Deciding on a laptop. Help?

[TXZN]

Between the Acer Aspire v5-552p-x440 & the Lenovo IdeaPad G505s

I'm buying a laptop for college but i'd like my laptop to have some horsepower to be able to play modern games at medium settings.

Both have the same specs as the APU goes: AMD A10-5757m (5750m, Lenovo) & AMD Radeon HD 8650g

However, they differ in ram slots, battery access, and optical drive. From what I saw through various sites and Youtube reviews, the Acer has 1 RAM slot and no removeable battery. It's also quite inconvenient in my opinion to have to take the whole bottom shell off the laptop to gain access to the HD and RAM. The Lenovo has a removable battery and a separate ram cover that can be unscrewed to reveal 2 RAM slots. The Acer doesn't have an optical cd drive, while the Lenovo does, not a big deal to me.

I'm leaning towards the Acer for its sleek, thin and light weight design (great for portability and school). Also the back-lit keyboard is a major plus. I don't know too much about RAM. There's probably not a big difference in performance when comparing 1 slot v.s. 2 slots. But I'd like the advantage, dual channel and all... unless i'm wrong...

The Lenovo I chose because it was in my price range but it has an extra RAM slot and easier access to the RAM and HD compared to the Acer.

Which do you think should I choose, or can you recommend a laptop that fits around $500?

 

[i7Baby]

Lenovo is better quality than Acer (not Asus). I'd go with it.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Unfortunately I don't know the best deals off the top of my head right off. This one used to be really good but not sure if you can still get it anywhere, check amazon or ebay maybe.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314119

Then this one would be better if you can afford it:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314383

Both of those laptops you mentioned have what is known as an APU. It is basically a CPU and GPU combined into a single piece. The first laptop I linked has the same APU, which means it will have the same CPU and graphics inside of it, but it has a 2nd graphics chip which is much faster.

The second laptop has a CPU which should be around the same performance as the ones you listed, but again has a much faster graphics chip. The CPU also consumes a good bit less power, so if you can afford it, that one is a much better system to have but its $600 so might be out of your budget.


As for between the two you listed, I would choose the Acer for sure. Several reasons why.
1. The CPU in both are similar, with one difference. the last digit in the number says if it is integrated, meaning soldered onto the motherboard of the laptop, or in a socket. The 5757 is soldered, while the 5750 is in a socket. In this case, it is better to be soldered. Soldered chips usually use a little bit less power and have a little better performance. You cannot switch the CPU for a better one later, but that is currently the fastest laptop CPU that works for that socket anyways, and likely a faster one won't be made, so you have no reason to want to change it. So it helps to have slightly lower power usage.

2. It has 8GB of RAM which will help for a few reasons.
3. It has a touch screen, while the Lenovo and others mentioned do not.
4. It appears to have an aluminum body frame, which is more stable and harder to break.
5. It simply looks better in my opinion.
6. Backlit key board.

For the RAM, it is already working in dual channel mode. 4GB of RAM is soldered onto the motherboard which is good and bad in a way. This occupies the primary channel, and an additional 4GB of RAM occupies the 2nd channel. This does have a huge impact on performance especially when you are playing games. The difference can literally be a 50% increase in the right situation of having dual channel over single channel. However, again its already in dual channel mode so no need to worry.

 

[TXZN]

Unfortunately I don't know the best deals off the top of my head right off. This one used to be really good but not sure if you can still get it anywhere, check amazon or ebay maybe.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314119

Then this one would be better if you can afford it:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834314383

Both of those laptops you mentioned have what is known as an APU. It is basically a CPU and GPU combined into a single piece. The first laptop I linked has the same APU, which means it will have the same CPU and graphics inside of it, but it has a 2nd graphics chip which is much faster.

The second laptop has a CPU which should be around the same performance as the ones you listed, but again has a much faster graphics chip. The CPU also consumes a good bit less power, so if you can afford it, that one is a much better system to have but its $600 so might be out of your budget.


As for between the two you listed, I would choose the Acer for sure. Several reasons why.
1. The CPU in both are similar, with one difference. the last digit in the number says if it is integrated, meaning soldered onto the motherboard of the laptop, or in a socket. The 5757 is soldered, while the 5750 is in a socket. In this case, it is better to be soldered. Soldered chips usually use a little bit less power and have a little better performance. You cannot switch the CPU for a better one later, but that is currently the fastest laptop CPU that works for that socket anyways, and likely a faster one won't be made, so you have no reason to want to change it. So it helps to have slightly lower power usage.

2. It has 8GB of RAM which will help for a few reasons.
3. It has a touch screen, while the Lenovo and others mentioned do not.
4. It appears to have an aluminum body frame, which is more stable and harder to break.
5. It simply looks better in my opinion.
6. Backlit key board.

For the RAM, it is already working in dual channel mode. 4GB of RAM is soldered onto the motherboard which is good and bad in a way. This occupies the primary channel, and an additional 4GB of RAM occupies the 2nd channel. This does have a huge impact on performance especially when you are playing games. The difference can literally be a 50% increase in the right situation of having dual channel over single channel. However, again its already in dual channel mode so no need to worry.

Thanks for your input IInuyasha. Both laptop you mentioned caught my eye. While the first laptop is basically out of stock everywhere, the second laptop isn't bad price wise considering the specs. Ill have to keep my eye out for that one but I agree, the Acer is winning me over. I'd still like to see some other recommendations that fit my price range. As for the Lenovo, what's your opinion about it?

 

[IInuyasha74]

The Lenovo isn't bad, but I have heard a lot of people have trouble with Lenovo based systems lately so I kinda think against it because of that. Also, it a lot like the Acer but just with worse parts. It is cheaper, but you just seem to gain a lot going with the others.