3rd generation i5 @2.6 GHz or 4th generation i5 @1.6 GHz ?

[catinca]

Hi,
I can't decide between the two laptops (specs below). ANY FEEDBACK WELCOME.

What I need the laptop for: MAIN PRIORITY; Business/professional (it's my livelihood); lots of Word, opening/closing docs/revisions, lots of internet screens open at the same time, downloading pdfs (not huge ones though). SECOND PRIORITY: skype (difference in camera qualities here?), occasional Photoshop, occasional Youtubes etc. NO GAMING.

Also: I don't move the machine around alot. It'll be mostly at home and be used with an external monitor (except when skyping) and external keyboard.

Finally: I will be upgrading to SSD and to 8GB.
_______

ThinkPad T530 2392APU 15.6" LED Notebook - Intel Core i5 i5-3320M 2.60 GHz, Hard Drive RPM : 7200, Screen Resolution : 1600 x 900

ASUS K550LD-DB51-CA Notebook Intel Core i5 4200U (1.60GHz) 6GB Memory 750GB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GT 820M

 

[Alpha3031]

When in doubt, always go for the newer one, especially it has dGPU.

 

[catinca]

When in doubt, always go for the newer one, especially it has dGPU.

Thanks for your reply. Can you explain why Asus would equip an i5 4200U with only 1.6GHz ? Or does that not matter any more at that point? I thought I'd need at least 2.

Also, dGPU...does that refer to the NVIDIA Geforce GT 820M ??

 

[WhiteSnake91]

Is the 3rd gen constantly at 2.6 ghz or that's just its turbo boost?

The i5 4200u will turbo boost to 2.5-2.6ghz anyway, I was about to get this Acer i5 4200u laptop off amazon back on black friday but decided against it.

I'd get the 4th gen, and i5 isn't going to be a bottleneck for any task quite honestly.

I do all your needs with my much weaker older AMD llano (bulldozer, bad architecture..) laptop which is a quadcore though.

 

[Alpha3031]

When in doubt, always go for the newer one, especially it has dGPU.

Thanks for your reply. Can you explain why Asus would equip an i5 4200U with only 1.6GHz ? Or does that not matter any more at that point? I thought I'd need at least 2.

Also, dGPU...does that refer to the NVIDIA Geforce GT 820M ??

Yes, The Processors ending in U are usually very power efficient. The Clock speed is not a good comparison across generations. Yes, I was referring to the 820M.

 

[Montblanchill]

I am currently using a HP laptop with an i5-3230M (model below yours I believe) inside and it demolishes anything I require. I often have outlook, multiple PDF, multiple chrome tabs/windows open. Often also have videos playing and it still does not break a sweat. Multiple other uses within my company use the new generation of 'U' chips and they see very similar performance.

I doubt you would notice much difference between both of those models for what you're looking to achieve.

 

[catinca]

Is the 3rd gen constantly at 2.6 ghz or that's just its turbo boost?

The i5 4200u will turbo boost to 2.5-2.6ghz anyway, I was about to get this Acer i5 4200u laptop off amazon back on black friday but decided against it.

I'd get the 4th gen, and i5 isn't going to be a bottleneck for any task quite honestly.

I do all your needs with my much weaker older AMD llano (bulldozer, bad architecture..) laptop which is a quadcore though.

The 3rd gen will actually likewise go up from 2.6 to de facto 3 or so. So de facto it will have more GhZ.

 

[oxiide]

Also, dGPU...does that refer to the NVIDIA Geforce GT 820M ??

I assume "dGPU" means a discrete GPU, which means one that isn't built into the processor, like Intel HD 4000 or whatever. So yeah, the GT 820M is discrete. I doubt it matters in your case though, as you aren't gaming or using anything with crucial GPU acceleration.

 

[catinca]

Also, dGPU...does that refer to the NVIDIA Geforce GT 820M ??

I assume "dGPU" means a discrete GPU, which means one that isn't built into the processor, like Intel HD 4000 or whatever. So yeah, the GT 820M is discrete. I doubt it matters in your case though, as you aren't gaming or using anything with crucial GPU acceleration.

THANKS!

 

[svennetony]

I know this answer is a little late, but I will give my input for the users who in the future look at this.

Short answer: Take the Lenovo Thinkpad T530.

Long answer:
For your specific needs it would make no difference when it comes to the choice of the CPU.
But to answer the question of which is the better CPU. The i5 3320M is faster in both single threaded and multithreaded workloads compared to the 4200U. The i5 4200U is not far off performance wise but consumes less power.
The i5 3320M is comparable in performance with current gen core i5 6200u.

The 3320M is rated at 35W with a normal clock of 2,6 and turbo at 3,3.
The 4200U is rated at 15W with a normal clock of 1,6 and turbo at 2,6.
The 6200U is rated at 15W with a normal clock of 2.3 and turbo at 2,8.

There is one very certain appliction of work where the i5 3320M will beat the crap out the other listed CPU's. Virtualization with vmware or virtualbox.

Since the i5 4200U draws less power than the 3320M. That would mean if the computers uses a battery of the same capacity the i5 4200U will last much longer. But reality is, that not all laptops are equal in terms of battery capacity and power efficiency as all components are included in the final power consumption of the machine. And all laptops have different components.

The thinkpad standard battery is a 6 cell 59Wh battery. Asus laptop has a 4 Cell 37Wh battery.
In terms of batterylife you migth get more on the lenovo.
The overall build quality will be atleast be twice as good on the lenovo. Asus laptops in the Consumer/low end business segment is usually just total crap when it comes to longevity, quality and durability. Even though I dont like the changes made on T530 compared to its precursor the T520. The T530 is still a better buy than the Asus.

If I had a choice between buying a T530 for $800 with 4gb ram, 320gb hdd and core i5. Or buying a asus laptop for $600 with 8gb ram, 240GB SSD and core i5. I would always buy the Lenovo because of superior build quality, better support.

If anybody reading this wants to get a cheap and good laptop. Look at a second hand HP 8560P/8570p or Lenovo T520/W520 with 8gb ram, SSD and core i5. You will most likely be looking at around $500 for a great work computer.

 

[Jim_77]

I am currently using a HP laptop with an i5-3230M (model below yours I believe) inside and it demolishes anything I require. I often have outlook, multiple PDF, multiple chrome tabs/windows open. Often also have videos playing and it still does not break a sweat. Multiple other uses within my company use the new generation of 'U' chips and they see very similar performance.

I doubt you would notice much difference between both of those models for what you're looking to achieve.

wrg