HM, Re: they can buy the A64 one that is faster (on most game benchmarks), lighter (8 pounds), thinner (1.7"), and cheaper ($3000)?!?!? That was my point.
But if you *really* want thin and light, the Centrino laptop from VoodooPC is 5.5lbs and 1.1" thick. Given that the video card will likely be the bottleneck in a laptop config, I doubt the performance in games would be much different between Athlon 64 1.8GHz or 2.0GHz and Centrino 1.7GHz.
HailMary, well, we do suspect that A64 laptops are cheaper to manufacture than high-end P4 ones. So the price advantage is a build-in feature.
Different thing Pentium-M. Obviously Centrino laptops are also cheaper to manufacture than P4 ones. And they are already dominating the $1500-$2500 laptop market. I.e. Centrino is also selling in the performance market as well.
The A64-M goal is to push Centrino down into $1000-$2000 segment and dominate the $2000-$4000 segment. There is no way to compete in thin and light segment, so A64 may compete only in the desktop replacement segment. You just can't get low weight and long battery life in the desktop replacement, so Centrino is not very competitive there.
A more interesting point is why would a gamer even consider a laptop for their hot rod gaming machine. The almost universal set up is a PC with the latest and greatest video card and many accessories. A premium sound system -- at least external speakers, a large display and a joy stick or other controllers are normal.
Oh yes, Don't forget the flourescent lights for the PC case. Those are a performance must.
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