Which laptop is better?

Hi guys I'm looking to buy a new laptop and would like some advice since I know little about computers.

This is the laptop I currently have: HP-DV6920ea (upgraded to windows 8)
HP DV6920EA laptop reviews, prices and deals - 15.4" - 3GB of Memory - 320GB Storage - Reevoo

• Intel® Centrino® processor technology
• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5750
• 3072 MB (1 × 1024 MB + 1 × 2048 MB)
• 250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 5400 rpm
• 15.4” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen
• NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
• up to 1535 MB total graphics memory with 256 MB
  dedicated
• IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface
• Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double
  Layer
• Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
• HP Mobile Remote Control
• HP Pavilion WebCam with Integrated Microphone
• 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure
  Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick,
  Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards

This is the laptop I'm considering to buy:
Lenovo Z370 13.3" Laptop 2nd Gen Intel Core i5 4GB 750GB NVIDIA 1GB Dedicated VH | eBay
The other laptop Im considering to buy:
Acer Aspire E1 Intel® Core™ i5 Processor, 4Gb RAM, 500Gb Hard Drive, 15.6 inch Laptop - Black/Silver Very.co.uk

• Intel® Core™ i5 processor
• 4Gb RAM
• 500Gb SATA hard drive
• 15.6 inch display
• DVD/RW drive
• Integrated graphics
• Multi-in-one card reader
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Webcam
• Microsoft Windows 8 Home Premium
• Acer Aspire E1 laptop

Both cost £350, so Which laptop is better? is it worth to upgrade or well I see little difference in performance compared to my current laptop? and how much more powerful is it then my current laptop? I'll be using it to watch 1080p videos, photoshop, office, CAD and maybe a little gaming(will any of the two laptops I'm considering be able to run black ops 2 on low settings?)

Thanks

When it comes to laptops, everything is a tradeoff. That means it's hard for us to say what's better because we just don't know what's important to you.

The first one has a larger hard disk and NVidia graphics chip. The second has default intel graphics, which are not as good.

The second has a larger display than the first. Your specs don't mention battery life, but you may want to compare that as well (it depends on the size of the battery and draw of the device). Other factors you need to consider are weight as well. Does it matter to you how much it weighs? Keyboard size? How the keyboard action is.. key spacing, there's a lot to consider.

Both can probably run Black ops just fine, though don't expect them to break any speed records.

Mystere said:

When it comes to laptops, everything is a tradeoff. That means it's hard for us to say what's better because we just don't know what's important to you.

The first one has a larger hard disk and NVidia graphics chip. The second has default intel graphics, which are not as good.

The second has a larger display than the first. Your specs don't mention battery life, but you may want to compare that as well (it depends on the size of the battery and draw of the device). Other factors you need to consider are weight as well. Does it matter to you how much it weighs? Keyboard size? How the keyboard action is.. key spacing, there's a lot to consider.

Both can probably run Black ops just fine, though don't expect them to break any speed records.

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Thanks, for the reply.

The most important thing for me is the power and speed, I want it to be able to do many things at the same time such as photoshop, office, 1080p video editing etc. The screen size and the battery life aren't important as its gonna be plugged in all the time. So I'm guessing the Lenovo Z370 would suit my needs because of the NVidia graphics chip?
Also if you compared the Lenovo Z370's specs to my current HP laptop would you say its a major upgrade in terms of speed and processing power? or will I barley see any benefits of upgrading?

Thanks,

I'd do the Lenovo for sure. You would see a big bump, I'd imagine, with Photoshop and other GPU dependent programs. Processing power of an i5 compared to a Core 2 Duo is a HUGE increase as well.

Though I'd suggest doing a clean reinstall of Windows 8 Pro on that laptop as I bet there is crapware and whatnot installed. It could be easier to uninstall it, but I personally would do a clean install. And, if you're looking for a HUGE increase in overall performance, you can kick out the hard drive within that laptop and replace it with a 120-250 gig Solid State Drive, the size will depend on how many programs and games you will have installed. Then, if you need lots of hard drive storage and don't need the DVD player, you can find and buy a hard drive caddy that can fit your laptop. So you will end up putting the hard drive into what was the DVD drive slot. You have speed and storage!

Unfortunately, the Acer doesn't really say what model it is, so we don't know what i5 processor it has. The Lenovo is interesting, because they don't make a Z370 with a 2.5Ghz i5. In fact, they only have one model with an i5 and that's 2.3Ghz.

However, the 2.3Ghz i5 gets about 3x the score the T5750 on the Passmark benchmark.

In all reality, the NVidia 410M and the Integrated i5 graphics are probably about equal, but the Lenovo has dedicated video memory, while the Acer will use shared memory (meaning it takes memory from your applications).

But, it has a smaller screen, but you could get an external monitor for it.

Also, neither of these have a Blueray player, like your current one does. That means you will need an external Blueray player if you want to play Blueray disks.

One thing to keep in mind is the Lenovo is considered an "Ultrabook", and that means it may use more energy efficient components (like hard drives) that spin slower than a non-ultrabook, and lower the overall performance. But, I don't know if that's the case with this.

In general, if you want performance, you're not looking at the bottom bottom end.

