John, Intel makes the Celeron processors.  I'm sure that what you're asking
is whether you should get a computer with a Celeron, AMD K6 or Pentium III.

I guess the question focuses on your budget.  If you have the money to
spend, a Pentium III-based notebook is the most powerful laptop that you can
buy.  Of course, you'll find it's also the most expensive.  Next on the list
is the Celeron, followed by the AMD K6 processor.

If your aim is to do simple things, like word processing, sending email,
that sort of thing, then a K6 processor will work just fine.  My Compaq
Presario 1675 has a K6-2 360 and works very well for those kind of tasks.

If you plan on doing much involving graphics and other multimedia, I would
look to a fast Celeron or a Pentium III.  The AMD processor just isn't
powerful enough.  My laptop has a DVD drive and the video is noticeably
choppy because the processor just isn't fast enough.

I suspect that the Celeron processor, say a 600MHz one, is probably
sufficient for almost anything short of a system that is to be used as a
desktop replacement.  The Celerons run reasonably cool and are less
expensive than the Pentium IIIs.  They are also better performers than the
AMD processors.  You'll probably find that a lot of the major vendors are
doing almost anything they can to sell laptops in that performance range
since they are overstocked and the market is soft.

I don't know of any company that makes a laptop based on the Athlon or
Thunderbird processors from AMD, but if there are, I'd be leery since those
processors run extremely hot and cooling seems like it would be a big issue.

Sanyo and GVC account for most of the laptops that are sold.  But that
doesn't mean that they're all the same.  If a vendor contracts with one of
them to build a system, that vendor generally provides much of the
engineering and design, then the manufacturer builds the laptop to the
vendor's specs.  So even though Dell, Gateway and Compaq may all use the
same manufacturer to build their laptops, you'll find that the computers are
very different simply because the manufacturer is simply building what the
vendor asked for.

As far as I know, Sony and IBM either build their own or use their own
contractor that nobody else uses.

Drew Dunn
The NOSPIN Group

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Deddy" <[log in to unmask]>

Hello,
   I am considering purchasing a laptop computer and I want to know what the
pros & cons are to buying a laptop with a Celeron chip Vs Intel or AMD.  I
have heard that it is better to purchase the laptop with the Intel or AMD
CPU
as opposed to the Celeron CPU.  I would like to know the reasons why one is
better than the other or if they are equal.
   Also, are all laptop computers made in Thailand by one or two
manufactures
for all of the different companies such as; Dell, Gateway, Compaq, Sony,
etc.?
   Thank you for your time and information.

                         PCBUILD's List Owner's:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                       Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>