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Which of these laptops are better?
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Hi,
I am looking for a new laptop at Currys/PCWorld (Got £190 vouchers). I have a budget of up to £500.
My desire is speed and smooth actions. I use facebook, angry birds etc. I did get a cheap laptop, but could not play angry birds it was that slow, so took it back, hence the £190 vouchers.
So i have found the two laptops below, with some help from my brother. The difference i can see is one has a better CPU, the other has SSD storage instead of HDD.
Which of these laptops are better:
1:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-au077sa-15-6-laptop-white-10146649-pdt.html
Intel Core i5-6200U
8GB Ram
256GB SSD
2:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-with-the-latest-7th-gen-intel-core-i5-processor-white-10151808-pdt.html
Intel Core i5-7200U
8GB Ram
1TB HDD
Thanks for your help
I am looking for a new laptop at Currys/PCWorld (Got £190 vouchers). I have a budget of up to £500.
My desire is speed and smooth actions. I use facebook, angry birds etc. I did get a cheap laptop, but could not play angry birds it was that slow, so took it back, hence the £190 vouchers.
So i have found the two laptops below, with some help from my brother. The difference i can see is one has a better CPU, the other has SSD storage instead of HDD.
Which of these laptops are better:
1:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-au077sa-15-6-laptop-white-10146649-pdt.html
Intel Core i5-6200U
8GB Ram
256GB SSD
2:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-with-the-latest-7th-gen-intel-core-i5-processor-white-10151808-pdt.html
Intel Core i5-7200U
8GB Ram
1TB HDD
Thanks for your help
0
Comments
So No 1. would be the faster machine in practice. Certainly in terms of booting up and opening programs etc. Probably not much difference in online game play though.
You can buy a 256GB SSD for less than the £100 difference between the laptops, so in theory you could buy No 2. and take out the HDD and replace it with an SSD, and get the best of both worlds.
But you'd have to be fairly confident to make a hardware change on a laptop you'd just bought, and you'd have to know how to clone or clean install to the new drive.
Simpler to just buy No 1.
The system requirements for Angry Birds are minimal, and it's only 2D so will be happy with integrated graphics. The 2 laptops you linked to will play the game easily, in fact they're overkill. You could play the game with an i3 rather than pay extra for an i5, although the i3 hyperthreading might be counterproductive to a lesser extent for games.
If you are going for an i5 though (or an i3) then newer is faster, so pick a 7th (latest) generation; the number starts with a 7 eg 7200U.
Do you particularly want an HP? If so ignore overpriced PC World (use the vouchers for something else) and have a look at HP's sale. I found 2 laptops that you may like.
For £479 there's this HP 15-ay102na with i5-7200U, 16GB RAM, 2TB HDD: http://store.hp.com/UKStore/merch/Product.aspx?id=Z5E32EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB.
Also for £479 HP Pavilion 15-au117na with i5-7200U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD: http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=Z5D66EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB.
If you don't need much on-board storage then the 15-au117na with the SSD will be a LOT faster than the 5,400 rpm HDD version.
i5-6200U benchmark: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-6200U+%40+2.30GHz. i5-7200U benchmark: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-7200U+%40+2.50GHz.
2. I would rather have the HDD extra space than being able to open a Word/Excel file in 10 mS rather than a 1 S with an SSD which is too small. Also the processor is slightly newer by a year, better iGPU, a very small point it's only a few percent at best. Again the Ethernet is only 100 Mbs.
Both 1. and 2. they are U series processors which are primarily aimed at low power consumption, this also lowers performance as well compared to desktop processors consuming 10x as much power.
On that comparison I would go for neither, the 100 Mbs Ethernet is a stopper for me, that may mean nothing to you.
Thus 2. would be marginally be preferred, for the 1 TB HDD, and the slightly newer processor, however I would look further for the same with 1 Gbs Ethernet if that is required. Get the basics right for yourself.
My current Laptop is i5-4200M 8 GB and 1 TB HDD 1 Gbs Network Card, 3 yo. The performance is good, on a par with your selection 2.
Been looking through PC World's laptops with SSDs and they're not competing against their rivals, way too expensive.
The 2 i5s quoted in post #1 are 2C/4T ie hyperthreaded. Maybe you are thinking of desktops where i5 is 4C/4T and i3 is 2C/4T.
The Intel laptop numbering system is a bit deceitful IMHO - they have 2 core laptop i7s FFS.
Although SSDs get bigged up on this forum, I think they are overrated. I have 2 desktop i7s with very similar spec, the one with SSD boots faster and opens some (not all) programs faster compared to its spinner brother alongside. However when apps are up and running, there's no difference. Considering the price and low capacity, I think waiting an extra 30 seconds for your pc to start is worth it.
No it's all down to me not doing enough research. I dunno why but I thought they didn't have hyperthreading, oh well
I can never win with this HDD/SSD debate. If I post HDD then some will say should be SSD and if I post SSD some will say HDD. Possibly it makes more of a difference with a laptop than a desktop?
Is your HDD i7 desktop 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm?
It is one biggest leaps in technology in a decade. You could install a new processor a new bit ram, and I doubt average user would notice a difference; install an SSD in there computer I would willing to bet any amount money they will instantly know the difference.
As for 7th gen vs 6th gen etc, the difference between each one is minimal at best an average user will not notice a single difference, Intel have been doing minimal upgrades for while now.
Storage these days is none issue there is so many ways to increase storage, external HDD's very cheap.
No it makes no difference if it's laptop or desktop. SSD's are just faster at what they do, however depending on what SATA controller they use this can make the performance gain a bit less significant. However having installed SSD in laptops with SATA II I have say even then there is no augment, the performance gains a substantial. I've made lot of people happy with decade old machines by installing SSDs.
