Solved! Which laptop is better?

[darksideofteddy]

I have sitting in my living two brand new laptops, one made by ACER and the other made by Gateway. I plan on keeping one and returning the other. I plan to use this for everyday use, plus some non-pro music recording and non-pro video editing. I am not doing any gaming whatsoever.

The primary difference between them is that they have different RAM/CPU configurations.

Laptop #1 (ACER) has an Intel Core i3-330M Processor (2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache with Hyper-Threading Technology). It comes with 4GB of RAM DDR3 1066MHz, upgradable to 8GB.

Laptop #2 (Gateway) has an Intel Core i5-430M Processor (2.26GHz with Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache). It also has 4GB of RAM DDR3 1066MHz, BUT 4GB is the max RAM it can hold.

So which do you guys think is better? My primary concern is longevity. Obviously Laptop #2 is better out of the box. But I'd like this laptop to last me awhile, and in a couple years I like knowing that I can upgrade the RAM on Laptop #1 to 8GB if necessary. I did that on my desktop after a few years and it was almost like getting a new computer for $75.

Am I being dumb? Is 4GB of DDR3 more than enough for my purposes? Should I keep the one with the better Core i5 processor?

Any and all comments appreciated.

 

[Maziar]

The second one is better,4GB is enough for apps and games.
Also it has a faster CPU too

 

[darksideofteddy]

Thanks for your reply. As I said in my original post, I have no intention of gaming on this. It is mainly for everyday use plus non-professional music and video editing.


Let me ask this question a simpler way:

Which would you rather have for basic Video/Music editing: a Core i3 with 8GB of RAM, or Core i5 with 4GB RAM?

Although the ACER doesn't have 8GB now, I'm pretty sure I would upgrade the RAM to 8GB in a year or so once the price on DDR3 comes down a little bit.

Also- are there any differences in quality between ACER and Gateway that might factor into the decision? From hunting around it seems like they are fairly similar builds, with ACER maybe being slightly better.

Thanks.

 

[JDV28]

I think acer has a better reputation for quality laptops, they are a much more popular brand,but gateway is still great.

 

[Tunafish]

Gateway makes chunkier laptops than Acer. I recommend the Acer based on your needs.

Acer keyboard = better than gateway.

 

[Maziar]

Thanks for your reply. As I said in my original post, I have no intention of gaming on this. It is mainly for everyday use plus non-professional music and video editing.


Let me ask this question a simpler way:

Which would you rather have for basic Video/Music editing: a Core i3 with 8GB of RAM, or Core i5 with 4GB RAM?

Although the ACER doesn't have 8GB now, I'm pretty sure I would upgrade the RAM to 8GB in a year or so once the price on DDR3 comes down a little bit.

Also- are there any differences in quality between ACER and Gateway that might factor into the decision? From hunting around it seems like they are fairly similar builds, with ACER maybe being slightly better.

Thanks.

i5 + 4GB would still be better