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Laptop Purchase
Okay so it is almost time for me to get to choose a new laptop for college. Most likely I will be doing autocad work for architecture major, photoshop, 3d max, etc.
There are core i7 laptops but i dont think I will purchase those because I want to stay in the lower budget. I also want to purchase one hand on at a store, like best buy etc. I was surfing the web and I saw these laptops on sale. 2 core i5 based laptops and, 2 core i3 laptops. I also found a core 2 duo in the same price range. I wanted to know which one would be best for what I would use it for.
HP Pavilion dv4-2160us 14.1" with a i5 430 Processor. This cpu runs at 2.26GHz and with Turboboost can go to 2.53Ghz. It is a dual core with hyper threading enabled, meaning that it has 4 threads, which beats a core 2 duo with software like photoshop.
Acer® AS5740-5780 15.6" with a i3 330 Processor. This cpu runs at a stock 2.13GHz but does not have turboboost. It does still have the hyperthreading letting it have an advantage with 4 threads and on my photoediting, etc.
The cons of the i5 and i3 above is that they only come with the new integrated Intel HD Graphics. I have seen that Intel's goal with the new HD graphics is for it to be able play mainstream games like wow, sims 3, nba 2k10, etc. On the notebookcheck they have a short review on the graphics card. The graphics 3D Mark 2005 score is only 3429.
Now the other laptop is a very good deal I think.
Toshiba Satellite® A505-S6986 16" with an Intel Core 2 Duo T6600. It does not have hyperthreading or turboboost as everyone knows. The pro is that it has a dedicated nVidia Geforce GT2 230 1GB GPU. The 3D Mark 2005 score for this is 10689. The graphics seem to be far superior over the Intel HD Graphics.
I was wanting some suggestions from this community as there are serious gamers, and hoping someone here does work on photoshop, auto cad, and stuff like that.
The i5 laptop costs the most at $819.99
The i3 laptop costs the least at $649.99
The Core 2 Duo is in the middle at $679.99
As far as gaming the core 2 duo is better, but i want the laptop to be better for my college work. Thanks prior to your help and replies.
Comments
ati got a new mobile graphic .was released last week if i recall
its a 5xxx mobile serie.
lol i was just asking suggestion on the 3
you were quite off topic, but yes i know of the new amd released chipsets. If I find a good deal before i purchase a laptop then it will be great but yea.
.:edit:.
also i have yet to see a laptop on sale with the 5000 series card yet, atleast not on newegg, bestbuy, etc
If you have the choice, pick the laptop without integrated graphics card. I'm using one right now. While it does work for playing some games, it is far from perfect will not work with all games and will not work with some other programs. Not sure what you'll be using with your studies in CAD, but it's not worth the risk tbh. Just from experience, stick with Nvidia. I've never had anything but trouble from ATI graphics cards.
You're very right, I know that dedicated is always superior, and etc. I know someone with an amd gpu on their hp laptop and they have trouble with drivers on 64 bit vista, so yea nvidia is the safe way to go. I may just go with the core 2 duo setup. Though i can always change my mind before i actually get to go purchase one.
it would have been nice if you could upgrade a core 2 duo into a core i5 or i3.