Hardware Debating between two computers

[mysticwaterfall]

So, my 5 year old Thinkpad just died this week. Considering it was only 200$ when I got it and already has some things wrong with it, its not really worth fixing. So I'm debating between two computers:


HP Pavilion dv6-6c35dx - AMD Quad-Core A8-3520M, 6 gig ram, 15.6" ($549) - Full specs below

Spoiler

Product Height
1.4"
Product Width
14.9"
Product Weight
6 lbs.
Product Depth
9.7"
Processor Brand
AMD
Processor Platform
AMD VISION A8 APU
Processor
AMD A8-Series
Processor Speed
1.6GHz (with Turbo CORE up to 2.5GHz)
Battery Type
6-cell lithium-ion
Display Type
High-definition widescreen LED-backlit with BrightView technology (1366 x 768)
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
15.6"
Cache Memory
4MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM)
6GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To
16GB
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR3 SDRAM
Computer Hard Drive Size
640GB
Optical Drive
DVD±RW/CD-RW
Optical Drive Speeds
Drive speeds not specified
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 6620G discrete-class
Video Memory
Up to 3061MB
TV Tuner
No
MPEG
Yes
Built-in Webcam
Yes
Modem
None
Networking
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking
Wireless-B+G+N
Bluetooth-Enabled
No
S-Video Outputs
None
Audio
Beats Audio
Speakers
Internal
PCMCIA Slots
None
USB 2.0 Ports
2 USB 3.0; 2 USB 2.0
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports
None
Parallel Ports
None
Game Ports
None
Laptop Weight
Standard (more than 5.5 lbs.)
Battery Life
Up to 6 hours
Pointing Device
Touchpad with on/off button and illuminated LED border
HDMI Output
Yes
Blu-ray Player
No
Operating System Platform
Windows
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium
System Version
64-bit
Included Software
Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player and more
ENERGY STAR Qualified
Yes
Best Buy PC App
No
Graphics Chip
AMD/ATI
Drive Capacity
640GB
Graphics Card
AMD Radeon HD 6620G discrete-class

HP Pavilion dm4-3055dx 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i5-2430M processor, 8 gig ram, 14" (629$) - Full specs below

Spoiler

Product Height
1.3"
Product Width
13.3"
Product Weight
4.3 lbs.
Product Depth
8.9"
Processor Brand
Intel®
Processor
Intel® 2nd Generation Core™ i5
Processor Speed
2.4GHz (with Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz)
Battery Type
6-cell lithium-ion
Display Type
High-definition LED-backlit with BrightView technology (1366 x 768)
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
14"
System Memory (RAM)
8GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To
16GB
Type of Memory (RAM)
DDR3 SDRAM
Computer Hard Drive Size
640GB
Optical Drive
DVD±RW/CD-RW
Optical Drive Speeds
Drive speeds not specified
Direct-Disc Labeling
No
Digital Media Reader or Slots
Yes, digital media card reader
Graphics
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Video Memory
Up to 1696MB
TV Tuner
No
MPEG
Yes
Built-in Webcam
Yes
Modem
None
Networking
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking
Wireless-B+G+N
Bluetooth-Enabled
Yes
S-Video Outputs
None
Audio
Beats Audio
Speakers
Internal
PCMCIA Slots
None
USB 2.0 Ports
2 USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports
None
Parallel Ports
None
Game Ports
None
Laptop Weight
Ultraportable (5.5 lbs. or less)
Battery Life
Up to 7 hours
Pointing Device
HP Imagepad with precision multitouch gesture support and on/off button
HDMI Output
Yes
Blu-ray Player
No
Operating System Platform
Windows
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium
System Version
64-bit
Included Software
Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player and more
ENERGY STAR Qualified
Yes
Best Buy PC App
No
Graphics Chip
Intel
Wireless Capability
4G WiMAX
Drive Capacity
640GB
Graphics Card
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Wireless Display
Yes

I don't play games on the computer, so thats not a consderation. I preatty much do school stuff, web, and videos. Which originally made me lean towards the AMD, but I'm a little worried about the performance since the i5 is obviously faster and presumably better, except for video - at least that seems to be consensus online, I personally don't have much experiance with AMD stuff. So I'm not sure if the extra 2 gigs of ram and presumably better processor is going to make much of a percievable difference and be worth the 80$. I'm also not planning to buy another computer for the long haul.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Really you should just buy a decent netbook if you want something for school stuff, web browsing and videos.

 

[Originality]

I wish to change my vote to the first one. The A8 APU has much better graphics than the Intel HD 3000.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

I have a touchpad for general web, ebooks and like. Not really a big Netbook fan, too small for my tastes.

As for the graphics, I've read the amd has much better graphics but the I5 has better general performance. But none of these sites really tell me how big a difference this and if it practically matters for non games.

 

[marcus134]

I have a touchpad for general web, ebooks and like. Not really a big Netbook fan, too small for my tastes.

As for the graphics, I've read the amd has much better graphics but the I5 has better general performance. But none of these sites really tell me how big a difference this and if it practically matters for non games.

HTML and flash support hardware acceleration (done through the gpu) so having a better gpu for web browsing isn't entirely lost. when it come to processing power, both have more than what's needed, differences are seen in benchmark, but you really have to bench them to see the difference.

Also, the i5 is a dual core with hyper threading while the A8 is a true quad core.

 

[yellowsnowcone]

They're both more than you need, and priced well. The Intel CPU is far and away superior, but both will be much more limited by their hard drives than CPU or GPU for almost any basic school stuff. The Intel is more expensive, but faster. OTOH, if basic school stuff includes academic versions of professional content creation applications, like Photoshop or AutoCAD, going AMD would be better in the long run, for the superior GPU and video drivers, even sacrificing CPU performance.