Which laptop should I get?

[zawoo]

Hi everybody,

I would like to purchase one of these two laptops. I'm going to be attending college so unfortunately a laptop will have to satisfy my gaming needs.

HP dv6-7010us

http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-dv6-7010us-156-Laptop/product_932061&cmArea=CIRCULAR

Acer 5560g-7809

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2008029&csid=_61

I am looking to play games like Skyrim on medium settings and both if these laptops fall at $399 after rebates. I am on a tight budget but if have any suggestions for a laptop 500 and under please advise.

Thanks!

 

[Augray37]

I think you'll like the first one better. Not only will you have better gaming performance now, but it will last you much longer due to having more CPU horsepower.

BTW, if you're interested in an Intel based laptop, this one wouldn't be bad, although not quite as good of gaming performance as the dv6 you picked.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246219

 

[zawoo]

The dv6 has an integrated card and the acer has a dedicated card. I checked the stats for both video cards on notebookcheck.com

7670m : http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7670M.69483.0.html

7640g : http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7640G.69836.0.html

The 7670 is a bit better but the 7640g can use up to 3gb of memory. I do plan to upgrade the ram of the laptop in the future.

So my question is will the 7640g be better if it can utilize 3gb of memory?

 

[Augray37]

The dv6 has an integrated card and the acer has a dedicated card. I checked the stats for both video cards on notebookcheck.com

7670m : http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7670M.69483.0.html

7640g : http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7640G.69836.0.html

The 7670 is a bit better but the 7640g can use up to 3gb of memory. I do plan to upgrade the ram of the laptop in the future.

So my question is will the 7640g be better if it can utilize 3gb of memory?

I've done some research, and it appears the the 7670m can run in crossfire with the A6-3420m's IGP, and therefore it would be the best choice for gaming.

 

[zawoo]

So which laptop would you suggest for gaming and the long term?

 

[Augray37]

It depends on what games you want to play and with what settings. The dv6 will play nearly any game if you turn the settings down, but many games you'll be able to play on high. The acer will be better for gaming, however, the trinity CPU in the dv6 beats the llano CPU in the acer by about 20% in productivity benchmarks. If I were you, I would probably go with the dv6 because it's newer, arguably a better brand, etc. but that's me. If you won't need to use much productivity software, and you're pretty serious about your games, I would get the acer. It's a difficult process finding adequate laptops under 500, but it's doable. I just got a refurbed Samsung for 430, and it's sweeeet, but not for gamers. Have you tried looking at refurbs?

 

[zawoo]

My cousin just bought an hp-dv6, the exact model specified here, so I took it for a test run and wow that thing is fast! I also installed Skyrim and tested it, and it was very playable on high settings. Plus I really like the aesthetics of the laptop so I will go with it. After all rebates and taxes the laptop came to 500 bucks and Staples is also providing a $15 rebate for the upgrade to Windows 8. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

 

[zawoo]

Best answer selected by zawoo.

 

[Augray37]

No problem bro!