Lenovo Y410p vs. Acer Aspire V7-482PG-5842: Looking for general use/moderate gaming laptop

[mr15]

Lenovo Y410p

http/shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y410p/#techspecs

CPU: Intel Core i7-4700MQ 2.4 ghz
GPU: NVIDIA DeForce gt755m 2gb
Storage: 1 TB 5400 RPM
RAM: 8gb
Display: 14" 1600x900
Wireless card: Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230
OS: Windows 8.1
+ backlit keyboard

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Acer Aspire V7-482PG-5842

http/us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/NX.MB5AA.010

CPU: Intel core i5-4200u 1.6 ghz
GPU: GeForce gt 750m 4gb
Storage: 500 gb 5400 rpm HDD + 16 gb SSD
RAM: 8gb
Display: 14" 1920x1080
Wireless card: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (this might not be the right thing)
OS: Windows 8.1
+ backlit keyboard + touch screen


Hello. I need some advice for choosing which laptop to purchase. I'm looking for a laptop that I can use for school and as a portable computer in general, but I am also looking to use the laptop for gaming. I know that I can't play the latest games on Ultra settings with these specs, but I just want to be able to run Minecraft and some other games like Skyrim with good framerates.

Both of these laptops fit into my price range of ~$800, and, after much research, these seem to have some of the best specs/features in the price range.

What I'm asking you guys is would the Acer be able to play games almost as well as the Lenovo? The biggest drawback about the Acer, I think, is its slower processor. However, the Acer is an overall better laptop (touchscreen, portability, design, resolution, SSD), barring the fact that it has a slower CPU and slightly slower GPU.

Would the CPU on the Acer bottleneck my machine?
If the Acer has close to the same amount of gaming potential as the Lenovo, then I'd be happy to purchase the Acer. If the Acer won't be able to perform nearly as well as the lenovo, then maybe I should stick to buying the Lenovo.

Thank you for any responses

 

[jaguarskx]

The i7-4700MQ is a quad core CPU and can reach up to 3.4GHz so it is definitely not a slouch. However, the dual core i5-4200u can reach up to 2.6GHz and while it is less powerful than the i7 it will still be fine for playing games especially since the two games you mentioned do not use more than 2 cores.

The Acer has a 1080p screen which is generally nice, but if your eye sight is somewhat poor, then you may have problems looking at text on the screen without scaling up the fonts. Also when playing games at full resolution on both laptops, you will get lower performance with the Acer because the GPU needs to push more pixels with the higher resolution screen. If you were to play games at 1600x900 resolution on both laptops, the Acer will still come in 2nd to the Lenovo, but the gap in performance will not be large.

Because the Acer uses an ultra low power CPU (the i5-4200u) it will likely have better battery life compared to the Lenovo. So if you are looking for a laptop that can be used for an extended amount of time on the battery, then the Acer is probably the way to go.

Additionally, the 1920x1080 resolution screen on the Acer can mean better productivity because you will be able to see more on the screen at any given time. For example, if you need to cross reference two documents going with the 1080p screen will mean you can see more of both documents on the screen at any given time.

The Acer is around 1 pound lighter than the Lenovo so if you are going to be carrying around the laptop with you for an extended period of time, then that is something you need to take into consideration as well. For short periods of time a 5.5lbs laptop might not be a big deal. But carrying that extra 1lb throughout the day may be a drag.

 

[velo3100]

For the two games you have mentioned, the cpu in the acer is no problem. The GPU performance of the 2 are similar so that shouldn't be much of a worry.

But if you play a lot of cpu intensive games then the acer will struggle.

If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[mr15]

Thank you guys for the replies! It sounds like I'll be going with the Acer because it has mostly better features (such as the display, touchscreen, and small SSD), and the Lenovo Y410p is currently unavailable on Lenovo's website.