I need some help ! Can't chose what laptop to buy

[mondoteq]

Hey all ! I can't chose a laptop from these two :

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i5-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-dark-gray-blue-gray/6643023.p?id=1219229364828&skuId=6643023&st=pcmcat190000050007_categoryid$abcat0502000&cp=1&lp=9


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba-satellite-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-amd-a8-series-6gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive-jet-black/7716338.p?id=1219286766617&skuId=7716338&st=toshiba%20laptop&cp=1&lp=10

I'll use the laptop in general for programming, and development. I'm not advanced, I'll only start the university this year, but I have some experience with C++ , java and android development.
What laptop from these is the best for me, please help.

I really don't know what to choose. Asus has a better CPU, but Toshiba has 6 GB of RAM, more HDD space and touch screen.
I wonder, will the Toshiba laptop run programs like Eclipse, Visual Studio and other IDEs  smooth ? 

P.S sorry for my english if anything, I'm not native

[camerongray]

Out of those two I'd personally go for the ASUS.  The RAM and HDD can always be upgraded later on, CPU can't so get the best CPU you can when you buy the laptop.  6gb of RAM also means that you will get mismatched sticks of RAM, best to get a power of two (2gb, 4gb, 8gb, 16gb) as this will likely come as a matched pair of sticks.  I'd also say that ASUS would be a better brand than Toshiba.  Lenovo are great too if you haven't looked at them.

[Geek-9pm]

I will respectfully disagree with camerongray.
Here is why. The OP indicates the purchase is for learning and software development. The larger drive space is handy for storing more documents and tutorials,. Especially video  tutorials, which consume drive space more than anything.

http://www.cplusplustutor.com/
Large collection of video tutorials for C++/

So the OP might want more hard drive space from the start.

Also, the touch screen is becoming needed tool. Modern programming is going to be more touch screen stuff for the mass consumer market.  Having a touch screen helps test mobile apps on your laptop.

[camerongray]

I will respectfully disagree with camerongray.
Here is why. The OP indicates the purchase is for learning and software development. The larger drive space is handy for storing more documents and tutorials,. Especially video  tutorials, which consume drive space more than anything.

Video tutorials are almost always streamed online, not downloaded and code takes up very little disk space.  Hard drives are easy to upgrade down the line anyway.  For programming use, 500gb is way more than enough.

For programming you will get a lot more benefit from a faster CPU, especially since you have stated you are using Eclipse (Which is hardly known for being fast or efficient) and writing in compiled languages.

Of course, if you can get a laptop with both an i5 and a larger hard drive then that's great, but I certainly wouldn't compromise on the CPU for a slightly bigger hard drive.

Also, the touch screen is becoming needed tool. Modern programming is going to be more touch screen stuff for the mass consumer market.  Having a touch screen helps test mobile apps on your laptop.

Device emulators have decent ways around not having a touch screen and if you are building mobile apps you would still need to test it on an actual device.  Sure a touch screen is nice to have but it certainly is not a "needed tool" for programming.

[mondoteq]

Here is why. The OP indicates the purchase is for learning and software development. The larger drive space is handy for storing more documents and tutorials,. Especially video  tutorials, which consume drive space more than anything.

Well, I surelly won't download tons of tutorials, and if you mean that, 500 GB of HDD will be fine for me.

P.S I've read a couple reviews on Asus laptop  and some costumers don't like the screen at all, they tell it's bad quality, is this somewhing I should be concerned of ?  I have a laptop with such screen (1360 x 768) and it's seems nice for me

[camerongray]

P.S I've read a couple reviews on Asus laptop  and some costumers don't like the screen at all, they tell it's bad quality, is this somewhing I should be concerned of ?  I have a laptop with such screen (1360 x 768) and it's seems nice for me

They are probably referring to the colours on it not being that vibrant, a common issue with basic laptop screens, for programming this shouldn't really be an issue.  Screens are very hard to judge without seeing them in person so it may be worth going to a store and looking at the laptops yourself, they wouldn't have to be the exact same model, just similar to get a rough idea of the screens that ASUS and Toshiba use.

As far as the resolution goes, you may want to look around and see how much a similar spec laptop with a 1920x1080 screen costs.  Having this higher resolution is very useful, especially for programming as you can fairly comfortably have a web browser/terminal and your code open side by side rather than having to switch between windows.  It is also nice for IDEs like Visual Studio with loads of different panes and toolbars.