First things first, AMD Turion X2 is only a notebook processor and not a desktop one. Do not mistake it along with the lines of Intel nomenclature wherein they have core 2 duo's for both the desktop and notebook platforms. Ofcourse the core 2 duos on both platforms are not the same, but so are the X2. Benchmarks prove it for themselves how the Intel counterparts beats the hell out of the AMD counterparts but when it come to notebooks, there are a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration.
To compare the AMD's offering to the notebook segment v/s Intel's, AMD leaves you wanting for more. The Yonah and Merom offer better performance over the AMD's offering. But is that all one should consider while getting a laptop? Intel restricts use of its own chipset along with their processors. The chipsets come at a premium price along with the processors. A mobile core 2 duo processor like T7200 costs 294$, add to it the chipset costs and the centrino branding things get expensive and the price tag of a Centrino branded laptop increases by leaps and bounds.
So, if you consider for alternatives- AMD offers effective, affordable and cost efficient options. With their Turion X2 range of processors, they only cater to the mainstream laptop customers. At present they do not have any LV and ULV offerings. A midway silicon from the Turion range like TL-52 costs around 200$. The chipsets offered from ATi and nVidia for the same are better than ever before. Not only they are on par with Intel to keep the power consumption low, they cost less and give far better onboard graphics options. They are not for gaming agreed but you can bet they will run Vista in all its glory. Something which cannot be said about onboard gma950 on Intel. Along with the nVidia and ATi chipsets, you get their own purevideo and AVIVO technology for at-present only h.264 video decoding. As we move towards HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, it would be a good thing to have.
If you want all your money's worth, you will always consider the options. Core 2 duos based laptops are out but they cost a arm and leg too. The cheapest core 2 duo laptop would atleast set you back in India by 70k with onboard graphics. Not many need so much firepower in their laptops. AMD's offerings are an option too, if you can live with it. You wont see them cost more than 50-55k even with their Turion X2 offerings. So, they sure are an option worth considering.
With the AMD-ATi merger of sorts, things do look bright in the future. Both are working on a new notebook platform codenamed Yokohama which is all set to release in 4Q 2006. That would be something to look out for along with SantaRosa in 1Q 2007.