4th Gen i3-4000MQ vs A8-5550M : Not for gaming but for school.

[djangofreeman]

I'm buying a new laptop for school which should be fast. I have been using the AMD E-350 series laptop which was acceptable but annoyingly slow with many applications open. I can't seem to figure out which of these CPUs would be best for me. Both laptops are $480.

Essential G510 Laptop 59402513 - Black: Weekly Deal
• 4th Generation Intel Core i3-4000MQ Processor (2.40GHz 1600MHz 3MB)
• Windows 8.1 64
• 15.6" HD LED Glossy with integrated camera 1366x768
• Intel® HD Graphics 4600
• 4.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
• 500GB 5400RPM
• DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
• Lenovo BGN Wireless
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 6 Cell Lithium-Ion

ThinkPad Edge E545
• AMD A8-5550M Accelerated Processor (2.1GHz to 3.1GHz, 4MB Cache, 1600MHz) with Radeon HD 8550G Graphics
• Windows 8 64 English
• 15.6W HD AntiGlare, Midnight Black
• E545 AMD, Integrated Graphics
• 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM
• Keyboard with Number Pad - US English
• 720p HD Camera
• 320GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
• DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer
• 6 cell Li-Ion Battery 48WH - 75+
• 65W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
• ThinkPad b/g/n Wireless BT Combo (1x1 BGN & BT4.0)

 

[Gaidax]

Get the one with I3, the CPU is better (thus faster applications/browsing) and you get more storage.

 

[nikoli707]

they are both very close to one another. for non gaming applications, the intel i3 is going to be a little bit faster but barely noticable. for gaming applications the amd a8 is going to be noticably faster.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/255305/Dell-Inspiron-15-3521-i15RVT-6143BLK/
but the above laptop would be a better deal especially for school as it has an ultra low voltage ivy bridge cpu and offers much better battery life than the two listed while its speed is not that much slower(maybe 10%) than the haswell based i3 you have above. it has all the other specs as the lenovo above, but also is touch screen which is a key feature for windows 8. most of all, it costs $80 less than the two you have listed. its also possible that your local office depot will have it in stock and may be on display for you to try out.

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-lenovo-thinkpad-w510-notebook
for pure speed, the mobile i7 quad core with a blazing fast 128gb ssd. you cant really get any faster in a laptop, period.