It’s great to be able to choose from a number of different computers but, in the case of laptop comparison shopping at Amazon, there are so many choices that it can be difficult to actually make a decision. Two of the most popular and well reviewed laptop computers in the $500 price range at Amazon are the Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A06US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Blue Silver) and the Acer Aspire V5-571-6681 15.6-Inch HD Display Laptop (Black).
They are both great computers and well worth purchasing but, since you only need to choose one of them, check out the chart below to see how they stack up against one another.
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Acer AspireV5-571-6681 |
Samsung Series 3NP305E5A-A06US | |
---|---|---|
Processor | 1.4 GHz Intel Core i3 | 1.5 GHz AMD A6-3420M quad-core accelerated processor (2.4 GHz with AMD Turbo Core Technology; 4 MB cache) |
RAM | 6 GB | 6 GB |
Hard Drive | 500 GB (5400 RPM) | 750 GB (5400 RPM) |
Number of USB Ports | 3 | 3 |
Number of USB 3.0 ports | 1 | 0 |
HDMI port | Yes | Yes |
Optical Drive | 8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive | 8x multi-formatCD/DVD±RW drive |
Battery Life | Up to 5 hours | 5.1 hours |
Microsoft Office Starter | Yes | Yes |
Graphics | Intel® HD Graphics with 128MB of dedicated system memory | AMD Radeon HD 6520G graphics |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth® 4.0+HS | Bluetooth 4.0 |
Webcam | 1.3MP HD Webcam(1280 x 1024) | 0.3-megapixel webcam |
Check Price on Amazon | Check Price on Amazon |
Each of these computers have their trade-offs, so the decision as to which is the correct one for you is something that you will need to determine for yourself. Based on my own needs, I prefer the Acer to the Samsung. I have had good experience with Acer computers in the past, and I like the fact that it has an Intel processor and a USB 3.0 port. But, honestly, the differences between these two laptops are pretty insignificant, and someone could easily make the argument that the combination of the AMD processor and AMD graphics in the Samsung are superior for performance, and that the increased hard drive size is a significant factor.
Some people may also prefer the feel of the Acer’s keyboard because it does not have a full sized numeric keypad to the right of the regular keyboard, while the ability to quickly input numbers on the Samsung is an important element for people that need to do a lot of data entry.
You can read our full individual reviews of each of these computers by clicking the appropriate links below.
Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A06US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Blue Silver)
Acer Aspire V5-571-6681 15.6-Inch HD Display Laptop (Black)
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.
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