Seeking suggestions for a suitable laptop

Perigalia227

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Jan 30, 2016
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Which is a better laptop for me?
Hi to all the IT pros out there... i could really use some advice here.
I am a student who just graduated from high school and is about to enrol in a law school soon. Hence, i need a laptop for college as my old 2010 Acer Aspire 4738G ended up in the trash due to a motherboard failure. I understand that Law course is a reading and research-intensive course, hence i am contemplating between 2 models:
1. MSI CX62 2QD
Cpu : Intel Core i7-5700HQ
Gpu : Nvidia GT940M 2GB DDR3
Ram : 4GB 1600Mhz DDR3L
Screen : 15.6" 1080p IPS FHD
Storage : 1TB 5400rpm HDD + empty M.2 SATA slot
Weight : 2.4kg
Height : 2.7cm
Price : RM3199 ( about US $772 )

2. Acer Aspire V Nitro
Cpu : Intel Core i5-6200U
Gpu : Nvidia GTX 950M 4GB DDR3
Ram : 4GB 2133Mhz DDR4
Screen : 15.6" 1080p FHD IPS
Storage : 1TB 5400rpm HDD + empty M.2 SATA slot
Weight : 2.4kg
Height : 2.4cm
Price : RM3099 (about US$748 )

The thing is that, I am not sure if which model will be my best bet to last throughout my university life, which is 5 years(of course i wouldn't want a crashed laptop during the 5 years) . Also, i will mostly use it for online research, online reading,Facebooking, streaming videos on Youtube, Word processing. I will also do some occasional gaming on games like Command and Conquer 4, Battlefield 4, Modern Warfare 3 and the like, though not often. Next, i will also use it sometimes (rarely) for music editing in Adobe Audition CC and photo editing in Adobe Lightroom CC.
Outward appearance wise, the Acer looks much better, with sleek design, keyboard backlight and all that, but i have also heard of frequent Acer motherboard failures more than other brands, and that MSI is one of the most durable brands out there. How true is this?
Either model that i get in the end, i would be getting a 128GB M.2 SSD to use as a boot drive, instead of the given HDD.
Battery life of both laptops are almost similar at 3+ hours, which is enough, since i do not need to lug my laptop to class eveyday, and mostly it would be just on my room table.
I would also like to note that i have a budget of around or below RM3300 (US $800), preferably. Mostly use as a workstation that is on for at least 5 hours a day, non stop usage. Would the i5-6200U be underpowered for the Acer? Or would the i7-5700HQ be overkill? Which model is more suitable for my scenario? Is the GT940M powerful enough? Or are there better models out there? Please do recommend if there are. Thanks.
 
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