Quick laptop advice needed

mart280 · 16 Apr 2010 at 08:53

My son is eligible for a Home Access laptop and we have a choice of two

Samsung R519

Screen Size15.6 CPU INTEL CELERON DUAL CORE T3100 (1.90 GHZ)FSB800MHZ

FSB WITH 1MB CACHE Memory1GB (1*1GB_DDR2 800)Hard Disk2.5INCH 160GB

SATAOptical DriveDVD SUPER MULTI DUAL LAYER

VGA INTEL GMA X4500M

DVMTComm10/100, 802.11 B/G/NUSB3 USB, 3 IN 1 SLOT, WEBCAM (0.3M)

or

Toshiba L450D

Screen Size15.6 CPU AMD SEMPRON (2.1GHZ)FSB512KB CACHE Memory1GB (1*1

GB_DDR2 800)Hard Disk2.5INCH 160GB SATAOptical DriveDVD SUPER MULTI

DUAL LAYER

VGA ATI RADEON 3200 GRAPHICS Comm10/100, 802.11 B/G/NUSB3

USB, 3 IN 1 SLOT, WEBCAM (0.3M)

It will be used for his school stuff, surfing the web, and games, I will add some more memory to whichever we get, my first thought was to get The Samsung as it has a dual core cpu but Intel GMAX4500 graphics, where the Toshiba has a single core cpu but has Radeon 3200 graphics, which is the best out of the 2,

thanks for any help.

mast3r · 16 Apr 2010 at 09:30

A Firend of a Friend had the same options, both are the same pretty much. I would go with the Tosh.

ShakenNstirred · 16 Apr 2010 at 09:32

i`d say the samsung, as its for school work the intel graphic`s will be fine

Range · 16 Apr 2010 at 14:49

Toshiba. Better build, quality. Toshiba are the market leaders.

mart280 · 16 Apr 2010 at 16:13

ShakenNstirred said:
i`d say the samsung, as its for school work the intel graphic`s will be fine

My boy likes his games as well, he is into racing games and the odd FPS and the sims series, will they run ok on the intel with the graphics turned down ?

mart280 · 16 Apr 2010 at 16:24

I have just found out that we can also get this lap top ACER EXTENSA 5235 hmmm I am even more undecided now.

Rozzy85 · 16 Apr 2010 at 16:48

Toshiba

Sootie · 16 Apr 2010 at 17:44

Another vote for Tosh - *should* be more robust that the Samsung.

mart280 · 16 Apr 2010 at 17:48

Thanks for the replies, so the consensus would be the Toshiba with the Radeon 3200 graphics over the Samsung with the dual core cpu

olivier renault · 16 Apr 2010 at 22:30

If he wants a little bit of gaming, the ATI is about entry level for 3D stuff. The Intel chipset will struggle. I would go with the Toshiba as well.

notebookcheck says the ATI is about 3 times faster, even though it's not exactly cutting edge.

Toshiba should be dependable and good all rounder. Uninstall the bloatware, put Avast, and it should serve him well.

mart280 · 17 Apr 2010 at 15:49

Thanks for the info Oliver, I was a bit worried about the Tosh only having a single core cpu, is it possible to upgrade laptop cpu`s ?

Range · 17 Apr 2010 at 18:53

Not on low end Toshibas. Mart i've got a Toshiba got it on Wednesday and I must say i'm very impressed

mart280 · 17 Apr 2010 at 23:12

Thanks Range, Toshiba it will be

olivier renault · 18 Apr 2010 at 01:04

the proc is a bit weak, but it's after all pretty much an Athlon (64 bit I believe). Will handle most stuff no problem. It's old tech, but so is the graphics card! I'd upgrade to 2 gigs, if it is only one gig.

hmmm I've had a look at the home access computer thing. Doesn't seem a great deal tbh. Do you have to fork out £400, or is it free?

mart280 · 18 Apr 2010 at 11:01

It`s free so I cant complain.