Entry level notebook - Intel or AMD? Need help fast

[nikola2004mkd]

I want to buy entry level notebook but I couldn’t decide what platform to choose (Intel of AMD) and to buy. I was searching the web for more information and test on entry level notebook from the last generation but I couldn’t find any, so I have few questions.

What do you think for the following platform?
Intel Celeron M 4** processor, Intel 940GML chipset + 512MB 533MHz DDR2 RAM?
Is it enough for running office and internet applications, playing movies some time and playing strategy games like “Age of Empire 3”, “WOW”? Can this platform to score more than 1250 points on 3Dmark03?

How this platform compares to:
AMD Sempron processor + NVIDIA GeForce Go 6100/6150 or ATI Radeon Express 1100/1150 + 512MB 533MHz DDR2 RAM?

Which of these two platforms is faster and consumes less energy?

Is there any noticeable gain in performance if I add another 512MB RAM (1GB in total)?

Is it true that on notebook, you have to change battery every year even if you keep notebook always connected on AC power, because the battery after that year will be so week that could not last more than 10-15min?

 

[sepffuzzball]

Well, the way I see it, the AMD notebook seems to have a better GPU, albeit still not a very powerful one. At least it'd be able to play games without you having to tear your eyes out of their sockets.

Semprons seem a tad bit faster than Celerons in real-world use (I work in a computer store all day), but it's definitely not saying much.

Personally, I'd go for the AMD if there's not price difference because of the chipset involved. The go 6100 will be sweeter than the Intel chipset.

 

[killernotebooks]

Get the Sempron (the short version of the correct answer)

 

[HardWareBoss]

What's your price range?