Acer Aspire 5740 models, how to choose?

[Ikkyu]

Hi all,

I am planning to purchase a new laptop, basically for home use, with a fair bit of gaming thrown in.

After going through several threads and doing a fair bit of research I am quite sold on the Acer Aspire 5740 line, one good example is: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115733

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium ; 64-bit version; Intel® Core™ i5-430M Processor (3MB L2 cache, 2.26GHz); 4GB (2/2) DDR3 1066 SDRAM; 500GB hard drive; integrated Super-Multi drive; 5-in-1 card reader; Acer® CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768) TFT display; ATI Radeon™ HD 5650 graphics; 802.11b/g/n WLAN, gigabit LAN, V.92 modem, webcam; one-year limited warranty

However, as I am living in China, I have been looking for ways to get it in the local market in Shanghai (or even Hong Kong), and I have seen that the 5740 line has several configurations to choose from.

So, my question is the following:

-Is it worth it to upgrade the CPU to any of these models?

i5 520M
i5 540M
i7 620M

I know that the Acer site in the US does not give such option, but the Chinese site says models with those are available here. Please bear in mind that price, noise and heat are definitely important for me, but power consumption is not. So, how much should the upgrade add to the price? Is it going to get hotter/noisier? Are there going to be other issues?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
How much are those CPU upgrade going to cost you ?

 

[Ikkyu]

Thanks!

That's exactly the problem, I don't know. Mainly because at this point I am planning to go to Hong Kong to get it. Laptops are much higher price in continental China than what they are in the US. For a comparison, the 799 USD model in Newegg can be found for around 900 USD in the mainland (by the way, are there taxes or something not included in the newegg price?)

So, with this, my concern is basically noise and heat, more than money. About that, I will worry later

 

[WR2]

(by the way, are there taxes or something not included in the newegg price?)

There could be taxes depending on where live. NewEgg has offices and warehouse in California so a California resident would pay about $66 in taxes, plus the shipping charge. The NewEgg shopping cart will calculate if, and what, taxes are owed.

I don't think you'd see a large performance increase choosing a dual core CPU other than i5 430M.
From the Passmark CPU benchmarks:

i3 330M @ 2.13GHz = 2029
i3 350M @ 2.27GHz = 2045
i5 430M @ 2.27GHz = 2402 **a wrong score? 2102 more likely
i5 520M @ 2.40GHz = 2254
i5 540M @ 2.53GHz = 2274
i7 620M @ 2.67GHz = 2578
i7 720QM @ 1.60GHz = 3246
Desktop i3 530 @ 2.93GHz = 2677

Other benchmarks: i5 430M - i5 520M - i5 540M - i7 620M - i7 720QM

 

[Ikkyu]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I think I am going to go for the i5 430, then.

 

[Ikkyu]

Best answer selected by Ikkyu.