Deciding between two laptops

OK, so first...I don't care what your opinion of Best Buy is, they just were the website I was on while looking. I'm trying to decide between the two Toshiba Satellites below, and am not interested in another brand or type. The above is mentioned because other friends have NOT been helpful thus far. rolleyes

I don't game, unless Farmville and Bejeweled count. I don't produce videos or music. Basically, I don't need anything spectacular, I just need to replace my ancient laptop (30GB hard drive, 512MB RAM) with one I will probably keep for entirely too long before replacing. So...the question becomes...

Satellite with Intel Core i3 or Satellite with AMD Phenom II?

 

I was going to put it here, but no threads came up when I typed the title here, while there were at least six where I put it. LOL Thanks!

 

Hi

The Phenom II is cheaper because AMD is less expensive. Since you're not going to be tasking your CPU for anything major, Phenom II would more than suit your needs as far as the CPU goes. The Phenom II model also has a bigger screen, if that's important to you.

A few things to consider regarding the two models (that stood out to me) are the following. The Phenom II model has a slower hard drive... but for your uses, that shouldn't matter. Also consider the battery life... I did notice on the i3 model, it says battery life up to 8 1/2 hours, while the Phenom II model lists for over 3 hours... seems like a significant difference if you will be using the laptop entirely mobile. If you won't be, then again, no big deal. Just remember that those are maximum battery times, usually you can cut max battery times in half or less for actually using the computer. Also, the i3 model has an HDMI connector, while the Phenom II model doesn't (if you will be connecting an external monitor, TV, etc. this will be handy).

All in all, if I were you, I'd opt for the i3 model. You get a lot more for not much more in price.

Toshiba has gone downhill in quality in the last year or two... but I realize that you have your heart set on one, so I wish all the best with your purchase.