A lot depends on what you are using it for. 64-bit is kind of useless right now for a notebook anyway, so I am with you on that. The reality is, very few applications show performance improvement in 64-bit mode, and many show a slight degradation.
But, if I were buying a notebook and a new generation that was clearly superior and generally amazing, was coming out in a few months, I'd wait if I could. While there will always be better things coming along, in this case the better thing is a lot better and is a relatively rare occurrence; the move to the next generation of processors.
I have stopped buying stuff in anticipation of the P8s, rather than buy crappy processors like Pentium 4s and Athlon 64s. Of course, if I have to I will buy current junk, but for most people that can wait, I think waiting for the P8 is a sensible thing to do, because it is such a jump up from what exists. I know a lot of people are doing just, since no one is too happy with the current junk out there, except maybe for the new Sossamans which started showing up just this last week (and only the LV version, not the ULV). But it's the same thing, why buy a Sossaman when a Woodcrest will be out soon?
Obviously, someone who needs very little from their notebook probably will not benefit much from the Merom, but then again, they probably would not even need a Centrino Duo and could get by with a bottom-feeder like the Turdion 64. So, if you need something really good, it's probably worth waiting, and if you don't, just buy an AMD based laptop and save the money. If you have to buy now though, and need the best there is, the Centrino Duo is the only way to go. It's a nice processor, but it's expensive and looking to be obsolete really soon.
[Posted by: TA152H | Date: 04/15/06 10:56:53 PM]