Need help choosing between my laptop options

shanepaw

Distinguished
Apr 10, 2011
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18,510
Hi guys,

I am currently looking to replace my Aspire V5-552G since its battery is becoming unreliable and has been dying in and out for me. I have done my research and have narrowed down my options between these laptops that I will be listing below. I am torn in choosing one because they differ in prices by 50-100$. I hope you guys can help my narrow down on my decision.

The first option is this: ($799)
http://

It has a 5th gen i7-5500u, GTX 950M and an 256GB SSD.

The second option is this:( $ 749)
http://

It has the same graphics card but with a 5th gen i5-5200u and a 1TB + 128 GB SSD.

Now these two laptops differ by around 50$. I am unsure whether that difference is warranted if I take the i7 model. I will be using the laptop for college work and some gaming. I don't usually play AAA titles and usually settle for MMORPGs and MOBAs, but I'd still want to prevent a CPU bottleneck in the future if ever I will try to play some heavy titles in medium-high settings. Is there a significant difference between the i5 and i7 in my situation or will the i5 suffice for the CPU needs since what will important is the GTX 950M that it comes with?

Lastly, I have a third option that I recently came across with in Newegg: ($699)
http://

It is an ASUS ROG laptop with a 4th gen i5-4200H, GTX 850M and 1TB of 7200RPM. It is 50$ cheaper than the 5th gen i5 option and is 100$ cheaper than the 5th gen i7 version. Now if the 4th gen version will suffice, then will I still have a fairly good future laptop with the third option? I have read around that the GTX 950M is somewhat a re-branded GTX 850M so the performance shouldn't be that drastic of a difference. I'm concerned about the impact of the difference in performance between the 4th and 5th gen CPUs. As for the difference with the HD and SSD, I will be getting a 500GB SSD despite the laptop option so I will have the capability to swap an SSD on the third option if need be.


I was hoping to save money if the third option will be sufficient enough for a laptop for another 3-5 years. But if the 5th gens provide a better future proof/performance possibility then I hope you guy can help me narrow down between the two.

Thanks.
 
Solution


For graphics intensive gaming, the second would be (very) marginally superior because of the slightly better GPU. Let's face it, neither the GTX 850M nor the GTX 950M are exactly world-beaters. All three are going to be similar enough in gaming performance that I...

NEmpire95

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Aug 12, 2015
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I would go with the first one, although I have heard of laptop i7 thermal throttling in the past and that might be something to keep in mind. It doesn't really matter if the cpu is 5th gen or 4th gen, it's really which is better when it comes down to the two and generation isn't always the leading factor.
 

Suxces

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Jul 25, 2015
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I just recently bought a multimedia/gaming laptop and if i were you i would get a 860 or 960m GTX and i7 instead.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-VN7-791G-76Z8-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B00WJSQREY/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1439535080&sr=1-3&keywords=gtx+960m&refinements=p_36%3A70000-90000

Like this for instance.

Oh, and should that be too much for you (this one is the cheapest i found with i7 and 960GTX) THEN get a 950 or 850 GTX with at 4GB dedicated VRAM, not the ones with 2 or 3GB!!! Very important. And they are available with 850/950GTX and i5s for around 700-800
 

shanepaw

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Apr 10, 2011
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18,510


In terms of overall performance, between the second and third laptop, which one would you choose over? I'm just curious since the price difference is only 50$ and I wouldn't mind taking the second one if it would be more superior, but if not then I'll go with the third one.
 


For graphics intensive gaming, the second would be (very) marginally superior because of the slightly better GPU. Let's face it, neither the GTX 850M nor the GTX 950M are exactly world-beaters. All three are going to be similar enough in gaming performance that I would probably choose based on either price or whichever I liked the looks of better. I'd probably take the third option, but then again I'm an ASUS RoG fan...

 
Solution

Willie0

Estimable
Apr 15, 2015
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4,660
If you'll choose a laptop just because it has the cheaper price then try to think twice. Cheaper priced devices doesn't last longer than the higher priced gadgets. You have to consider almost everything when you buy. You have to think about the price and is it worth it? Have some questions in mind and try to balance everything on your decisions.