Buying a new laptop need advice on specs

[KNICKG1]

HP employee looking to buy a new laptop for my son, use is mostly for gaming, Warcraft, Starcraft etc.

If anyone can check out these specs and advise which is a better deal I would appreciate it. Price difference is only about 60.00 between spec 1 & 2 the latter being more expensive

Spec 1

Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(TM) II Quad-Core Mobile Processor N950(2.1GHz,2MB L2 Cache)
Graphics card:1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI, VGA]
Memory: 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive:640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive Office software
Primary battery: 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
Display: 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Display (1366x768)
Primary optical drive:SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Networking:Wireless 802.11b/g/n Card with Bluetooth
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Spec 2

Processor:Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
Graphics card:1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics [HDMI] -
Memory: 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard drive:500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Primary battery:8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Display:14.5" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768)
Primary optical drive:SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)
Personalization:HP TrueVision HD Webcam and Dual Digital Integrated Microphones
Networking:Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
Keyboard:Backlit Keyboard

 

[Flesh]

The big differences I see between the systems are

AMD Phenom vs I5
8GB RAM vs 4 GB RAM
5400 RPM hdd vs 7200 RPM HDD

A nice comparison between the processors can be found here. They are both comparable performance wise.

the 8 gb ram has a higher impact on games compared to the 7200 rpm hdd. (both can be upgraded later on) Judging only by specs I would say SPEC 1 is a little more suited towards gaming. However, SPEC 2 is more compact and might have longer battery life so I guess you have to decide if the laptop is going to be used a lot 'on the go' If yes SPEC 2 might prove a better choice. If portability is not an issue, Spec 1 has an advantage performance wise !

Good luck

 

[MindoverMaster]

Also, the AMD is a quad, while the i5 is only a duo.

Anything over 4GB is overkill these days, but it is nice to have 8 if you plan to do anything else.

A bigger HDD is always better. 5400 is better than 7200 for battery life.

An 8 cell battery will just add weight. It only gives you another 30 minutes, if.

Care to tell us what these different models are?

 

[Flesh]

True AMD is quad, but is underclocked, intel comes with hyper threading and turboboost. If you read the review i linked before you will see they have comparable performances....

 

[MindoverMaster]

Besides the CPU, you get more RAM, HDD space, etc.

 

[Abstract Hero]

I'll keep it simple. I would take the first one hands down.

I lied... i like them both haha.


Ok.... well to be honest I think for gaming, the second one.

you will not use 8gb of ram gaming.
5400 rpm = ridiculous loading times.
i5 games fine as I've experienced.
and that wireless n with bluetooth is a nice feature.