Can't Choose Between i5 or A10. Need More Specialised Help

From the perspective of each individual CPU core in the Core i5 and A10, the Intel core is more powerful assuming the same clock speed. The Core i5-4210u can hit 2.7GHz when only one core is being used and the A10-5750m can hit 3.5GHz when only one core is being used. When two core are used the highest clockspeed generally decreases by 200MHz; so that means 2.5GHz for the Core i5 and 3.3GHz for the A10. I think if all 4 cores in the A10 is used the highest clockspeed would be 3.0GHz or 3.1GHz.

Despite the actual difference in clockspeed, Intel CPUs can process more data and instructions than AMD APUs can. Therefore, the each CPU core in the Core i5 should be a bit more more powerful than each CPU core in the A10 despite the difference in clockspeed.

I think the only instances where the A10 would actually perform better (or equal to the Core i5) is if the programs used are capable of using all 4 cores in the A10 APU. Therefore, you need to find out if the programs can use more than 2 cores.

If the programs can use all 4 cores of the A10 APU, then they will likely run faster with the APU. If the program can only use 1 or 2 cores, then they will run faster with the Intel CPU. Three cores.....? My bet would be Intel.

The main difference between Intel "M" and "U" model CPUs are lower clockspeeds to reduce power consumption. That naturally means lower performance, but better battery life if that matters.

The primary difference between a Core i3 and Core i5 CPU is that Core i5 has Turbo Boost which acts like an automatic overclock. Without Turbo Boost the i5-4210u will run at 1.7GHz, but with Turbo Boost that CPU can run as high as 2.7GHz when a single core is used (about 2.5GHz with both cores used). The Core i3 lacks Turbo Boost so if there was a "Core i3-4210u" CPU it's max speed would be 1.7Ghz.

It's a bit of a tough choice without knowing how many cores the programs can use, but even if that is known, it would still be hard to judge without seeing any benchmark comparisons. Given the known performance difference between Intel and AMD's individual CPU cores, I would go with Intel.

From a graphics performance point of view, the Radeon HD 8750m is a bit more powerful than the GT 820m. However, the game must support DX10 or DX11 in order for the Radeon HD 8750m to be active. As an example, Skyrim is a popular game that is only DX9 because it was designed to run on consoles as well. Because this if you were to play Skyrim with the A10-5750 laptop, only the integrated Radeon HD 8650g will be used to play the game. The Radeon HD 8750m will be inactive.