Some interesting points you raised.
I guess you're right that an average user wouldn't know the difference between 6th and 7th gen CPUs, but even so I'd always go for the newest even if it was only slightly better, and it wouldn't be right to assume that an OP is 'average', and even if they were I'd still point out the difference and let them make their own minds up.
As regards SSD vs HDD it depends what the OP wants. Personally I'd be blissfully happy with a 256GB SSD because I hardly have anything saved to HDD, it's all stored externally. I've a 580GB Scorpio Blue HDD with only 80GB used and 55.3GB of that is restore points.
But some people, quite a lot I presume, like lots of music or movies on-board so a 1 or 2TB HDD is far more useful to them. Of course it could be the manufacturers and retailers deciding and the consumers just going along with it.
Unfortunately as well most OPs don't say what sort or size of hard disk storage they want or what they want it for, and there may be a price ceiling too, so it's best to post both.
If SSDs start being released with 1 or 2TB of storage at an equal price to HDDs, then that's when the technology leap will kick in and HDDs will become as extinct as floppy disks.
Thank you so much for the feedback.
I have decided to remove the PC World restriction and use the vouchers for something else instead.
Can you recommend another laptop, no restrictions on brand (i.e. I am not set on a HP)? Same price as before "up to" £500. I want the best value for the money.
Storage is not really a factor, as I don't download music/movies etc, although I may download as one off. i currently have a 1TB HDD and have 858GB free out of 909GB (I know, probably system recovery or something).
Thanks
I actually did come here making some assumptions firstly I though they would charge a killing for these 7th gen laptops and you could go get 6th gen for cut down price. My main point was if your paying a premium 7th gen simply is not worth it. However that does not seem to be case here.
Now regarding my previous post. about SSD well looking at these prices wow, It's kind of shocking to see. I really would thought by now SSD would be standard in premium laptop the prices are shocking. Some charging two hundred more for the SSD versions.
Looking at this I really don't know what to suggest to the OP on one hand he get himself a 7th gen Intel processor and good bit of ram, or it's choice of going for older more expensive model with and SSD, I believe the SSD would provide a far more beneficial upgrade over the more later processor however even myself can see asking price Is really high for SSD variations.
I would suggest getting a £400 7th gen model and getting an SSD and a copy of windows 10 however OP might not have ability to upgrade an OS or install a HDD, if that is the case then I'm really not to sure here.
SSD is the key here. Buy your own, suitably sized. Over a 5400rpm laptop drive it's not a debate.
CPUs - Intel all day. i7/i5 argument are definitely minimal, most are U variants now, just consider any onboard GFX as the argument. Quad core CPUs always have Q designation now, laptops don't really get them at the OPs price point.
Brand - they all continue manufacture on Fridays. ;-)
I must agree 100%. I have upgraded probably 50 machines over the last few years. Where I have done those for friends I have never failed to get the response "wow what a difference, it's like a new machine". It's not just boot time, absolutely everything about the machine feels snappier
If I'm going to be working for 4 hours on say Photoshop or Cinema 4D, the 30 sec saved on opening the program is irrelevant. Rendering images or movie clips is unaffected, SSD or not. Maybe if I had a lower spec desktop - less RAM - where HDD pagefile writes were a consideration I'd see a difference.
I looked on Amazon today at 2TB storage: SSD £750, HDD £60.
BTW my SSD is a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB. When I installed it, I inadvertently put it on the slower Marvell mobo port. When I put it on the 2X faster Intel port there was no noticable difference, apart from benchmarks.
With all due respect, the average user is not spending 4 hours at a time in Photoshop. I maintain that the average user will see a vast improvement as they switch between browser/email/Facebook etc.
There's no way SSD storage will approach the cost per GB of rotating disks in the near future, that is an unfair comparison. The average user doesn't need 2TB - most of the users I encounter manage with less than 256GB. So if we re-run the Amazon comparisons we get £22 vs £60 - £38 extra on a, say, £400 computer is less than 10% of the cost.
Simply the law of diminishing returns. There's such a vast difference in the first instance of getting rid of seek times, that the extra throughput is neither here nor there and as you say not noticeable, that's exactly what I would expect.
Hi,
From what you've written then an SSD is the way to go.
I wasn't choosing HP laptops deliberately but the 2 SSD ones I've already posted are the best value i5 laptops under £500 at the moment on limited time offers. Pick either of them or wait for something else to come on offer it's up to you, you've read the comments about the comparisons between the CPUs, and you could research on the net yourself.
A few questions though perhaps things you haven't thought about that you could have up to £500 and say £10 above that.
Neither of the laptops has backlit keys, do you want this feature? They both have DVD drives, do you need a DVD drive? Neither of the laptops has a Full HD screen, would you like one instead of 1366 x 768 and would you be willing to pay more for it, or even 1600 x 900?
You may well be OK with a 128GB SSD instead of 256GB, would you trade off the price difference between the SSDs for one or more of backlit keys/Full HD/7th gen CPU? Have you thought about having a 17.3" laptop instead of 15.6"?
Also it would be a good idea for you to visit PC World not with the intention of buying and less so for asking their advice (shudder), but to get a hands-on feel of the laptops.
The springiness of the keyboard, how the keys depress and their travel, the texture of the palmrest, the position and versatility of the touchpad, the colour and brightness of the screen and whether it's matt or reflective. All these factors and more will help you decide what you want.
Any laptop with integrated graphics will play Angry Bird and Facebook games.
No one would choose a HDD over a SSD. HDD is good only if you require lots and lots of storage, but you can get a cheap external one for storage and have a fast SSD inside the laptop, which does make a difference. You can buy a laptop with HDD, replace with SDD and keep the HDD as external storage... your choice.