i5-5200U vs i7-5500U Alienware 13

Dan

Dan

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So I'm in the process of selling my sig rig to get something more portable. education is around the corner and I decided to stick with the Aw 13.

I do very light gaming. Nothing crazy. some CS:GO, Heros of the storm, world of warcraft arena. I'm also buying a graphics amplifier and throwing a 780 or 7970 in it. Its going to be powering a 1080p screen if that matters at all.

the i5 w/ a 1080p screen is 1099 and the i7 is 1299 for the laptop itself. I am on a budget and could probably squeeze the 1299 but I would have to hold off on the graphics amp for awhile then.

Both have 1080p screens, 8gb ram, and im putting in a aftermarket 256gb SSD instead of the HDD that comes with it.

Are we talking like... 5 fps difference? Im assuming so because both the i5 and i7 are dual core chips just clocked differently
I7 specs: 2 cores w/ HT 4mb cache 2.4ghz
i5 specs: 2 core w/HT 3mb cache 2.2ghz
 
I would rather have a 512GB SSD and I5. The difference for your games will be slim to none.
 
Thanks guys, im swapping out the internal HDD for a SSD I have laying around and and upgrading to 16gb of ram because again, i have it laying around. What uses would i see a advatage of with the i7? it almost feels like nothing. they are both a 2 core/4thread cpu with a slightly higher clock speed. and 1mb cache difference... even if i played more demanding games like bf4 would i even notice anything?
 
i7 would be for more intense processing needs like video editing or hard core gaming. If you aren't using the machine to fold a cure or compute the meaning of life.... the i5 will give you everything you need at those specs.

Like Vengence, I think the biggest difference would be the SSD. Having that kind of r/w speed will vastly improve your overall experience of the machine and future proof you for at least 3-4 years (as long as you aren't pushing the machine to its limits day in and day out).
 
turb0 said:
i7 would be for more intense processing needs like video editing or hard core gaming. If you aren't using the machine to fold a cure or compute the meaning of life.... the i5 will give you everything you need at those specs.

Like Vengence, I think the biggest difference would be the SSD. Having that kind of r/w speed will vastly improve your overall experience of the machine and future proof you for at least 3-4 years (as long as you aren't pushing the machine to its limits day in and day out).
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I always wanted to make youtube videos lol. I dont see me getting started with using the alienware 13 though. They sell refurbished amp boxes on ebay for 100 bucks from several retailers. Way better then the 250 from dell.
 
pliskin679 said:
I always wanted to make youtube videos lol. I dont see me getting started with using the alienware 13 though. They sell refurbished amp boxes on ebay for 100 bucks from several retailers. Way better then the 250 from dell.
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Youtube videos shouldn't be too bad... Depends on the length and resolution of the video too.

Now, I'm partial to Apple and have my MBAir do some light video stuff for me but damn it heats up quick....
 
turb0 said:
Youtube videos shouldn't be too bad... Depends on the length and resolution of the video too.

Now, I'm partial to Apple and have my MBAir do some light video stuff for me but damn it heats up quick....
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I thought about getting a 13" mbp or air but meh. Had macs in the past and love the trackpad. I do game though and that weighs heavy on my choice of alienware.
 
If you take the base AW15 on the Alienware site, and change just the graphics card to a 970M (a powerhouse of a chip), it comes out to $1,349. Do that, call up Dell, and get them to lower it down to like $1,200. I know you were mentioning the 13" in the beginning, but the 15" really isn't that much bigger, and you get much more space to work, plus more performance of course (I've actually got one, in sig).

Given a thought to the GS MSI's? They're thin, and perform pretty excellent as well.
 
Yeah go with the Alienware 15 and work them for a deal, just overall will be a better machine. I had a 13 and upgraded to the 15 and very happy with what it does.
 
Hm. I wonder what the perfomance difference bewteen the 2 dual core CPU's (aw13 i5-5200U v aw15 i5-4210H would be considering the 15" is a older CPU). I dont really care about the Internal GPU because i dont plan on gaming much when out and about which is why im getting the amp box. Bumping to the i7 hurts price wise but im sure its a much better CPU. The weight is also a concern because I know my wife will be stealing this when she goes to work (11p-7a in a assisted living place, She pretty much crochets and games all night and gets paid for it). I looked at the GS but my problem is that I only have about 800-900 to put down and use a dell payment thing for the rest of the 200. its intrest free for 12 months and I can easy pay it off in a few. Or i may just even wait and just buy it out right.
edit: how the hell do you work dell down on a price
 
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