IMO, amd still has a place in the high end desktop market. It's a smaller use case than it used to be for sure, but something like the 8350 or 8320 can still power a pretty powerful gaming or a content creation rig. I get scores right between a 3770k and a 4770k with my 8350 in a lot of the content creation stuff out there, and it was a lot less expensive.
That being said, in the mobile market, the story isn't quite the same. They for sure have some value oriented options that can be good solutions. Their APU's give lower-mid range laptops more GPU power than intel HD graphics does, which is a plus for a certain demographic. However, when you start to pair these CPU's with higher end GPU's, it makes less sense. The mobile line-up currently tops out at the A10-5750, which is decent, and about on par with an i5, but gets stomped by an i7, and it really makes a noticeable difference in a lot of games. The situation here isn't quite the same as on desktop, because the price difference isn't so large to move from one of these laptops to something with a comparable video card and an intel CPU.
The 8970M is still a decent card, and is between a 770m and a 780m, and paired with a 5750, it will still give you good frame-rates in most games. However, if you can find a comparable or slightly more expensive laptop with an intel and a similar GPU, that's what I would do. If not, what you have found is still almost certainly a better choice than getting a lesser GPU to get a better CPU.