Which of these two notebooks would best for a developer

[devj]

The two machines are an Asus ASUS K52F-B1 and Acer Aspire AS5742Z-4685. A comparison is at

http/www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&A=compareChart&Q=&ci=6782&items=;712808-REG;736174-REG


For development I mostly use at this time Visual Studio, MS SQL server, VirtualBox among other programs (and am going to start development using Python and Ruby as well as mobile device programming). I tend to have alot of multiple browsers open and sometimes two instances of Visual Studio.

I am curious how much the differences in the Cache and System Bus would make. I plan on upgrading to Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit and maxing out the RAM.

Thanks,

James

 

[raza715]

brother to be honest neither of them would be best as a developing machine, as both have very slower processors, i would recommend these 3 notebooks according to your budget.
1. Best => http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115864 = 700$
2. Good => http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157466 =600$ (after rebate)
3. OK => http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157502 =500$

 

[WR2]

Hello devj;
Upgrading to Win7 Pro (using Windows Anytime Upgrade) and upgrading to 8GB RAM is going to run you about ~$200
Win7 Pro upgrade $90: http/store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-Anytime-Upgrade-Windows-7-Home-Premium-to-Professional/product/C562285E
8GB Ram $114: http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/680870-REG/Crucial_Technology_CT2KIT51264BC1067_8GB_KIT_204p_SODIMM.html
That would take the prices of the ASUS K52F and Acer Aspire AS5742Z to $770 and $685.

You might be better off getting something like Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14" $534
with Core i3 i3-370M CPU 2GB (1 stick) and Windows 7 Pro installed. Upgrade with 1 stick of 4GB RAM for 6BG total brings the price to about $590.
4GB RAM $57 http/www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/609610-REG/Crucial_Technology_CT51264BC1067_4GB_SO_DIMM_Memory_for.html

What you end up with is a much more powerful Core i3-370M CPU and 6GB of RAM and save about $100.
Passmark CPU benchmark scores:
http/www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
Intel Pentium P6000 @ 1.87GHz = 1412
Intel Pentium P6100 @ 2.00GHz = 1576
Intel Core i3 370M @ 2.40GHz = 2193


The same laptop is $670 @ NewEgg
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146867
But the same 4GB RAM stick is $51 @ NewEgg w/ free shipping
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148289&Tpk=CT51264BC1067

 

[devj]

Thanks for the feedback. I should have added that I was only using the B&H site as reference. Some stores in my area have some clearance or return deals. Prices are $350-400.

Also, that is not the Asus I meant to post. It is the Asus K52F-BBR9 (around $400 as an open box return) and here are its specs:

Processor Brand Intel®
Processor Intel® Core™ i3-370M
Processor Speed 2.4GHz
Display Type High-definition widescreen LED-backlit (1366 x 768)
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) 15.6"
Cache Memory 3MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM) 4GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To 8GB
Type of Memory (RAM) DDR3
Hard Drive Type SATA (5400 rpm)
Computer Hard Drive Size 500GB
Optical Drive Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW


Graphics Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD


Networking Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)

Battery Life Up to 4 hours and 21 minutes
Pointing Device Touchpad
HDMI Output Yes

Operating System Platform Windows
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Wireless Capability 4G WiMAX
Drive Capacity 500GB
Graphics Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD

Thanks,

James

 

[devj]

My current laptop is a core 2 duo (T5470) 1.60 GHz that maxes out at 3 GB RAM. Would a i3 370M show much improvement?

 

[raza715]

you will feel huge performance improvement. Good luck with it