2011-05-10, 10:10 AM
I would get the one with the dedicated graphics card personally. It is a massive difference, over twice as powerful. Assuming the drivers are better for that card now everything will run smoother as well, not just games. Judging from the reviews it's safe to say they've fixed the little bugs. Since with how windows 7 works, if you have all the visual effects on, your computer will be able to handle it much better. I'd also stick to the i7, it uses a much better architecture and even though the speed rating in GHz doesn't do it justice, it's got well over double the processing power of the i5 you have for comparison. So if you can afford it the choice is a no brainer, get this one. I am so glad they have redid the Acer chassis, too. I remember how cheap and flexible it used to be. They are much more solid now. I personally was on a very tight budget so my dad and I picked this up for my mother as a gift. I am well aware that its "speaker" sucks so I will just buy her some. But at that price point it's a decent computer and the best we could afford at the moment.
To some of your later questioning, 80 degrees isn't bad at all for a laptop if it's while you're doing heavy gaming. As well, with laptop coolers, don't be so skeptical. They help a lot, if your laptop is well ventilated it does much more. You just need to get the right ones. Some examples of ones I personally find great are these Thermaltake ones:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...CatId=3486
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...CatId=3486
The second one is all aluminum and if you don't mind losing a usb port it's a nice option. But the first one is obviously much cheaper and just as affective, just not as durable. You also don't lose usb ports with the first one as it has it built in to compensate for what it uses. As well, about the matter of if it works or not, my friend's comp stays about 7 degrees cooler while doing heavy gaming using one of those Massive23 coolers.
To some of your later questioning, 80 degrees isn't bad at all for a laptop if it's while you're doing heavy gaming. As well, with laptop coolers, don't be so skeptical. They help a lot, if your laptop is well ventilated it does much more. You just need to get the right ones. Some examples of ones I personally find great are these Thermaltake ones:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...CatId=3486
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...CatId=3486
The second one is all aluminum and if you don't mind losing a usb port it's a nice option. But the first one is obviously much cheaper and just as affective, just not as durable. You also don't lose usb ports with the first one as it has it built in to compensate for what it uses. As well, about the matter of if it works or not, my friend's comp stays about 7 degrees cooler while doing heavy gaming using one of those Massive23 coolers.