Which to buy: 320 vs 320s

[josepydrums]

I am going to buy a new laptop to replace my ancient T400.

My question is which of the following two laptops would you subjectively/objectively recommend. I will be using it for everyday tasks and most importantly light/medium gaming. Mostly classic titles such as Baldurs Gate, IWD, NWN and the occasional newer game, such as Dragon Age Origins, NWN2, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim (obviously I know Skyrim + Oblivion will probably be beyond the computing power of these models).

Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14IKB
- i3 7100U
- 4 GB RAM
- 128 GB SSD
- Intel HD 610 (info on specific graphics for these machines was quite hard to pin down, HD 610 could be wrong, if so please correct me)

Lenovo Ideapad 320
- AMD A9-9420
- 4GB RAM
- 1TB HDD
- AMD Radeon R4 Graphics

I know in terms of performance these CPUs and Graphics are very comparable. So basically which one just edges ahead?

My budget is around 300 pounds, which i've found both of these for. I am very open to alternative laptop suggestions by other brands as long as they fit my budget.

Thanks for your help,
Joe.

P.S - Also on the table is a refurbished Ideapad U410, i7 3537U, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 610M/Intel HD Graphics 4000 -1 GB

 

[Lipex33]

In terms of comparing the i3 is a dual core with 4 threads and the AMD is dual core with 2 threads, the i3 7100U has Hyper-Threading feature, which allows this CPU to run twice as many threads than the AMD. Basicly the only thing that AMD is better is the operating frequency and thats all. Intel has higher operating temperature 100 vs the AMD 90,and the integrated GPU on Amd is a little bit better in gaming but there is not such a big difference. The i3 7100U has intel HD Graphics 620 not 610. HD Graphics 610 is only on desktops CPU. My opinion would be to go with the I3 7100U, thats what i would do.

 

[josepydrums]

Thanks for your reply, it was helpful. I just added a P.S to the original question regarding the U410. Any thoughts on that versus the other two?

 

[Lipex33]

Thanks for your reply, it was helpful. I just added a P.S to the original question regarding the U410. Any thoughts on that versus the other two?

The U410 CPU is still good nowdays but not great it is a legacy CPU in my opinion, even if it is an I7. It has more memory than the other two but you can upgrade the memory to 8 gb when u have the budget for it, and the graphics GT610M is kind of low and the HD graphics 620 is better than the GT610M, even tho u will be able to run the games you listed on the GT610M. I would stick to the I3 7100U because even if it is only i3 is with 6% effective speed more, and is a new gen CPU. Here u have a comparison between them maybe helps u a little.

 

[josepydrums]

Thank you again, I did think that with the i7 being an older generation CPU that there would not really be a difference, which you confirmed.

 

[bignastyid]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from josepydrums : "Which to buy: 320 vs 320s"

I am going to buy a new laptop to replace my ancient T400.

My question is which of the following two laptops would you subjectively/objectively recommend. I will be using it for everyday tasks and most importantly light/medium gaming. Mostly classic titles such as Baldurs Gate, IWD, NWN and the occasional newer game, such as Dragon Age Origins, NWN2, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim (obviously I know Skyrim + Oblivion will probably be beyond the computing power of these models).

Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14IKB
- i3 7100U
- 4 GB RAM
- 128 GB SSD
- Intel HD 610 (not positive on this)

Lenovo Ideapad 320
- AMD A9-9420
- 4GB RAM
- 1TB HDD
- AMD Radeon R4 Graphics

I know in terms of performance these CPUs and Graphics are very comparable. So basically which one just edges ahead?

My budget is around 300 pounds, which i've found both of these for. I am very open to alternative laptop suggestions by other brands as long as they fit my budget.

Thanks for your help,
Joe.

P.S - Also on the table is a refurbished Ideapad U410, i7 3537U, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 610M/Intel HD Graphics 4000 -1 GB