Which laptop to choose?

[PowerRanger]

Hi all, I'm currently debating between two laptops, and I would like some input on which I should choose.

Lenovo: i3-2310M, 4GB Ram, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M (2GB), 14" 16:9.

Asus: i5-2410M, 2GB Ram, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M (1GB), 15" 16:9.

Prices are basically the same. My currently laptops are old and are C2D. I'm undecided mainly due to the CPU difference. As I understand it, the i3 processor does not have "Turbo Boost". I've never used any PCs with these newer processors, so I have no concept of the difference. The only game I play is mainly Lineage 2, and L4D2, CSS, etc. Nothing hardcore.

Hoping to hear some input, as I'm quite indecisive at the moment. Thanks in advance!

 

[Fayd]

wow, people still play lineage 2?

 

[PowerRanger]

wow, people still play lineage 2?

Hey, someone who knows the game!

 

[Fayd]

Hey, someone who knows the game!

i quit...3 years ago? cashed out, sold my adena and accounts.

as an aside, if you play L2, shouldn't you be looking for an SSD?

 

[PowerRanger]

i quit...3 years ago? cashed out, sold my adena and accounts.

as an aside, if you play L2, shouldn't you be looking for an SSD?

Trying to keep costs down, so no SSD for me unfortunately.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I don't think it'll matter one way or the other if your main concern is gaming; instead you should be focused on the GPU side of things, which the Lenovo is better equipped with.

I'd go with the Lenovo myself.

 

[gmaster456]

For gaming, I'd focus more on the graphics card. For most normal usage, you don't notice a difference between the CPU's. Turbo Boost will only help in applications that favor raw speed over cores. Which most games do not fall into this category. If it were me, I'd go with the first laptop. Its all around better for gaming, with more ram and a better GPU being the deciding factors.

 

[johnxfire]

I'd personally go for the ASUS since I use a lot of processor-heavy programs. The GT 540M isn't a slouch for gaming either.

The Lenovo one does have a faster GPU however. If you won't be doing much video editing or high-res photo editing, it's also a great choice.

If you do go with the ASUS one, plop in another 2GB of RAM in it.

 

[PowerRanger]

OK I ended up buying the Asus laptop but with an i5-2430 CPU. I checked out the Lenovo at the store and it was quite hot just sitting there. My previous laptop, an Acer, had overheating issues, so I decided not to risk going through that issue again.

So far the Asus is performing quite nicely. I ended up slapping another 4GB Ram in it too. Thanks for all the advice everyone.