Which laptop is better?

[dentalcareowl]

Samsung Series 3 ($400)
Intel Core i5 3230M Processor
Intel HD 4000 GPU
8 GB DDR3 RAM
Intel 520 SSD 120 GB

or

HP Pavillon DV5 ($350)
AMD Turion ii P540 Processor
ATI HD Radeon 4250 GPU
4 GB DDR3 RAM
1 TB5400 RPM

Looking to use laptop for word processing,web surfing and HD video streaming, light-moderate photoshop, and datasheet work. Is the Samsung laptop worth the extra $50? Which laptop is better?

 

[rmark45matsu]

The Samsung blows the HP laptop out of the water, definitely worth the 50 extra dollars.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Yes the Samsung is well worth the extra cost, its a much much newer system. My dad had a laptop almost exactly like that HP spec wise about 6 years ago.

While the Samsung laptop is at oldest 2 years old. It has an Intel Core i5, which is much much better performance and has hyper threading. In addition it has more RAM, an SSD, and while it only has Intel HD 4000 graphics they are significantly more powerful than the old ATI HD Radeon 4250 GPU.

In addition, the Intel will have their Quick Sync technology which will help with some video and photo editing software much faster.

 

[jnewegger23]

Compare each component, so first the cpu:
Intel i5 3230M: http/www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-3230M+%40+2.60GHz&id=1849
AMD Turion ii p540: http/www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Turion+II+P540+Dual-Core&id=479

gpu:
Intel HD 4000 GPU: http/www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000&id=2
ATI HD Radeon 4250: http/www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=M880G+with+Mobility+Radeon+HD+4250&id=121

So while I am not the biggest fan of snythetic benchmark values they do have some merit in comparisons; in terms of both cpu and gpu power the Samsung is better. In addition, it uses a 120GB SSD which is much faster. You can always add an external hd for more data to save. Also you already have 8GB vs 4GB, so in every count except for more HDD space the Samsung is superior. In my opinion it is well worth the extra $50.

 

[IInuyasha74]

Also, wanted to add on to what the guy above was saying, the 120GB of space is a limiting factor, and its obvious saving money is crucial for you, I wanted to point out that using free online storage options like Google Drive you can have an extra 15GB of space free, and others exist too. So if you want to save money and just need a little more space you can upload files there. Though it sounds like most of what you will do online, office work, and pictures so it shouldn't be an issue. Only if you started adding games and movies would it quickly become an issue.

P.S. Enable NTFS compression will help a lot. Typically it can save about 10% storage space.

 

[velo3100]

I would go for the samsung and get a bigger hd if you need it.