I am not sure if this belongs in the tech issues forum, but seeing as that seems to be for problems and this one for discussion I posted here. If it is in the wrong place then I would like it moved.

I posted an identical thread on the New Vegas forum, but no-one seems to know much about computers over there so I figured I would bring it here where I believe more seasoned veterans can be found in terms of computer know how.


Anyway, I am getting a new laptop with some student loan money to use for college stuff as well as playing New Vegas, Fallout 3, Oblivion, and later Skyrim. I have a couple choices I have narrowed it down to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215004


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230089

The major thing is that one of the laptops has a i7 processor versus a i5, but the one with the weaker CPU has a 7200rpm HDD and 6GB ram versus a 5400HDD 4GB ram. (yes I know ram is easy to upgrade)

Also the Acer has a better sound setup and costs more which MAY mean there are other things better to it that I am not seeing.

The Asus however is the best rated laptop on Newegg overall.

I like the Acer for most of it's features but am concerned about the 5400rpm hard drive versus a 7200rpm. Some people have said they would rather shoot themselves before using a 5400rpm hard drive so it makes me wonder. My question is how major of an impact the rpm has on games like Fallout 3, New Vegas and other similar Bethesda titles, and whether the disadvantages that come with the Asus vs the Acer are worth the faster HDD.

I have learned that the big difference between the i7 and i5 processors is that the i7 can automatically overclock itself to 2.9ghz when needed, where with the i5 you can overclock to 2.9ghz but must do it manually whenever you want that extra power.

I'm not that well up on laptops, but they both have the same graphics chip so I'd expect the graphics performance to be very similar.

The i7 has a turbo boost mode:

Basically, if the current application workload isn't keeping all four cores fully busy and pushing right up against the chip's TDP (Thermal Design Power) limit, Turbo Boost can increase the clock speed of each core individually to get more performance out of the chip.

(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13512_3-10362882-23.html)


I wouldn't expect the hard drive speed to be a major issue, and although the i5 notebook has 6GB RAM vs 4GB for the i7 one, I wouldn't expect it to make much difference to games.

Hope this helps until someone with more knowledge replies! :wink_smile: