HP dv7-4280us or Dell Inspiron 17R-2nd Gen

[tarabert]

Hello,
I am looking to replace my dead desktop with a larger laptop. I have narrowed it down to the above choices. The specs/differences between the two are as follows:
Processor: (Dell) Intel i5-2410M with Turbo Boost (HP) Intel i5-480M

Display 17.3 HD (1600x900) each

Video: (Dell) GeForce GT525M (HP) Radeon HD6550

RAM: 6GM DDR3 (Both)

Memory: (Dell) 640GB 5400RPM SATA (HP) 750GB 5400 RPM SATA

Battery: (Dell) 6-cell (HP) 9-cell

"Features": (Dell) Free Recycling of your old system, DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year (HP) BlueRay, Beats Audio System and Fingerprint reader

Both have a webcam and bluetooth

What I am looking for: As I said, I am replacing my desktop, a Dell Pentium 4, that is around 8 years old. So I am looking for a system that I will not "grow out" of for quite a while. I will use the laptop for downloading and editing pictures, streaming online movies and television, and games like SIMS3.

Am I buying too much of a system for what I need? Or is this something that will be a "valid" up-to-date laptop for a few years?

The price for both is pretty much the same, within $20, so the price factor is not really playing a big part in my decision.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tara

 

[cpatel1987]

Hello,
I am looking to replace my dead desktop with a larger laptop. I have narrowed it down to the above choices. The specs/differences between the two are as follows:
Processor: (Dell) Intel i5-2410M with Turbo Boost (HP) Intel i5-480M

Display 17.3 HD (1600x900) each

Video: (Dell) GeForce GT525M (HP) Radeon HD6550

RAM: 6GM DDR3 (Both)

Memory: (Dell) 640GB 5400RPM SATA (HP) 750GB 5400 RPM SATA

Battery: (Dell) 6-cell (HP) 9-cell

"Features": (Dell) Free Recycling of your old system, DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year (HP) BlueRay, Beats Audio System and Fingerprint reader

Both have a webcam and bluetooth

What I am looking for: As I said, I am replacing my desktop, a Dell Pentium 4, that is around 8 years old. So I am looking for a system that I will not "grow out" of for quite a while. I will use the laptop for downloading and editing pictures, streaming online movies and television, and games like SIMS3.

Am I buying too much of a system for what I need? Or is this something that will be a "valid" up-to-date laptop for a few years?

The price for both is pretty much the same, within $20, so the price factor is not really playing a big part in my decision.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tara

I quite frankly don't jones well with the grow out philosophy for a nongamer consumer user. But regardless, between the two, I would go with the HP. It has the Beats Audio, which does help in sound (lol I took headphones one day to Best Buy to try out the difference on Pandora), sports a Blu-Ray Player, a bigger Hard Drive. However, one downside to that is the design of the touchpad. It annoys the crap out of me. Basically the buttons are part of the touchpad. See when your clicking with your thumb, you have a natural tendency to move your thumb against the pad while clicking. And because the touchpad is part of that, the pointer moves too. But, nothing like disabling it and using a mouse won't fix.

If you have 0 concern over the Blu-Ray player, the slightly bigger hard drive, the Beats Audio, and actually, probably better battery life cuz its a 9 cell, then the Dell wins in processing power. In my eyes though, going for the slightly less powerful processor and adding other features is worth it.

 

[tarabert]

I quite frankly don't jones well with the grow out philosophy for a nongamer consumer user. But regardless, between the two, I would go with the HP. It has the Beats Audio, which does help in sound (lol I took headphones one day to Best Buy to try out the difference on Pandora), sports a Blu-Ray Player, a bigger Hard Drive. However, one downside to that is the design of the touchpad. It annoys the crap out of me. Basically the buttons are part of the touchpad. See when your clicking with your thumb, you have a natural tendency to move your thumb against the pad while clicking. And because the touchpad is part of that, the pointer moves too. But, nothing like disabling it and using a mouse won't fix.

If you have 0 concern over the Blu-Ray player, the slightly bigger hard drive, the Beats Audio, and actually, probably better battery life cuz its a 9 cell, then the Dell wins in processing power. In my eyes though, going for the slightly less powerful processor and adding other features is worth it.

Thanks cpatel1987

I was leaning toward the HP anyway because of the additional features. I went to Best Buy and played around with a model they have there. I see peoples frustrations with the mouse pad, but it didn't bother me.

I really just wasn't sure how the 2 different processor speeds and video card differences would affect my overall experience. Like I said, I'm not a huge gamer, but I do enjoy the Sims franchise and was hoping to load SIMS 3 on my new computer. I had been reading, but not really sucessfully understanding, the whole video card debate.

Thanks again for your help.