Dell Vostro 5460 - i5-3337U processor vs. i5-3230M processor ?

Hi all,

I'd appreciate it if some of you experts can give some opinions on this ...
I'm going to purchase a new laptop, mainly for using the internet, viewing videos/movies/dramas, college projects, Photoshop, Matlab, Autocad, etc.
I'm trying to choose between 2 different configurations of Dell Vostro 5460, pretty lightweight, with these specs:

1) 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3337U processor (3M Cache, up to 2.7 GHz)
4GB DDR3 1600MHz (4GBx1)
Hard Drive 500GB 5400rpm Hard Drive with 32GB mSATA SSD

2) 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3230M processor (3M Cache, up to 3.2 GHz)
4GB DDR3 1600MHz (4GBx1)
Hard Drive 500GB 5400rpm Hard Drive

Which one is better? I understand that ULV consumes less energy, but is its performance significantly lower than that of i5-3230M? How useful is the 32GB mSATA SSD in boosting performance? Which one would you recommend?

Thank you guys!

 

The SSD will make your entire loading time very snappy. Unfortunately, 32GB is only good enough for OS and like Microsoft Office and you won't be able to put all those softwares you use on the SSD: which defeats the whole purpose of loading time. The 5400rpm will be slow for your programs.

I would recommend AT LEAST 128GB SSD if you are budget restrained with external HDD for data. 256gb should be ample for some data and all programs stored in the SSD.

CPU wise, I am not sure if you will notice great performance difference. You will barely notice if anything. If you are BIG on Autocad, I would recommend a system with a dedicated graphics card.

 

I think that the 32GB mSATA is just a caching drive, so you won't be able to install the OS or programs to it at all. As a cache drive, the mSATA would be okay-ish; it'll boost the loading times of the OS and a few of your most-used programs, but you'll still be limited to the 5400RPM HDD for most of your stuff.

Internet, videos, and "college projects" (as I understand it, using Office to write up reports and make PowerPoints) is not even remotely intensive on computers 5 years old or newer. Photoshop is a bit of an iffy because depending on how you use it, you might be better off with something with a dedicated GPU (preferably a Radeon, FirePro, or Quadro). MATLAB can be CPU-intensive depending on the projects you're making or working on. And AutoCAD is something that I'd *definitely* use with a laptop with one of the mentioned GPUs.

What's your budget, most importantly?

 

Hey thanks.
Budget. Preferably below $830, but I may also consider a laptop near $1000 if it is really value for money.
Any recommendations?

 

I think you could get a Latitude E6430 with 900p and a nVidia Quadro NVS 5200M within that budget (or slightly more).

 

I would rather recommend you grab M4600 refurbished from the outlet with a 20% off coupon. The coupon comes very often and so check Dell Outlet Twitter page.

If you can shell near $1k, that would be the best you can get, and you can upgrade later on from the entry spec you will get with the M4600.

 

Definitely would be a better option over a new, less powerful laptop. I recall not too long ago Dell Business Outlet had a sale on them where one could pick up a M4600 with 1080p and the FirePro GPU for just shy of $700.

 

Could somebody comment on the battery backup. It is mentioned as 3-cell battery. Is the difference between 6-cell & 3-cell is very large? Please advice.