dual core intel 2.0, 256 dedicated video memory, one chip 1G RAM which i will upgrade to 2Gs, etc- can even get a built in camera, but it doesn't swivel like the Acer's). It should be delivered within the next two weeks. It's slightly cheaper the way I configured it, and the screen is WAY better- brighter, crisper, etc. Check out the link:
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/Computers/Notebooks/FE/specifications.html

Okay - I've been doing some research. Try to hold off on buying if you can. the Current DUO is basically two 32-bit chips crammed together. The next generation chip - release date September will be two 64-bit chips thus 4 times the speed + it will work with new 64 bit applications. Better is to wait till December 2006 - that is release date for Windows VISTA. At that time new machines will be out with chips designed for the new operating system. Its kind of like buying a new really fancy VCR when DVD players will be out by Christmas.

I don't think 64-bit = twice as fast as 32-bit. 64 bit only has an effect if the software is 64 bit. I.e. you can run 64 bit Windows, but if you are using ACAD 2006, Rhino 3, Max 7, you will notice a minimal speed increase from 32-64 bit (I hear some programs do have minor unexpected increases when run in a 64 bit environment). If the next gen or Rhino, Max etc are 64 bit, then it would be sweet, but as for now, probably little change. Am I right in this?

Is there an AMD dual core laptop out yet?

"thus 4 times the speed"

defintely misread something there. 64 bit doesn't even remotely translate to an automatic speedup of any kind, much less a simple 2x or 4x or whatever. It just doesn't work that way.

the main advantage of 64 bit is being able to address more than 4GB of memory. the additional registers can enable faster computing in SOME kinds of opterations (~20% improvement in select, very specific cases), but only if the Operating System and application are programmed for it, and the program features the types of operations that can benefit.

the OS we already (mostly) have (xp-64). Also some 32 bit programs see minor benefit from running in a 64 bit environment, mostly due to OS improvements

the applications will take a while. cad, 3d, and graphics applications are obscenely complicated programming challenges - we still have several years before the software fully catches up to the hardware.

core duo is a pretty significant improvement on the older pentium M. it's not going to be massively outdated anytime soon just because it doesn't have x86-64 extensions.

FOG: AMD dual core laptop chips sometime this summer. some manufactures have stuffed an X2 into huge, unwieldy laptop cases already, however.

dont' forget, you can always 'wait' for something better. They'll have faster chips, better hardware, etc., etc. if you keep waiting.

as for screens, Sony has the best I've seen, they just cost a bundle more than the Dell's (that's only due to the coupons, that I guess have slowed down although I've stopped looking long ago)

I was told that Vista will run like it's supposed to (whatever that means) on the dual core sony. Were they full of sh*t? I signed up for the beta version of Vista (no idea when they're shipping it though). Should I wait and get a dual core 64 bit machine even though most of the software I'll be using won't catch up for a couple of years?

I posted the wrong link before for the FE series: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_FE_Series&Dept=computers

I'm working on a Sony laptop and I have to say, the screen is really great. Overall quality has improved quite a bit as well on the Sony's. I swore I would never buy another but got sucked in by the screen, so far I've been very happy with it.

You probably already know this, but buying direct from Sony will cost you several hundred more. I wish I HAD waited the couple months to buy a laptop, dual core would have been nice, even if they are 32 bit.

So another slightly OT question brought up by this thread, so without a 64 bit windows I will not be able to address more than 2gbs? Anyone using the Windows 64 that's out?

You have to becareful with Windows 64 and networking. I built a PC for my friend with Dual Opterons (64 bit) and we got Windows 64. Luckily (sort of) before we installed it, I realized that 64 bit isn't compatible with a lot of the network software that we run here. So now we have a copy of Windows and you can't return it. If anyone needs it, let me know. It's never been installed. I think the 64 limit is 4 GB. Don't get caught up in the marketing hype of 64 bit. Just because the number is bigger does not mean performance increases for all applications. Find out if it's right for you. That's why they stopped calling chips by their clock speed. I.e. the Athlon 3400+. My Opterons are called 244s. They only have a clock speed of 1.8 GHz, but bench in like 3.06GHz Xeons. People were getting confused by all the numbers. Just make sure it's the hardware for what you need. You don't take a Porche in the mountains and a Landrover to the racetrack.

closo: marketing, mostly. vista will run like it's supposed to on just about anything, but you might need a semi-decent graphics card to run the 3d GUI features. Hardware isn't really designed for an OS...it's the other way around, actually. Vista certainly won't run any better on a sony than any other contemporary machines.

I've never liked the sony glossy screens. I've used one a few times and I always wind up annoyed with glare, or, I get the feeling that there's something funky going on with the colors. The last one might just be because I'm used to normal screens, though.

