Laptop processor question

[Sean Troy]

Looking at laptops for my daughter for college. She's not into gaming so it would be for normal office use, internet and I'm sure she would use it for pictures and maybe a little video. The two processors I'm looking at are for a windows 8 touch screen laptop.

AMD Quad-Core A8-6410 Processor + 2GB AMD Radeon(TM) R7 M260 Graphics and this laptop would have 8 gig memory.
4th generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4210U Dual Core Processor + Intel(R) HD Graphics 4400 with 12 gig of memory.
Which one would you choose? Thanks, Sean

[Larry Browning]

This does not answer your question, but given the requirements you have listed, why in the world would you want to spend the extra money on a touch screen? It seems to me that any old $200-300 wal-mart special would be more than adequate for her needs. Anything more would just be overkill and a waste of money. Sending a kid to college is expensive enough without spending money on computing power and features they won't need/use anyway.

Just my 2 cents.

[Sean Troy]

This does not answer your question, but given the requirements you have listed, why in the world would you want to spend the extra money on a touch screen? It seems to me that any old $200-300 wal-mart special would be more than adequate for her needs. Anything more would just be overkill and a waste of money. Sending a kid to college is expensive enough without spending money on computing power and features they won't need/use anyway.

Just my 2 cents.
She's used to the touch screen from using the one at home and some of the programs she's doing in her pre med studies will be easier for her with a touch screen. She is a Governors scholar which means she has a full ride for four years. The college fund we set up years ago will pay for everything else. I think she's earned it ;)

[roger wiegand]

Something cheap that they can fix at the campus computer store. A couple of years ago at one of the MA state schools my daughter was able to get a moderately priced laptop through the campus store that came with a four year all inclusive warranty plus all the software she needed as a special package deal. It was extraordinarily nice not to have to be remote desktop support for that machine. When something went wonky with it she could just walk it to the repair stop on campus and they would fix it for her; when something major happened Dell overnighted a part in and the campus store fixed it. Well worth the relatively small cost. She made good use of the service deal. Absent that I'd go for a MacBook and avoid 99% of the viruses and malware that muck up computers belonging to most college kids. Plenty of power and, once again, ongoing remote maintenance from home avoided.

[Larry Browning]

She's used to the touch screen from using the one at home and some of the programs she's doing in her pre med studies will be easier for her with a touch screen. She is a Governors scholar which means she has a full ride for four years. The college fund we set up years ago will pay for everything else. I think she's earned it ;)
Well, then either of those 2 options will be fine, however, a good rule of thumb is you can never have too much memory. (Sort of like you can never have too many clamps.)

Have you looked at the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3? I hear it's the bee's knees. As long as you have the money to burn anyway.

I guess it is just a matter of preference, but for me, any computing device that has a dedicated keyboard, a touch screen is more of a hindrance than a help. Transitioning from the keyboard
to touching the screen is just a pita. I would probably never use the touch feature anyway. Especially on a desktop or a laptop connected to an external keyboard. I usually am leaning back in my chair when using the keyboard and mouse, while the screen is maybe 24" from my hands. In order to reach the screen, I would need to lean way forward in order to even reach the screen to touch it, and then sit back again to reach the keyboard. What a pita that would be!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I would go with intel dual core 12 GB. Even if she is not into gaming, she will appreciate faster speeds and more memory. That said, my wife is getting her PhD and we chose the Apple MacBook Air because it travels well, not just in airplanes, but just back and forth to the office it's easier to carry. It is not, however, touch screen, but if you decide to compromise on that, I really love the Apple MacBook Air. Also it's way cool, and cool matters when you are in college.

By the way, congratulations to your daughter. I would have started the post with a shameless gloat: "My daughter is totally awesome and a Governor's Scholar." You are way too modest. :-)

[Jim Becker]

I'd be partial to the Intel processor, personally. And the 12gb of RAM. :)

One thing I do recommend is get something that is very light-weight. Why? Because these computers are used a lot out-and-about and even a pound less will be more comfortable over time. It's one reason that I spent the money on BYOD for my work computer...I needed to shave a few pounds to not get a back-ache when traveling!

[Myk Rian]

Absent that I'd go for a MacBook and avoid 99% of the viruses and malware that muck up computers belonging to most college kids.
That's an old Wives tale.
Macs are prone to virii, just as a Win machine is.

[Curt Harms]

Re PC vs. Mac, does her school have a preference? As far as processors, I've had both and don't notice any difference. I prefer AMD on desktop machines, I think they offer more performance/$. Intel may have better power management/battery life, dunno.

[Curt Harms]

That's an old Wives tale.
Macs are prone to virii, just as a Win machine is.

