Acer TravelMate 8200(Intel) vs. MSI MS-1039(AMD)

[trelarah]

Both of these systems have very similar components, and price. They are both above-average gaming notebooks, however they have one main difference. Acer's CPU is Intel, while MSI's CPU is AMD. It's duo core multi-tasking vs. 64 Bit High performance.

The specs:

Acer TravelMate 8200(Intel)

MSI MS-1039(AMD) (click BUY to configure specs to match that of the Acer model)

My question is which notebook is the better buy? The MSI one isn't out until mid-April and doesn't have reviews out either. However, it does come with a glossy screen (good for gaming & other media), and a much respected 64bit AMD Processor.

Since the notebooks are so similar, does it only come down to multi-tasking vs. 64 bit, or the weight, battery life, and glossy/matte of the screens? Or, is one company (Acer/MSI) better than the other?

[trelarah]

Originally Posted by devintohara Or, is one company (Acer/MSI) better than the other?

IF, it does come down to this. Asus also has a similar notebook V1J (Intel Duo Core) coming out in August for nearly the same price. However, Asus is known for building good notebooks.

[thefultonhow]

FWIW, the Turion isn't as power-efficient as the Core Duo, so you will probably get better battery life with the Acer.

[trelarah]

thnx TFH, that's one answer down... only a million more to go

[trelarah]

I think I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll simplify this to just two questions:

1) Which of these three systems is the best for my needs: internet, gaming, media (DVD's)

2) Why choose said system? (specifics would be great)

[thefultonhow]

They would actually both do quite well for what you're going to use them for. I don't think either one has an advantage over the other in performance -- they're both fast mobile chips with ATI X1600 graphics (although if you will lbe multitasking, the Core Duo is better at that). The MSI probably has a slightly nicer screen, and the Acer will be a better "mobile" computer (i.e. longer battery life).

The Asus does look quite nice, but it's practically coming out next century the launch date is so far away!

[trelarah]

I'm so tempted to wait for the AMD X2 Duo Core 64Bit CPU... but I don't want to wait until September

Oh the decisions to make...

[glc]

If you wait, you will never buy one. Something else will be just over the horizon.

[trelarah]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

I'll be needing a laptop for May, so I'm leaning towards the Acer thus far. I like that the MSI is cheaper and AMD 64bit. However, Acer is a better company (good parts) and at this point in time I think I'd prefer core duo multi-tasking (I like to do a lot of things at once). Plus when Vista comes out it will still be able to run fine on 32bit cpu's.

Idealy, I would like to wait for the Asus V1J, or a Turion X2 Duel Core, but they're too far off

Also, from the sites that I will be potentially buying from, they have the ACER model for $2100USD and the MSI for $1900USD, this is with the systems configured the SAME, and before taxes & shipping.

Therefore I'm only looking at approx. $200 difference.