What makes computers run slow?

Would this laptop run games like Skyrim, Civ 5?

• I can't choose between two computers, because I don't know which would be best for playing games like these (If either of them run them at all) One has an AMD Quad-Core A8-3520M (With 1.6GHz and a 4MB L2 Cache, and is a dedicated card) The other has an Intel Core i5-2450M (Which is 2.5GHz, with a 3MB L3 Cache, BUT is only a Dual Core, and is an integrated graphics card) The main thing confusing me is that I don't know if the fact that the 1.6 GHz one would be able to run a game requiring 2.0GHz, because it is Quad-core, or if the number of cores makes any difference at all. Please help! Thanks :)

• Answer:

  Integrated GPUs aren't really suggested for gaming. Discrete graphics are almost always better since they're usually perform better than integrated cards, so have no question about that part. (But make sure it's a good dedicated graphics card) Intel is a brand that I like, they're reliable and advanced when compared to AMD processors, and you know the Sandy Bridge processors perform pretty well. The archtitecture of the processor is really important too, and don't just look at the number of cores or the clock speed. If I were you, I'd go with the i5 although it has integrated graphics... Tough one. About the games, how you'll run them depends on the GPU. If you've got a nice discrete GPU, then your laptop will run them, although don't expect it to run them at very detailed graphics on a full HD (1920x1080) monitor. Even most desktop cards can't do that for Skyrim, and desktop cards are better. Civ5 needs a lot of processing power, although both of the given processors could handle it to an extent. My 2010 Asus with an i7-740QM (Quad-Core @1.73 GHz, 6 MB L3 Cache, GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon 5730) handled it well in DirectX 9. Not sure about Skyrim though, it's a graphics-hungry game.