Whats the difference between quad core and i5

[mike993]

Hello, i am looking to purchase a new laptop and i have the option to buy a laptop with and intel core i5 or for £200 cheaper a quad core AMD A6. i was wondering whether the intel is worth the extra £200 or not, i will be mainly using the laptop for multi-tasking and the odd game on steam. hopefully someone can give me some advise.
thankyou,

 

[PrimalGecko]

Hello, i am looking to purchase a new laptop and i have the option to buy a laptop with and intel core i5 or for £200 cheaper a quad core AMD A6. i was wondering whether the intel is worth the extra £200 or not, i will be mainly using the laptop for multi-tasking and the odd game on steam. hopefully someone can give me some advise.
thankyou,

Without knowing the other specifics of the two laptops you are looking at, the price difference is not just the processor. Both processors should be pretty comparable as what you have given us are both quad core processors. Speeds may be different, but your performance results won't be to significantly different just based on the processor.

 

[mike993]

Thankyou for the reply, the two laptops are the Lenovo Z570 and the lenovo Z575, the other specs are as follows:

Z570:
Intel i5- 2450m processor
6GB RAM
750GB Hard drive
nvidia GeForce GT 630m- graphics

Z575:
quad core AMD A6- 3420m processor
6GB RAM
500GB Hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 6520G

thanks,

 

[mike993]

Without knowing the other specifics of the two laptops you are looking at, the price difference is not just the processor. Both processors should be pretty comparable as what you have given us are both quad core processors. Speeds may be different, but your performance results won't be to significantly different just based on the processor.

Thankyou for the reply, the two laptops are the Lenovo Z570 and the lenovo Z575, the other specs are as follows:

Z570:
Intel i5- 2450m processor
6GB RAM
750GB Hard drive
nvidia GeForce GT 630m- graphics

Z575:
quad core AMD A6- 3420m processor
6GB RAM
500GB Hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 6520G

thanks,

 

[rubbateckie]

PrimalGecko and mike993, the i5 is not a quad core processor. Although the i5 is probably a better processor for everyday use. Also, the video card in the Intel computer is a dedicated graphics card which is probably decent. The graphics in the AMD are integrated but one of the better integrated cards. Neither laptop will do great with gaming but the Intel would provide a better gaming experience. That said, the steam based games aren't too intensive and the 630M in the Intel should be able to run them at least on medium with 30+ fps. While the AMD would struggle on medium with some of the newest/more intensive games. The Amd would provide better battery life most likely though.

This is a comparison of laptop graphics cards: http/www.notebookcheck.net/Comparison-of-Laptop-Graphics-Cards.130.0.html
If you click a link for a specific card you can see its performance on some games if you scroll down on the page.

This is the AMD's card: http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6520G.55734.0.html

This is the Intel's: http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-630M.63761.0.html


It is hard to justify £200 difference (can you get us info on the RPM of the hard drive and how much memory the video card has more help can probably be given.)

 

[DarkOutlaw]

PrimalGecko and mike993, the i5 is not a quad core processor.

I think you meant to say -this- i5..blah blah...

Yeah I caught that typo after I thought about it a bit more. This i5 is still the better choice, you will get what you pay for.

 

[Sakkura]

Are you doing drugs?

Notebook core i5's are dual core processors, unlike the desktop core i5's which are quad cores.

 

[jaguarskx]

The difference is that a dual core Mobile Core i5 CPU is a much more powerful CPU than the quad core AMD A6 APU. Additionally, the nVidia GT 630m is a much more powerful graphic card (by notebook standards), than the integrated Radeon HD 6520G inside the AMD A6 APU.

nVidia GT 630m
http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-630M.63761.0.html

Radeon HD 6520G
http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6520G.55734.0.html

The end result is that Z570 is a better laptop for games.

 

[rubbateckie]

I think you meant to say -this- i5..blah blah...

Yeah I caught that typo after I thought about it a bit more. This i5 is still the better choice, you will get what you pay for.

Notebook core i5's are dual core processors, unlike the desktop core i5's which are quad cores.

Sorry I should have said the mobile i5's ! Thanks to both of you for clarifying!