Acer 5633 vs Acer 5103

Really appreciate anybody who owns one of these to help me out here!


Acer 5633: £569.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B...activeda3029-21
- Specs:
2048 RAM, 160gb HDD, GeForce 7300 Gfx, 15,4 screen, 5-in-1 card reader, Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, Vista home premium, 3 year warranty..



Acer 5103: £459.97
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Aspire_5103WLMi_Notebook_LX.AG20J.127/version.asp
- Specs:
2048 RAM, AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 - 1.6GH processor, ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 Gfx, 120GB HDD, 15,4 screen, XP media centre, 3 year warranty.


Is that AMD worth going for due to the price difference in the laptops, or is it wise to plump for the Intel in this case?

Thanks!

 

Hopefully what I am about to say is not flamebait.

The Core 2 Duo processor performs a lot better than the Turion X2. You will get better battery life with the Core 2 Duo and less heat.

The Turion X2 performance isn't as good as the Core 2 Duo, but it is good for most tasks. I used to use a single core Turion, it was enough for my needs, but it does run hotter.

Personally, I believe the extra cost for the Core 2 Duo is worth it, you get better battery life, better performance, and hopefully a laptop that won't smell like smoke a few months down the road.

Plus the extra $100 = better processor, Vista, Card Reader. Bigger hard drive. I think its worth it.

Also its good to check which capacity battery they have. 4-Cell, 6-cell, 8-cell, etc.

Maybe it might be a good idea to fill out the FAQ and mention the two units: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=29271

You should post the completed FAQ in: http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

 

I guess the main things to consider are:

1. Would you prefer it to come pre-installed with XP or Vista?
2. How important is that extra 40 GB to you?

If those 2 above are not very important, I'd say go with the Core 2 Duo as like thoe above person says it is more power efficient which means less heat and more battery life. Also, for notebooks, GeForce cards are said to have better drivers than Radeon cards.

 

Not bothered really about XP or Vista. I can put Vista on at a later date if you get me..

That 40gb isn't particularly important - got a 320GB external HDD.

I've seen this one and absolutely love it though - eek!
http://www.acernotebooks.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_5920WSMi_Laptop_LX.AGS0X.015/version.asp

I dont think I can justify the extra £200 though!

 

oh and just a little warning. If you do plan on installing your own version of XP or Vista, make a backup copy of your entire Hard Drive (Clone the whole thing). Recovery Partition, C drive, D drive, MBR. Trust me, you will thank yourself if you do. I think its good to tell you this with all the Recovery Partition threads going on.

Have you tried to find reviews on the Aspire 5633 and 5103? Its good to read them.

Here's one for the Aspire 5633: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1821412

I don't know if this is similar to the Aspire 5103. It's only off by one number: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1510254