Laptop Comparison

[hneal87]

Which of these is the best notebook?
I am a univeristy student, i will be using mostly for that and some gaming so should run decently for games (starcraft2!)

1)HP 15.6" Laptop (DV6-2174CA)

-2010 Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
-640GB 5400RPM
-4GB DDR3
-Nvidia GeForce GT 230M (1gb dedicated, Up To 2815MB)
-6-Cell


2) Dell Studio 15

-2010 Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
-500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
- 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
-ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470, 1GB
- 9-cell

Theres only a $50 price difference between the two... (#1 $50 more)
I think #1 has a better graphics card? and thats why its better but let me et me know what you think!

THANKS!

 

[Maziar]

GT 230M is faster than a 5470,but none of them will handle SC2 on max settings.
You will be fine with low settings(maybe some on medium)

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

Hi there,

Both will be effective for the activities you described. The biggest pro for the second one is the better battery life. Will your laptop be mostly plugged in?

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[hneal87]

2 things... first @ Isabella, Yes during games it will be plugged in- otherwise in classes it wont be plugged in...
second thing... I've found a third system:
#3) Gateway 15.6''
-Intel Core i3-330M
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, 1 GB
-6 Cell

So only reason i thought this might be in is because the graphics card is better... but is it worth lowering to an Core i3?

 

[scottiemedic]

Well, is gaming worth what you are going to lose in battery life while in classes? That's the big question.

If it's games you want, #3. If it's the ability to last in class and lower game settings, #2.

Thirdly, for #1 or #3, can you order a 9 cell, either through the company or aftermarket? then that evens the playing field!

 

[Maziar]

2 things... first @ Isabella, Yes during games it will be plugged in- otherwise in classes it wont be plugged in...
second thing... I've found a third system:
#3) Gateway 15.6''
-Intel Core i3-330M
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650, 1 GB
-6 Cell

So only reason i thought this might be in is because the graphics card is better... but is it worth lowering to an Core i3?

Definitely go for this one,HD 5650 is mile ahead of GT 230M/HD 5470M in games

 

[holl0w]

Hi there hneal, I agree with Maziar on this. HD5650 is mile ahead of GT 230M and HD5470, If you are more concerned about gaming you should go for the Gateway laptop. But be aware that you are going to lose a lot of processing power. The good thing is that you will get a longer battery life though.
Cheers,
holl0w

 

[hneal87]

humm heres all of them again with the prices... now let me know which is best (i added one more choice)
1) Dell Studio XPS
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB ** CHANGED TO ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730 - 1GB
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
9-cell
@$1300

2) Dell Studio 15
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470, 1GB
500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
9-cell
@$1139

3) HP 15.6" Laptop (DV6-2174CA) Futureshop
Intel Core i7-720QM
4GB DDR3 (Expandable To 8192MB)
Nvidia GeForce GT 230M, 1GB
640GB 5400RPM (I dont care about 640> 500 gb)
6-cell
@$1199

4)Gateway 15.6" Laptop (NV5909H) - Black Futureshop
Intel Core i3-330M
4GB DDR3 RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
640GB 5400RPM
6-cell
@$750 **Reason i put this in is because gfx card? not so sure about the processor there tho let me know in ur posts

Sooo out of the 4 let me know the best... I am mostly going to use at university (so decent battery) but i also play games so gfx card needs to be good, and that is what i am mostly confused about which of these basically has the best gfx card... of course overall performace to price matters

 

[Maziar]

I would go for the first one because of having the best CPU,LCD and VGA(5650M and 4670M perform pretty much the same,with the exception that 5650M supports DX11)

 

[hneal87]

HEY update: i dont know why but dell changed their laptop #1 from above the studio xps has the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730 - 1GB graphics card... is that better or worse?

 

[Maziar]

That's better then ,5730M is faster than a 4670M

 

[hneal87]

Best answer selected by hneal87.

 

[hneal87]

alrighty good stuff i think i will be buying the studio xps then... thanks!

 

[Maziar]

you are welcome

 

[pimpasaurus]

you might want to check out the lenovo y560. it has the same specs as the studio xps and can be had for less than $1000. Although.. the studio xps probably has better build quality.