Solved! Gateway NV57H26U vs. Asus K53TA

[bebe123abc]

I'm picking up one of these from Best Buy today

Gateway NV57H26U Laptop 15.6inch
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor
2.3GHz (with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz)
4GB DDR3
500GBS SATA (5400 rpm)
Intel HD Graphics 3000
128MB (dedicated)
5.7 lbs.
$480

ASUS K53TA-BBR6 15.6inch
AMD quad-core A6-3400M
1.4GHz
4GB DDR3 (5400 rpm)
500GB
AMD Radeon HD 6720G2 graphics
5.7 lbs.
$450

I will mostly use my laptop for word processing and internet browsing. I will be watching a lot of online tv shows and movies (hulu, megavideo, etc.) so I want a laptop that will be able to stream HD/online videos seamlessly and be able to run, without freezing, with a lot of tabs open(25+ with atleast 7 of them containing videos).
The Gateway has a more powerful processor but the Asus has a much stronger graphics card so I'm not sure which one to pick. I know I will only be doing light gaming with the Sims 3 and Sims Medieval but I want a laptop that has a good chance of being able to handle Sims 4 when it comes out. I don't mind playing on low/medium settings.

Is it likely that the Gateway's graphics card will be able to support Sims 4 when it comes out?

I am not sure of how strong a processor I really need to handle tasks such as internet browsing and online/HD videos, and if the i5 2410 on the gateway is overkill. Will the A6 also handle these tasks with ease?

Will the Asus be able to handle 20+ tabs in firefox with videos loading in about 7 of them on average?

Will I see much of a difference when running and starting up programs like Microsoft Office or Firefox, or running Malware/AntiVirus Scans between the processors?

 

[DrThrax123]

The ASUS K53TA-BBR6 is totally what you should choose. It may seem to have a low amount of processing speed, but it is a quad core, and it would be faster then the i5, and you can OC it if you want, making it even faster. This Laptop is also fairly good for gaming, but the problem is, games like SC2 who only support Dual Core processors, would lag you a lot.

The Gateway's graphics card will be able to handle Sims 4, but i doubt it would handle it on High (I know you don't mind playing on Low graphics, but the Asus is better and cheaper, go for that one ).

The Asus's is 100% sure to run it on High graphics, because the 6720G2 will can handle new DirectX 10-11 Games with no problem.

The Asus's processor is new, and its much better then the i5, as the i5 is a dual core that can go to maximum 2.9 GHz, and the A6 is a Quad Core that goes to 1.4 GHz with the ability to OC it, making it go up to 2.4 GHz

The A6 can Handle lots of tabs, no problem. but if ur going for Speed on the internet, go for the i5, cause it loads about 2 seconds faster, but the A6 loads Really demanding processes faster then the i5.

Difference as i said would be about 2 seconds loading time, that's all.

 

[Pyree]

Don't even need any thinking. Asus is your choice here.

For everyday tasks like watching movies, viewing pictures, listening music, web browsing (web browsing with many tabs is actually bound by RAM more than CPU speed), text editing... you wouldn't notice any difference. But the ASUS is cheaper, IMO have much better reputation, can play games better and possibly better battery life because of the APU.

Running antivirus and starting window require HDD I/O and bound by HDD speed. I suggest you put the $30 you save by buying the ASUS, save another $100 or so and get yourself a 60GB ssd.

 

[garrick]

The Asus is a good choice, it can run most games on low settings like COD4 or WoW just fine. For what you would use your laptop for the A6 3400m is just fine though you may want to get an additional 4gb of ram as that will help speed up the graphics a bit if you're going to be using the IGP or if you run crossfire.

 

[Gabitzu32]

The asu graphics card runs BF 3 on hight at 38-40 fps(on benchmark)