comparison about CPU+RAM+HDD

I am choosing to buy one from two laptop models
the only difference of two models are the three things listed below
which would be better in terms of speed in daily use?

Laptop A
CPU Intel Core i5-4200U (1.6GHz, up to 2.6GHz / 3MB L2)
Memory 1 x 4GB DDR3L 1600MHz
Hard-Disk 500GB (7200rpm SATA HDD) +16G mSATA

Laptop B
CPU Intel Core i7-4500U (1.8GHz, up to 3.0GHz / 4MB cache)
Memory 1 x 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz
Hard-Disk 1TB (5400rpm SATA HDD) +16G mSATA

 

I think is difficult to say which one is faster, it would depend on the type of work. But I wouldn´t buy either one. mSATA caches can cause many problems. It´s better to use a bigger SSD and put the OS in it, or not use any SSD at all.

 

I agree.

 

I also want to discuss a issue,
i.e. harddisk rotation speed or cpu speed plus ram size is more critical to daily use speed?

 

I know someone with a new notebook with an i5 (normal version, not the powersaving U line) 2.6GHz - (3.2GHz Turboboost), 8GB RAM and a 5400 rpm HDD. It came with Win8 which the new owner didn't like at all, so she came to me for installing Win7. While it's processor is much faster than my own notebook(mine does have a 7200rpm HDD), and it has twice the RAM, I've found it quite slow with installing tons of programs and updates. The difference is a smaller during normal daily usage but still quite noticeable with booting and starting programs. A good 7200rpm HDD like a WD Scorpio Black is very cheap these days, so perhaps you should buy a notebook independent of HDD speed and buy a separate HDD to replace the original. An SSD is still the best, but of course more expensive.

 

Hard to say wich one without knowing what brand they are and how much they cost IMO. I assume there must be a price difference

 

The RPM is the bottleneck (try SSD), and the GHz and GB is the potential (unless real low). Depends on your needs.