HP Pavilion dv6z-7000 v. Asus K55VD-DB51

arachidamia

Honorable
Oct 15, 2012
1
0
10,510
O Wise Panel,

My beloved college computer (an HP Pavilion from 2005) recently died (well, mostly died, but after 7 years it isn't really worth trying to Miracle Max it) and, due to my job, I quite quickly need a replacement.

After a solid weekend of research, opinion-taking, and scrounging for deals, I had decided on a customized HP Pavilion dv6z-7000. It was mere moments before ordering that I foolishly came across the Asus K55VD-DB51 that, at list price, would be out of my price range but, due to current deal, falls right under it.

Now, rather than smugly congratulating myself on an adult purchase well made, I am huddled in a corner, weeping over a netbook, seeking your help.

Can I escape my Hamlet-esque indecision, taking into account my love of quality and saving money, and abject hatred of black/brown color schemes (the Asus)?


The specs are as follows:

HP Pavilion dv6z-7000 (customized)
AMD Quad-Core A10-4600M Accelerated Processor (3.2GHz/2.3GHz, 4MB L2 Cache)
6GB 1600MHz DDR3 System Memory (max 16GB)
AMD Radeon(TM) HD 7600 Series Discrete-Class Graphics
750GB 7200RPM HDD
15.6" display, 1366x768

Asus K55VB-DB51
Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz Processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz, 3GB Smart Cache)
8GB DDR3 SDRAM (max 8GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M Graphics with 2GB GDDR3
750GB 5400RPM HDD
15.6" display, 1366x768

Intended Use

Watching movies, listening to music. I have heard disappointing things about the Asus speakers - not sure if that applies to this model; my old HP was pretty reliable sound-wise (especially in comparison to the college laptops around me).

Very light gaming, and simple video editing (not HD video currently, and approximately 4 minute projects at a time)

Basic computing (for which I'm sure either computer would serve me well)

The Pavilion is approx $600, the Asus approx $700. Which would you choose in my place? Which do you feel is the better deal?


I have relied on the council this community has given to others in order to reach my decision thus far; I would greatly appreciate your aid in making my final choice.

Thanks ever,

Anna
 

airanp

Honorable
Aug 8, 2012
142
0
10,660


For basic computing and listening to music, I would definately go with the dv6z. It's beats audio alone is enough to make me go with it if that were one of the reasons I was getting a laptop. If you were to throw in 8Gb of 1600Mhz ram in there to take advantage of dual channel memory the 7660g in the dv6z is stronger than the dedicated GT 610m for your light gaming. I've recently come into the lenovo z585 with the a10-4600m with the 7660g and I am running wow on ultra, and torchlight 2 maxed out with vsynch on smoothly so don't let anyone try and disuade you with comments about dedicated graphics always being superior to integrated when refering to the trinity APU's.