FOG: 32 bit operating systems have a limit of 4GB addressable memory. (2^32 = 4.2 billion, i.e. a memory address that is 32 bits long can only refer to 4.2 billion unique locations (or 4 GB).

the way it works with applications is actually much more complicated than this, but here's a simple explanation: the windows memory scheduler divides this potential 4GB into two partitions: one 2GB for the windows kernal, and one 2GB for applications. So while 32bit windows can address 4GB of memory, applications are only "allowed" to take up 2GB.

This can be adjusted in some operating systems to 1Gb for the kernal and 3GB for applications using the /3GB switch.

and finally, 32 bit applications are allowed to address up to 4GB in 64bit windows. True 64 bit applications have limits in the TerraBytes.

manamana- thanks for your response. i think my question wasn't clear- i'm concerned whether the vista os is optomized for 32 bit processors or whether it's better to wait. i know it's not about which brand of machine- the only reason i'm interested in the sony is because i prefer sony's screen to acer's and those are the only two lightweight (around 6lbs), 15.4" screen, dual cores with up to 256 dedicated video memory that i know of. so more specifically my question is this- what is the difference between running vista on a 32 bit processor vs the 64 bit processor it was designed for, and does that even matter considering the programs will take a couple of years to catch up?

ah, sorry.

there will be both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of vista. MS claims there will be no difference other than the ability to run 64 bit programs. how true that will be nobody really knows yet.

The way I would look at it is this: the first vista release is 10 months away. Give them the usual 10 months - 1year to get the kinks worked out, and (in my opinion) we've got almost 2 years (at least) before vista is a better alternative to XP as a workstatation platform. (it took at least till SP1 before XP equaled win2k [for most people])

Depending on how often you upgrade your computer, in 2 years you might be looking at a whole new computer anyway. also handy that that's about when 64 bit applications will start becoming viable.

Nice advice - thanks for the corrections. IT IS MAKING ME REALLY WANT TO BUY A NEW LAPTOP!!!! I'm just trying to convince myself to wait a few months........ .. . . .. for financial reasons.

One question about the sony - What do you mean by dedicated memory? I went to the sony store a few weeks ago and they said that it was onboard video card - not a stand alone one - the guy at the store admitted that this was not as good for graphic applications. Is this true? Cause I really like the look of the FE and it wasn't ridiculously more expensive than the other brands for DUO.

Nice advice - thanks for the corrections. IT IS MAKING ME REALLY WANT TO BUY A NEW LAPTOP!!!! I'm just trying to convince myself to wait a few months........ .. . . .. for financial reasons.

One question about the sony - What do you mean by dedicated memory? I went to the sony store a few weeks ago and they said that it was onboard video card - not a stand alone one - the guy at the store admitted that this was not as good for graphic applications. Is this true? Cause I really like the look of the FE and it wasn't ridiculously more expensive than the other brands for DUO.

Nice advice - thanks for the corrections. IT IS MAKING ME REALLY WANT TO BUY A NEW LAPTOP!!!! I'm just trying to convince myself to wait a few months........ .. . . .. for financial reasons.

One question about the sony - What do you mean by dedicated memory? I went to the sony store a few weeks ago and they said that it was onboard video card - not a stand alone one - the guy at the store admitted that this was not as good for graphic applications. Is this true? Cause I really like the look of the FE and it wasn't ridiculously more expensive than the other brands for DUO.

Nice advice - thanks for the corrections. IT IS MAKING ME REALLY WANT TO BUY A NEW LAPTOP!!!! I'm just trying to convince myself to wait a few months........ .. . . .. for financial reasons.

One question about the sony - What do you mean by dedicated memory? I went to the sony store a few weeks ago and they said that it was onboard video card - not a stand alone one - the guy at the store admitted that this was not as good for graphic applications. Is this true? Cause I really like the look of the FE and it wasn't ridiculously more expensive than the other brands for DUO.

Boxx tech makes good machines.

http://www.boxxtech.com/products/1400.asp

There we go! See there is a dual core amd laptop out there. For what it's worth I have a friend who swears by his goboxx. Not too easy to cart around, but an actual workstation replacement.

I think desktop replacement laptops are kind of silly these days, for designers at least. Rendering is pretty much the only thing you'd need that kind of cpu power for...Is anybody really rendering on the go?

you can get lightweight (sub 6lbs) core duo based workstation notebooks with good graphics cards and good battery life for half the cost of that boxx.

take the money you saved and get a no-frills dual opteron 265 system for rendering. need to render on the go? find a wifi hotspot and remote login to the desktop to start your render. renders much faster and you actually have a notebook you can use as a notebook.

manamana- thanks for the all the helpful info.

g-bot- the NVIDIA GeForce 7400 option has 256 dedicated, not shared video memory- at least, that's what they told me. i think it's $75 more than the standard integrated option.

sorry, to answer your question about video memory-
my understanding is that they are just different words describing the same thing. i think. please correct me if i'm wrong.
dedicated = stand alone
integrated = shared/onboard