AmdTurion64X2
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NEC throws down some LaVie laptop love
We suppose it's a bit of a stretch to call buying a Turion-based laptop "sticking it to The Man" now that AMD is clearly becoming "The Man" in their own right, but we're sure you can find some other excuse here to get your Turion on. NEC's new Turion 64 X2 laptops manage 15.4-inch 1,280 x 800 displays, ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 integrated graphics and dual-layer DVD burning across the board. There's also Firewire, four USB 2.0 ports, a PC card slot, multi-card reader, gigabit Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g WiFi. The Lavie L line tops out with the 210,000 Yen (around $1,819 USD) LL590/GG, which includes a 100GB HDD, 768MB of RAM (2GB max) and WMCE '05, powered by an AirTV external TV tuner. Two other lower-end configurations are available, along with a 125,000 Yen ($1,082) build-to-order LaVie G type L option. The biggest downside of all this seems to be the lame 1.9 hour battery life, though the 1.5-inches of thickness and 6.8 pound heft are close contenders. Maybe we'll keep our anti-The Man tendencies in check for the time being.
BenQ's Joybook P52 15.4-incher with DVB-T
The latest from BenQ is a well-specced AMD Turion-based laptop with plenty to love. Beyond the large range of dual-core Turion 64 X2 processors, the Joybook P52 features an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 card with 512MB of memory, up to 2GB of RAM, a 120GB SATA HDD, dual-layer DVD burning and DVI-D in/out. There's four USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11a/b/g WiFi for connectivity, along with a 5-in-1 card reader. The 15.4-inch screen manages a 1280 x 800 resolution and 16ms response times, and there's an included DVB-T tuner to round it all off. The main thing the computer seems to lack is the built-in webcams of its contemporaries, but at 1.2-inches thick and 5.6 pounds, it seems BenQ did a pretty job with this one all the same. No word on price or availability, but hopefully those AMD chips point to budget-friendly leanings.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Acer drops Turion 64 X2-based Aspire 5100
Now that those new AMD Turion 64 X2 chips are out and about, Acer is looking to put them to good use and has crammed some of that 64-bit, dual core goodness into their new Aspire 5100 laptop series. There are plenty of specs to go around: a 15.4-inch display with 16ms response, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 option, gigabit Ethernet, DVI-D, four USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard and PC card slots (though it could be "or," specs aren't clear), and S-Video out. To go along with its new chipset, the 5100 packs a new ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 integrated graphics card, that boasts a 33 percent performance boost over its predecessor, and 512MB of video RAM (128MB of that dedicated). You can get a SATA drive up to 160GB in capacity, and beyond the "DVD super-multi double layer drive" there's even an option for HD DVD upon availability. We're not sure about the price to spec breakdown, but the series starts at a comfortable $899, and should be available now.[Via MobileWhack]