I bought an Acer (don't know the model#) with an i3 processor, 4G ram, 600G HDD, and 15.6" touch screen display. I returned it after one week. The touch pad was poorly made, there was no on-off indicator for "caps lock", and it was slow. I now have a Lenovo with 6G ram, 1TB HDD, i7, 15.6" non-touch screen display, and, backlit keyboard. The Lenovo cost $729; about $200 more than the Acer. The extra $200 was more than worth it. I am extremely satisfied with how the Lenovo functions, the display, the fact that I will not need to upgrade my systems for years. The Lenovo machine is built and functions much better.

Before buying any Lenovo you should spend some time in forums.lenovo.com to see if the model you like has no major popular problems. Lenovo's don't really come with much crapware other than their own programs. Except for Symantec which many Lenovo's have problems with and it can be removed quickly.

Hi there
you might also want to look at the HP Envy series -- the screen can be removed and used as a tablet -- or look at some of the other types of "Dual mode" laptops. Be careful if you choose this option as you need to check to see how easy it is to remove screen. The Lenovo "twist" is a bit fiddly. HP envy laptops are fine.

Here's another issue -- portability -- if you travel look for the SMALLER screen sizes -- reason for this is that these days most laptops have perfectly good graphics cards in them and can be connected to HUGE monitors when at home / hotel etc with good resolution. I have a wacking i7 powered 17inch monster and a much smaller humbler 11.1 inch acer with a lowly i3 in it -- guess which gets used far more by me -- the Acer while the much more powerful model just collects dust at home.

With an SSD, 8GB memory and at least one USB3 slot (with USB 3 external disks etc the speed difference between USB2 and USB3 is definitely worth going for) the actual processor type in the machine isn't really of huge importance any more unless you are an extreme gamer or run concurrently loads and loads of applications. (Proper laptop type processor such as i3, i5, i7 -- not the Centrino or ATOM types which were found in the essentially dead "Netbook types of laptop).

Think what your needs are -- IMO forget also the size of the HDD -- replace with an SSD and use the HDD as an external disk with the SATA==>USB2 / USB3 connector and make sure you can get 8GB memory -- in other words if it comes with 4GB memory make sure it has 2 memory slots so you can put 2 X 4GB modules in it ==>cheap enough these days.

Don't forget also if you travel you'll soon regret the 17.5 inch monster if you go for that type of laptop. Especially these days with often horrendous waits at security in airports and with more and more "Large" people travelling and aircraft seats seemingly getting narrower especially in "Cattle Class" you won't be able to use it. -- Look for the "ultra book" type of laptop.

Finally do a bit of research yourself -- you'll always find some people recommend model A while others have problems with model A - for example I've had the ACER V105 11.2 inch model for nearly a year -- it's been through airports and been roughly handled --and never a problem -- the previous poster in this thread had an ACER - don't know what model and he had problems with it.

Same with people who buy DELL , HP, Lenovo etc.

When comparing -- I'd be wary of one or two negative comments about any particular make made by say a single or a few indivduals. With equipment you can always get a "Rogue version" or a "special case" that shouldn't have slipped past QC but I'd look up on the forums and check --if there is say a general complaint such as "the connectors are easily broken" or whatever then I'd be wary of that model.

Another thing which is often grossly overdone. If people complain about "Poor Customer service" I'd check about what they are using customer service for. If my equipment never breaks down I wouldn't care if there was NO customer service since I'd never need it so customer service can be a "red herring".

Finally PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT EVER EVER BUY those "Extended Warranty's" --they are a 100% SCAM and total rip off --in nearly ever country now when you buy something -- even in Russia AFAIK you get the manufacturers standard warranty which is either one year or two years.

I nearly cry with desperation when I see some young aggressive salesman trying to sell a 25 USD extended warranty to an old lady who is buying a 60 USD Printer !!!!

Finally to finish up on a longer post than I intended -- BMW for example make MORE money out of financing cars than actually making them --perhaps they should become a Bank !! -- so you can see why these stores try and sell these "insurance add ons".

Cheers
jimbo

Simple answer: 15" Macbook Pro with i7 Quad Core Processor (on the Mac side), or the HP Envy 15.6" with i7 Quad Core Processor running either Win 7, or 8 (on the PC side).

jimbo45 said:

Finally PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT EVER EVER BUY those "Extended Warranty's" --they are a 100% SCAM and total rip off --in nearly ever country now when you buy something -- even in Russia AFAIK you get the manufacturers standard warranty which is either one year or two years.

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Not always. In particular, for laptops, many of those warranties also cover the life of the battery and screen (even if it was the result of damage). If you use your laptop on battery a lot, then it may be worth it since you can get new batteries toward the end of the warranty, or if you drop the laptop and the screen is damaged.

But, check the warranty before purchasing to make sure it covers those things.

mikiep said:

Before buying any Lenovo you should spend some time in forums.lenovo.com to see if the model you like has no major popular problems. Lenovo's don't really come with much crapware other than their own programs. Except for Symantec which many Lenovo's have problems with and it can be removed quickly.

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if crapware really bothers you, you could consider buying at the Microsoft Store. every single PC at the store, whether it's Sony or Samsung or HP or Dell or whatever, comes bare and clean. just the operating system. you can also buy through their online site.

the main disadvantage is you won't get the fantastic sales, especially the sales that are meant to clear older inventory for newer one. But it is a cool touch for someone that wants say an HP but HP is notorious for having a desktop cluttered full of trial software and crappy junk like Norton Antivirus. Well, now you can get an HP with only Windows.