General Laptop Advice From An Old Pro.

[nana7739]

Hello,
I received a gift of an Acer Aspire AS7739z-4546 laptop - Intel Pentium Dual Core P6100 (2.0GHz, 3MB L3 cache), 320GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive, 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel SDRAM Memory, Used Slots: 2 x 2048MB, Intel® HD Graphics, with 128MB of dedicated system memory,Windows 7.) (Walmart deal for $350.)
For about $520 I could return this item and get an Acer As7750-6423 (2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor 2.4GHz with Turbo Boost Technology, up to 3.0GHz, 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel SDRAM Memory - Used Slots: 1 x 4096MB | 1 Slot Available 2 Slots (Total) - Upgradeable to 8GB; 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive.
Will be used for convenience and possible replacement of my 4-year old Dell Dimension E520 desktop (Intel Core 2 E6420 Duo - 4MB L2 cache, 2.13 GHZ, 1066 FSB; 500 GB harddrive, Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR@ SDRAM0) which is slowing down.
My main uses are MS Office applications, email/internet shopping, downloading & copying digital camera pics and videos, and some light gaming for the grand children.
Is the upgrade to the i5 notebook worth the difference ($170) and trouble of returning the cheaper model?

Thanks for your help.

 

[WR2]

My main uses are MS Office applications, email/internet shopping, downloading & copying digital camera pics and videos, and some light gaming for the grand children.

The current notebook will do all that you want, except maybe that last item if you're thinking about 3D type games.

$170 isn't a lot and the upgrade would be nice.
But $170 is about the cost of an Xbox 360 - which would probably impress the grand kids more - and leave the laptop free for you to use while they're over.

 

[nana7739]

Thank you so much -- I really appreciate the help!! The xbox is a really good idea. Thanks again.

 

[WR2]

Xbox is pretty handy with some internet tasks as well.
And you can run 2 (or more) player games to have the grand kids beat the pants off you.

 

[popatim]

The xbox idea is superb.
On the subject of the notebook, the i5 would give you more processing power, 20+%, over your desktop or that laptop as well as being able to play many more games thanks to the integrated hd3000 video. I don't know if you need the extra processing power or if you'd like the extra gaming ability. Xbox dont have nearly as many free games as pc do.