Hi all, I did some searching around here and elsewhere but couldn't really find anything specific. I'm having trouble deciding between mainly two laptops, and I'm open to any other suggestions as well. It will be a Christmas gift for my high school brother, who likes to game occasionally (Valve stuff like L4D and TF2, plus other stuff like the COD:MW series and GTAIV; might get some newer stuff like BF3). He'll of course be using it for school stuff too, but I figure if it's good for gaming it'll be plenty fine for Word/Powerpoint/Facebook.
These are what I've narrowed it down to:
Acer Aspire AS5755G-6823
$550 new at Newegg, includes $25 gift card = $525
• i5 2430M (2.4GHz)
• 4GB memory
• 500GB 5400RPM HDD
• nVidia GeForce GT 540M
HP Pavilion dv6-6135DX Refurbished
$530 refurb
• AMD A-Series A8-3500M (1.5GHz)
• 6GB memory
• 640GB HDD (unknown RPM)
• BD Drive (not important but cool I guess for the price)
• AMD Radeon HD 6750M
The 6750M appears to be about equal to the 540M in many tests, rarely getting beat, and actually significantly better on more intensive stuff like high-res Crysis. Any input here?
I wasn't able to find any direct comparisons between the processors, and I found mixed results for their PC Mark scores. Some general information online suggested that the A8 makes a better CPU for gaming than the i5, but I couldn't tell if this was referring to either CPU paired with a dedicated GPU or just the integrated graphics. Also, I know clock speed doesn't mean what it used to, but without knowing much about AMDs current lineup, 1.5GHz seems really slow, regardless of core count, etc. Again, any input on which processor takes the cake?
Lastly, and this is perhaps my biggest concern, does anyone have any experience with buying recertified laptops on Newegg? The only refurb product I've ever bought from them was an A/V receiver and it's worked perfectly, but I wouldn't know what to do or what costs I'd have to pay if something went wrong. From specs alone (as well as aesthetics and build quality) it seems to me that the HP is the better buy.
I've come to these boards before for help and gotten plenty of it in the past so I just wanted to run it by here first. Thanks!
These are what I've narrowed it down to:
Acer Aspire AS5755G-6823
$550 new at Newegg, includes $25 gift card = $525
• i5 2430M (2.4GHz)
• 4GB memory
• 500GB 5400RPM HDD
• nVidia GeForce GT 540M
HP Pavilion dv6-6135DX Refurbished
$530 refurb
• AMD A-Series A8-3500M (1.5GHz)
• 6GB memory
• 640GB HDD (unknown RPM)
• BD Drive (not important but cool I guess for the price)
• AMD Radeon HD 6750M
The 6750M appears to be about equal to the 540M in many tests, rarely getting beat, and actually significantly better on more intensive stuff like high-res Crysis. Any input here?
I wasn't able to find any direct comparisons between the processors, and I found mixed results for their PC Mark scores. Some general information online suggested that the A8 makes a better CPU for gaming than the i5, but I couldn't tell if this was referring to either CPU paired with a dedicated GPU or just the integrated graphics. Also, I know clock speed doesn't mean what it used to, but without knowing much about AMDs current lineup, 1.5GHz seems really slow, regardless of core count, etc. Again, any input on which processor takes the cake?
Lastly, and this is perhaps my biggest concern, does anyone have any experience with buying recertified laptops on Newegg? The only refurb product I've ever bought from them was an A/V receiver and it's worked perfectly, but I wouldn't know what to do or what costs I'd have to pay if something went wrong. From specs alone (as well as aesthetics and build quality) it seems to me that the HP is the better buy.
I've come to these boards before for help and gotten plenty of it in the past so I just wanted to run it by here first. Thanks!
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