Quote from Knightmehre;924128:
Acer makes quality stuff....thinkpads seriously? Lenovo assembles the most broken motherboards on the planet
What games are you playing? The more cores, the more seamless the computer will run
Acer makes quality stuff? ThinkPads are low quality? LOL
You're equally misinformed on the core count thing. :( The vast majority of games are optimized for 1 or 2 cores. Some recent, more intensive games can make use of 3. Some cutting edge engines can make use of 4. But in the end it doesn't matter, because games that can make use of 4 cores will be bottlenecked by the weaksauce mobile GPU anyway. You could still see limited performance improvement in some cases, but it's not worth it.
Quote from Kept;924431:
I know Acer/Gateway tends to be looked at as unreliable and beneath other brandnames, but the hardware they put on their machines tends to always beat other systems in the same price range. I've read good things about these systems and since I've decided I don't need to spend $1000 on a computer I'll only be using heavily until I get a desktop unbound by the $1000 limit, I thought I'd try for these.
There's a reason why they are cheap. They cut corners wherever possible. If you are honestly okay with getting it as a throw-away unit until you get a desktop, then by all means, get an Acer. It'll probably last you problem-free for 1-2 years, depending on how much you use it, carry it around, etc. After that, the odds are simply not in your favour.
Quote from Kept;924431:
To clarify differences between the i5 and i7 processors, the two-core difference isn't really for a focus on gaming, but rather, multi-tasking. From every core comes two threads, and since 2nd gen. Intel processors, hyper-threading has allowed dual cores to perform at the rate of four. Thus, a quad-core (in this case the i7) can perform to support eight threads. Most applications would only use one thread. Few such as taxing video-editing programs or possibly high-def games would require two. In the case where I might play such a game, I'd still have six threads left. Six applications with which to multi-task. For me, that might be a Skype video call, Google Chrome, iTunes, Hypercam, and...Oh, look--I still have two more.
Wrong. Hyperthreading helps, but it only helps a
little, and not in every case. In a
best case scenario, like say professional 3D modelling/rendering work, or video encoding, which can make full use of all threads, hyperthreading will only give you a performance benefit of 20%.. usually less. Most applications can share a core just fine, as Windows is pretty efficient in resource allocation. Only heavily demanding stuff would really need their own core.
But if you want to be in a Skype video call (on the fly video encoding), play a CPU-demanding game and do video work at the same time (this scenario doesn't make a whole lot of sense but ok) then yes, you'll need a quad core.
Quote from Kept;924431:
Now, my question (that has yet to be answered) was whether or not the hardware difference between these two builds is worth the price difference (now $233). Choosing the i7 (or any system within a $650 - $900 price range) would be an additional two weeks of waiting for me. Keep in mind that Ivy Bridge also comes with integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, and with Optimus, it's a handy deal. The Sandy Bridge only comes with 3000. You can run any game out there with a Sandy Bridge i5. Games rely on graphics cards--a separate processing unit--to play. The only difference more cores makes is the amount of tasks you can run seamlessly at the same time.
If you're gonna buy Acer, at least buy a cheap one. Don't buy an Acer when it's more expensive than a ThinkPad T series... orz
Quote from Kept;924454:
I don't have anything against Thinkpads, but looking at the specs on that machine, it looks way overpriced when put side-by-side with the i5 Acer =/ The quality of the chassis on the Acer (according to reviews) wasn't given negative feedback, and I know Thinkpads aren't built with aluminum. I prefer chiclet-style keyboards myself. Wonder how backlighting works on a standard keyboard.
All metal bodies are mostly for show, lol. The T series has a metal roll cage for structural integrity, reinforced with carbon fibre on top of that. You can literally stand on top of one without it breaking, some people have run them over with their cars, thrown them on hard floors, they are built to be spill resistant, etc. <_<; I have friends with ancient ThinkPads that are still working fine--these things are just built to last. The Acer (and almost any consumer laptop, as well as many business grade laptops) is like a toy you'd find in a dollar store by comparison.
But if you overlook all of that and judge by just CPU/GPU specs, then yes.. it's overpriced. Even more so when a typical T series configured with an NVIDIA GPU usually costs over $1000, but for some reason that one allowed for a GPU upgrade for only $50.
The main reasons I'd buy one is my need to have something reliable for my work stuff. I'd also want to still be able to use it as a backup machine years down the road, something I can take with me on trips without worry, something I could still use for web browsing and watching movies when the specs become outdated for fancy software that might appear in the future, etc.
If what you truly need is the best bang for your buck for gaming stuff and you don't care about how long it'll last after, then I don't blame you for looking elsewhere. It's just not the kind of goal I would have in buying a laptop right now, so I apologize if I'm not answering your concerns properly. :P
EDIT: I'm not an expert on cheap laptops, but have you considered something like this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230401
I'm not a fan of AMD CPUs, but the A series is actually very well regarded for budget laptops. It is quite a bit less powerful than the two options you presented, but it's still much better at multi-tasking than a netbook and the graphics performance isn't exactly flashy, but it should be adequate for moderate gaming? I haven't really researched it myself, so I dunno.. but if you want something temporary, then imo the $360 price tag makes it worth looking into.