Macs can get malware but which is more likely? I think there might be a tad more Microsoft malware floating around than OSX malware.

[Sean Troy]

Re PC vs. Mac, does her school have a preference? As far as processors, I've had both and don't notice any difference. I prefer AMD on desktop machines, I think they offer more performance/$. Intel may have better power management/battery life, dunno.
School rec. PC

[Doug Ladendorf]

Macs can get malware but which is more likely? I think there might be a tad more Microsoft malware floating around than OSX malware.

More than a tad. I use both types of machines and am fairly savvy when it comes to clicking on things be they on the web or in email. The number of .exe files (Windows executable) delivered via spam is astounding. Similarly, "virus update", "your Windows software is out of date" and other Trojans online that target Windows users far outweigh anything targeting MacOS, iOS, Android or anything else. And they can be confusing to identify. I spent a good two hours getting rid of malware from my in-laws computer only to have it show up again when they fell for the same thing. All systems and software can be hacked and have vulnerabilities, but the volume of junk out there targeting Windows is simply greater because it continues to pay off for the criminals who write it.

[Larry Browning]

School rec. PC

Well, that clears up much of the above Mac vs PC vs whatever debate.

I would seriously look at the MS Surface Pro 3. It has the advantages of a tablet with the power and versatility of a laptop. The keyboard attaches to the monitor with magnets so it is easy to remove and attach back. It runs full blown Windows (not RT). If you haven't looked at them you really should. It may be exactly what she is looking for.
They are a bit pricy, but it sounds like that is not an obstacle. Plus, they really have that "cool" factor as well!

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-Pro-3/productID.300190600?vid=304047200&tid=135eLwvg_dc&cid=5250&pcrid=2642411441&pkw=surface%20pro%203&pmt=e&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_bing_5+-+Surface&WT.term=surface%20pro%203&WT.campaign=5+-+Surface&WT.content=135eLwvg&WT.source=bing&WT.medium=cpc

[roger wiegand]

If a windows machine I'd stick to one that can be run with Windows 7. Win 8 is awful and ugly, hopefully 10 will be better (I admit I still happily run XP on some of my machines, 7 on the rest; our IT department has banned Win 8).

Lots of memory and a solid state drive-- the SSD is the best single upgrade you can get, and will give you more of a practical performance boost than either more RAM or a faster processor.

[DOUG ANGEL]

I agree about the Mac getting less targeting, maybe those people in Ghana or wherever can't afford Macs! When I was taking college courses Windows was required to do class room presentations because we had to put the CD or memory stick in a class room PC. Never had a class that didn't require a presentation either.

[John Huds0n]

Passmark has a good site where you can compare CPU's, video cards, etc

Here are the two processors your looking at. I definitely favor Intel and even though the AMD is a quad core I would go still go with Intel, (unless she is a heavy multi-tasker)

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2259&cmp[]=2266

[Bert Kemp]

Is Bee's Knee's anything like the Cats Meow:D

Well, then either of those 2 options will be fine, however, a good rule of thumb is you can never have too much memory. (Sort of like you can never have too many clamps.)

Have you looked at the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3? I hear it's the bee's knees. As long as you have the money to burn anyway.

I guess it is just a matter of preference, but for me, any computing device that has a dedicated keyboard, a touch screen is more of a hindrance than a help. Transitioning from the keyboard
to touching the screen is just a pita. I would probably never use the touch feature anyway. Especially on a desktop or a laptop connected to an external keyboard. I usually am leaning back in my chair when using the keyboard and mouse, while the screen is maybe 24" from my hands. In order to reach the screen, I would need to lean way forward in order to even reach the screen to touch it, and then sit back again to reach the keyboard. What a pita that would be!

[David Weaver]

The surface pro 3 *is* the bees knees. They are expensive but they do everything and Ifad doesn't.

[Jim Becker]

I agree about the Mac getting less targeting, maybe those people in Ghana or wherever can't afford Macs! When I was taking college courses Windows was required to do class room presentations because we had to put the CD or memory stick in a class room PC. Never had a class that didn't require a presentation either.

Not a factor...USB is USB and MacOS reads and writes the same formats as Windows machines for that purpose. MS Office is also a non-issue...

That said, the OP indicated that the girl's school has a preference for Windows so they may be providing software and applications. That's technically not an issue with a Mac that's properly equipped, but going with a light-weight (as in actual weight, not power) Windows machines makes good sense here and could be cost effective.

[Larry Browning]

Is Bee's Knee's anything like the Cats Meow:D
Exactly! Everybody says Cat's Meow though. I like bee's knees better and it makes about as much sense. A bee's knees is where she puts the pollen for making honey (pretty good stuff).