HP Pavilion dv7-4040sa Core i5 vs HP Pavilion DV7-3110ea i7

[Helioscentric71]

Hello,
Wonder if someone could let me know which laptop would be better a HP Pavilion DV7-3110ea or HP Pavilion dv7-4040sa. Main use will be music production (proppelerheads Reason & Record / cubase ableton live) photoshop and dreamweaver. please see specifications below

HP Pavilion DV7-3110ea

Processor Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor
- 1.6 GHz
- 2.5 GT/s DMI
- 6 MB Smart Cache
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
RAM 4 GB DDR3 (2 x 2048 MB)
Graphics card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 230M, up to 2815 MB total graphics memory with 1 GB dedicated DDR3
Screen type Widescreen LCD
Screen resolution 1600 x 900 pixels
Screen size 17.3"
Screen features LED backlighting
BrightView surface
Hard drive 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
Optical disk drive LightScribe SuperMulti DVD±RW with Double Layer Support
Memory card reader 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro or xD Picture cards
USB 4 x USB 2.0 (4th shared with eSATA port)
FireWire 1
Modem/Ethernet 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n WLAN
Bluetooth Bluetooth® wireless networking
Video interface 1 x HDMI port
1 x VGA port
Audio interface 2 x headphones-out
1 x mic-in
TV output 1 x HDMI port
1 x VGA port
Extension card slot 1 x ExpressCard/54 Slot
Sound Built-in loudspeakers
Webcam 1 x HP Pavilion webcam with integrated digital microphone
Keyboard & Mouse Full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down pad
Battery 8-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
Accessories included Power cable, AC adapter, battery
Software included Information not provided
Size 413 x 277 x 35 mm (W x D x H)
Weight 3.52 kg

or

HP Pavilion dv7-4040sa Core i5

Processor
Processor family
Intel Core i5-430M
L2 Cache (L3) 3 MB
Chipset Intel® HM55
Processor Clock Speed 2260 MHz
Disk drive
Hard disk drive partition
up to 12 GB partition for system recovery
Hard disk drive type 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
Display
Display Resolution
1600 x 900 pixels
Display diagonal 17.3 "
Memory
Maximum internal memory
< 8 DDR3 GB
Memory slots 2 user accessible memory slots
Video
Graphic adapter
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 Graphics (switchable), up to 2202 MB total graphics memory with 512 MB DDR3 dedicated
Optical Drive
Optical drive type
SATA optical drive: LightScribe SuperMulti DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Audio
Audio System
Beats sound system with integrated subwoofer
Camera
Camera included
HP TrueVision Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone (VGA low-light)
Networking
Wireless technology
802.11 b/g/n; Bluetooth® wireless networking
Operating system/software
Operating system provided
Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
Driver software for optical drive HP MediaSmart Suite, HP QuickWeb, HP Setup, HP Advisor, HP Support Assistant, HP ProtectSmart, Omnifone MusicStation, Cyberlink DVD Suite; Corel VideoStudio, Corel PaintShop Pro; Windows Live Applications; HP Games Console with hours of free game play, EasyBits Magic Desktop, Norton Online Backup (30-day trial)
Software productivity Microsoft® Works and Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 60-Day Trial Version
Bundled software Recovery partition (including possibility to recover system, applications and drivers separately), Optional re-allocation of recovery partition, Recovery CD/DVD creation tool, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2010 (60 days live update), Notebook Help & Support<BR>Microsoft® Internet Explorer, Windows® Live Messenger, Adobe® Reader, Adobe® Flash Player
Energy management
Battery type
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
Power supply type 90W AC
Connectivity
I/O ports
1 VGA port; 1 HDMI port; 1 stereo headphone-out; 1 microphone-in; 4 USB 2.0 ports (4th shared with eSATA port); 1 eSATA + USB port; 1 RJ45 ethernet port
Security
Security management description
Integrated finger print reader
Weight & dimensions
Package dimensions (W x D x H)
494 x 160 x 345 mm
Weight 3630<BR>Weight will vary by configuration g
Dimensions W x D x H 27.4 cm x 41.53 cm x 3.18 cm (min H) / 3.7 cm (max H) mm
Technical details
Energy efficiency class
ENERGY STAR® qualified configuration, EPEAT® registered where applicable/supported. See http/ for registration status by country
Colour of product Argento with Stream pattern - Brushed Aluminum
Expansion slots 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro or xD Picture cards
Chassis type Hamm 1.0
Pointing device HP Clickpad supporting Multi-Touch gestures with On/Off button

They are both available for a similar price £750 ish and seem ideal for all my applications, just don't want to spend that sort of money and not get the best product - I will also be running 2 business's via said laptop so it needs to be a sound investment

Hope someone can help

Thanks

Paul

 

[buwish]

For your use, I think that you'll be satisfied with the DV7-3110ea, as it has a superior cpu and gpu in comparison to the dv7-4040sa. If you want more suggestions, fill out the FAQ thread at the top of the forum and we can perhaps find something more fitting.