Laptop Thoughts: Which is More Important to You? Battery Life or Graphics Performance?

"Overall, we love this lightweight notebook's gorgeous design, snappy performance, and amazingly comfortable keyboard. But which of these two configurations is best? While both received a "highly recommended" rating of 4 stars, we gave our coveted Editor's Choice award to the Intel-powered T235 because it lasted 50 minutes longer (6:10 versus 5:20), it had better Wi-Fi connectivity, and it copied files faster than its AMD-based counterpart. Overall performance was pretty much a wash, though the T235D did a little bit better in graphics tests and gaming."

It's always interesting when two laptops have identical parts but differ on CPU and chipsets; you get to see how each CPU and chipset change factors that are otherwise virtually impossible to measure head to head. In this case, going with an Intel CPU and GPU gets you 50 minutes of extra battery life for $20 more. The AMD option brings better graphics performance to the table, and a savings of $20. Which is more important to you? Battery life or better graphics performance? For me, it's better battery life - hands down.