A8 3500m or core i5 2410QM for games

[imperial7]

Hello,
which laptop is better to play hard?

Hi everyone!
I want to buy a laptop, and I have 2 options, just these 2 options and do not intend to spend much money.

Gateway is the first option NV75S02u, With AMD Quad-Core Processor Accelerated A8-3500M 1.5GHz with up to 2.4GHz Turbocor Technology.
AMD Radeon ™ HD Graphics 6620G

and the other option is ASUS A53E-XA2, With 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2410QM processor (2.3 GHz).
Intel HD 3000 series

I am looking for a gaming PC that runs low-mid resolutions, but to run games well, and give me a good experience when playing.

the Gateway NV75S02u lei, With the A8, provides a good experience in gaming, but do not know anything about application performance, and dont know anything about the ASUS A53E-XA2.
i know that in terms of multitasking, the processor core i5 is better, but in games would not know which is better!

I'm really interested in games, it is not necessary for me to have many applications running.

I need help choosing the best games

 

[jaguarskx]

You need to determine what is more important to you. Application performance or gaming performance.

The Llano A8-3500M is better for games since the Radeon HD 6620G. It's performance is a little better than the desktop HD 5550. However, the CPU is rather weak compared to the dual core Core i52410M. The is no such thing as a Core i5-2410QM. The only "QM" CPUs are the Core i7s. It is a typo by those advertising the laptop since Intel does not list the "i5-2410QM" as one of their products. I would say that the Llano's CPU core is fast enough not to hold back the HD 6620G in games.

A dual core Core i3-2100 can beat a quad core Phenom II X4 965 in games. Llano APUs use the slower Athlon II CPU cores (compared to Phenom & Phenom II cores).

The Core i5-2410 has the superior CPU core, but the Intel HD 3000 is only slightly faster than the desktop Radeon HD 5450. While games will be bottlenecked by the Intel HD 3000, the CPU core can rip though demanding applications (like video encoding) much better than the Athlon II CPU core found in Llano CPUs.

 

[dish_moose]

So basically for games - go with the A8-3500M.
-Bruce

 

[WR2]

which laptop is better to play hard?
I'm really interested in games, it is not necessary for me to have many applications running.
I need help choosing the best games

What kind of help do you need in choosing games?

As long as you're OK most games running in mid-low graphics settings the Gateway is looking better. The 1600x900 resolution is nice but it's going to lower the performance of games a bit, having to push that many pixels.
(you're OK with the 17" notebooks? - have you checked on that size in your local stores?)

But can you explain WHY you can only choose between those two?

 

[jaguarskx]

Actually, I need to correct myself...

The Radeon HD 6620G graphics core in an A8-3800 APU is somewhat slower than the desktop Radeon HD 5570. The slower HD 6520G graphics core is somewhat faster than the desktop Radeon HD 5550.

The HD 6620G graphics core should be good enough to play most games at medium graphics quality on a 1600x900 resolution screen with decent frame rate (not great, but decent). However, just be aware that at an estimated 7.27lbs it is quite heavy to carry it around.

Playing games on the 15.6" ASUS A53E-XA2 with the Intel HD 3000 graphics core will force you to play most demanding games with low settings. I bought the 14" Lenovo Y470 which come with the Core i5-2410M and nVidia GeForce GT 550M. I used Crysis 1 to test the capabilities of the Intel HD 3000 and the GT 550M. With the GT 550M Crysis was very playable using medium quality and anti aliasing set to x2; frame rates averaged from around 35 - 44 FPS most of the time. Playing Crysis with the Intel HD 3000 meant setting all graphic settings to low and turning off anti aliasing; average frame rates ranged between 18 - 24 FPS most of the time. Turning AA to x2 resulted in 8.5 - 11.5 FPS.

I was able to play Fallout 3 (again) using the HD 3000 with a mix of low and medium settings. Overall, it is playable, but performance could be a little better. I wouldn't recommend mods that would spawn more people/monsters with the Intel HD 3000. Also, Fallout 3 does not recognize integrated video cards. I had to download a modified d3d9.dll file originally for "Oldblivion" (software which allows graphics cards which are pre DirectX9 abilities to run Oblivion) so that Fallout 3 would not immediately crash when I load or start a game.

On the other hand, the Intel HD 3000 has no problems with less demanding games like Civilization IV.

 

[imperial7]

What kind of help do you need in choosing games?

As long as you're OK most games running in mid-low graphics settings the Gateway is looking better. The 1600x900 resolution is nice but it's going to lower the performance of games a bit, having to push that many pixels.
(you're OK with the 17" notebooks? - have you checked on that size in your local stores?)

But can you explain WHY you can only choose between those two?

is basically , because i dont have too much money to buy a laptop with decent graphics, i was resigned to buy a laptop just for power point , and web browsing, but when i heard about the APU A8, and its graphic capabilities for gaming, i think that is a good choice for me

.I will use it only for college, nothing that needs much processing power, but I want a good graphics processor that can run many games at low / mid Resolutions, i am a gamer and the games are very important for me

 

[kkaum]

if you're not running the latest games and expecting high settings, the A8 is probably a better choice, even though I personally prefer the sandy bridge i5.

the intel hd 3000 isn't too bad, I was able to run most 2009-2010 games at respectable settings, on a ULV core i5 sandy bridge no less!

 

[YursTruly]

here what i found for $600 to $700 price range...

ASUS A53SV-EH71 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop

available at amazon.com for $669

take note: no bell and whistle but the cpu/gpu i7 and Nvidia GT 540 1 GB

 

[Avro Arrow]

For gaming, there really is no question as to what you want. The A8-3500M is the better choice. The Mobility Radeon HD 6620G is 22% faster than the HD 3000 overall and as Charlie Demerjian pointed out, Intel has never had graphics drivers that work properly and probably won't anytime soon. Intel graphics are like an albatross around your neck, especially for gaming as their GPUs do not support DX11 and often a game just won't run on them due to compatability issues caused by their faulty drivers. My laptop is an Acer Aspire 5560 which uses the A8-3500M and my 6620G runs Skyrim smoothly at low settings which means that it has roughly the same quality as the PS3 or Xbox which still looks great, especially on a small 15.6" monitor. The huge difference in battery life also heavily favours the A8. According to tomshardware, the A8-3500M can run graphic-heavy applications for 2 hours and 12 minutes vs. 1 hour and 22 minutes for the i5-2520M, that's a 50 minute difference! Not exactly small potatoes:
http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a8-3500m-llano-apu,2959-22.html
You'll also see that the A8-3500M blew away the i5-2520M in all gaming benchmarks, keeping in mind that the i5-2520M is faster than the i5-2410QM. It's simple, the A8-3500M wins hands down.

 

[imperial7]

a pair of month has passed since the laptop arrived, is a lenovo ideapad y570, with nvidia 555m, core i5 2410m, 4gb 1333mhz, and 750gb hdd, i have buyed it for the half of the price, with a coupon, and i am very happy with thip laptop, i can play every game in at least medium settings and dx11, including crysis 2 and battlefield 3
thanks for the help!!!

 

[imperial7]

Best answer selected by imperial7.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar