Laptop selection i5 Vs A8

[rathin2j]

hi, this is my first post over here (though a millionth visit so please bare with me.

i am looking for good performance, economy laptop.i have gone through TONES of post on tom's hardware and i am a big fan of this forum(since long), but it has confused me
so can u guide me a little...

i was initially planning for Sony vaio 1511, it was love at first sight

but later on i came across lenovo G580

and as i was searching i came across AMD A8 processors ( btw i am a BIG fan of AMD) in AMD i found this model of samsung interesting samsung

but people ACROSS internet (as well as on tom's forum also pull cord across i5 and A8 etc..

my requirement is i use dual boot

win+linus(ubuntu/fedora)
+ MATLAB regularly
+ HD MOVIES,
+ (not hardcore but though) good gamming like NFS HP, shift, crisys, Medal of honor etc,
+ day to day use like MS office..
+some times.. extremely rare (video editing, as i help my friends in making documentaries)

so which one to buy?? my budget is around 35,000 RS (means $550)..

thank u and sorry for veeerrryyyy LONG post...

 

[$hawn]

Well the AMD A8 performance relative to the Intel chips varies according to the workload your running. In purely single threaded performance, both the i3 and i5 will beat it.
However, if your running modern software than can make use 2 or more cores, then the A8 performs in between the i3 and i5. For smoother multi tasking also, definitely get the A8.
But actually, today's processors are so fast, there's a 95% chance you won't be able to tell the difference between the AMD and Intel chips

Coming to graphics, most A8 laptops have vastly superior graphics. The Lenovo G580 you mentioned only has integrated graphics and only a small 500GB harddisk

If you are comfortable with installing your own OS, then hands down this is the BEST lappy for you, but sadly its out of stock at flipkart due to very high demand. So try and see if you can get it at your local HP dealers.
http/www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-g6-2010ax-laptop-apu-quad-core-a8-6gb-1tb-dos-1-5gb-graph/p/itmdesnzqjd8kqh9?pid=COMDESN8BSN3AMFZ&ref=7c5e9e5f-b6eb-464f-bd6e-764096074fbe
OR
If you can afford a few k's more, then please don't hesitate, because,
http/www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-g6-2313ax-laptop-apu-quad-core-a10-6gb-1tb-dos-2-5gb-graph/p/itmdh954sn9dchzf?pid=COMDH93QMXNH7U2W&ref=b0ea0c55-6a1a-4fce-af55-6986ead694e4
[A10 has about 21% faster stock clocks than the A8, yea baby!! probably the only A10 lappy in India ]

 

[whyso]

Not true $hawn.

Here is a comparison between an i5 sandy and the a10 trinity. The i5 sandy easily beats the a10 in most cpu benchmarks, and will beat it further when you consider that now in your case its ivy bridge (10% greater cpu performance) against an a8 (operating at 82% --1.9 vs 2.3 Ghz--of the a10's frequency).
(Ignore gpu benchmarks on that review as it uses the hd 3000 not the hd 4000). When you consider that most things are still single threaded (or for one-two cpu cores) the intel i5 ivy comes out farther ahead (look at the itunes encode test, single thread the i5 is almost twice as fast 1:45 vs 3:00).

http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-4600m-trinity-piledriver,3202.html

The trinity gpu is much better (about 20-40% on average) better than the hd 4000. However, that is for the a10, the a8 only has 2/3 the gpu shaders (256 vs 384 though they operate at the same speed).

The a8 and the hd 4000 are roughly comparable (http/www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html) the hd 4000 and the 7640g (though missing quite a few benchmarks. The a8 should be very slightly better than the hd 4000 (maybe 10% on average at low resolutions-- as you turn up the resolution intel falls behind amd but this does not matter as 10 fps vs 15 fps is still unplayable vs unplayable).

If you want the gaming performance (because cpu deficiency will only result in slower computations but slower graphics may result in unplability) I'd try to stretch the budget and go for an a10. Also, If you are doing heavy multitasking/ matlab, 8 GB of good ram might be helpful (costs about $40) this will also help your gaming.

 

[rathin2j]

$shwan- Thank you very much for that A10 link!! i was looking for A10 laptop!! and YEAH it is the ONLy ONE i think people in india are more INTEL orianted

well, yes i am GOOD in installing OS and all, in fact i am maintaining one UBUNTU and CentOS-6 servers in my college.. and regarding stretching the PRICE LIMIT!! i am not quite curtain!!

@whyso and @ $shwan Regarding multi threading/MATLAB/ multi tasking MATLAB system requirements is confusing for me so you ppl are the BEST judge.. but before this it was 1.8 GHz or so for Matlab 2009

apart from this i use Photoshop, XAMPP, NETBEAN (rarely), ECLIPSE(sometimes) otherwise only movies+songs+surfing (heavy) thats it!!

which one would be better for this..??

and THANK you very much for your quick reply..

 

[$hawn]

Not true $hawn.

Here is a comparison between an i5 sandy and the a10 trinity. The i5 sandy easily beats the a10 in most cpu benchmarks, and will beat it further when you consider that now in your case its ivy bridge (10% greater cpu performance) against an a8 (operating at 82% --1.9 vs 2.3 Ghz--of the a10's frequency).
(Ignore gpu benchmarks on that review as it uses the hd 3000 not the hd 4000). When you consider that most things are still single threaded (or for one-two cpu cores) the intel i5 ivy comes out farther ahead (look at the itunes encode test, single thread the i5 is almost twice as fast 1:45 vs 3:00).

http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-4600m-trinity-piledriver,3202.html

The trinity gpu is much better (about 20-40% on average) better than the hd 4000. However, that is for the a10, the a8 only has 2/3 the gpu shaders (256 vs 384 though they operate at the same speed).

The a8 and the hd 4000 are roughly comparable (http/www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html) the hd 4000 and the 7640g (though missing quite a few benchmarks. The a8 should be very slightly better than the hd 4000 (maybe 10% on average at low resolutions-- as you turn up the resolution intel falls behind amd but this does not matter as 10 fps vs 15 fps is still unplayable vs unplayable).

If you want the gaming performance (because cpu deficiency will only result in slower computations but slower graphics may result in unplability) I'd try to stretch the budget and go for an a10. Also, If you are doing heavy multitasking/ matlab, 8 GB of good ram might be helpful (costs about $40) this will also help your gaming.

On the CPU side of the IB i5's, you certainly are true. However,I never said the A8/A10 beats the i5, only that in properly multi-core optimized stuff they will hang in between the i3 and the i5.
I have also already declared that the AMD chips are slower than the intel ones in Single threaded stuff.
The idea of supporting the Trinity chips is that while most software don't use more than 2 cores, most users certainly run more than 2 heavy apps at a time; consider running an Anti-virus scan while encoding music. In such cases, the AMD chips manage to reach comparable levels of performance as the mobile i3's.

On the GPU side of things, you are ignoring the fact that both the HP models I listed come with a discrete HD 7670M which alone can destroy the HD4000. And when you crossfire (granted CF has soome issues sometimes, they get fixed a bit late with better drivers) I think you know what happens.

Plus there is NO i5 laptop available with similar HDD size, RAM, graphics and a 90W adapter for a similar price in India as of now That's why i suggested the HP lappies, as they are more of a balanced system.
And no i don't think the A8/A10 will bottleneck any games as of now or even 2-3 yrs into the future. The GPU is still the first to choke

I think you have misunderstood me, I was comparing entire laptop platforms on a whole, not just the CPU/GPU/APU. Cheers

 

[$hawn]

$shwan- Thank you very much for that A10 link!! i was looking for A10 laptop!! and YEAH it is the ONLy ONE i think people in india are more INTEL orianted

well, yes i am GOOD in installing OS and all, in fact i am maintaining one UBUNTU and CentOS-6 servers in my college.. and regarding stretching the PRICE LIMIT!! i am not quite curtain!!

@whyso and @ $shwan Regarding multi threading/MATLAB/ multi tasking MATLAB system requirements is confusing for me so you ppl are the BEST judge.. but before this it was 1.8 GHz or so for Matlab 2009

apart from this i use Photoshop, XAMPP, NETBEAN (rarely), ECLIPSE(sometimes) otherwise only movies+songs+surfing (heavy) thats it!!

which one would be better for this..??

and THANK you very much for your quick reply..

First of all, the name's $hawn.

Well, when I used to use Matlab 2007, it was almost completely single threaded. However, this seems changed recently, as per http/www.mathworks.in/discovery/multicore-matlab.html So if your using older versions of Matlab, the Intel chips will surely give you the edge. But then again if all your gonna do is plot a few graphs, then even the A8/A10's can handle that, no worries

Regarding the rest of the software, have no fear, as to the best of my knowledge, Photoshop and almost all compilers are multi-core optimized.
Also, IIRC, photoshop has optimized some of its filters to using GPU's to dramatically speed up some operations.
http/sites.amd.com/us/Documents/2572%20_PartnerBrief_AdobeandPhotoshop_CS6_3P.PDF
Also, the Linux kernel handles the newer AMD chips much better than Windows, with regards to the scheduling issues, allowing you to get a bit more performance out of them when running Linix OSes.

Movies+songs+surfing (heaviest of the heavy) are all a joke for any processor made after 2010. Even a single core Celeron can handle all that

On top of that, the HP laptops give you a seriously capable gaming machine too, courtesy of the HD 7670M. And the price is just unbeatable.

 

[rathin2j]

hi, first of all i am VERY sorry for misspelling the name "$hwan", my mental decoding cam on to my keyboard. please pardon me

and regarding MATLAB, i'll be using latest version and yes few plotting+ Simulink and all.. it means in a way YOU are ALL THE WAY TRUE!!


I am too excited actually after reading all previous threads along with whyso and ur discussion,

now only thing to decide/worry is the Price threshold,thinking whether to wait for price getting down or for any other model or should "make the call" and finish it off by stretching the limit..

 

[iCrazyNoob]

for a laptop if the i5 laptop did not come with any decent discrete gfx card then A8 would be a better overall choice!

 

[$hawn]

now only thing to decide/worry is the Price threshold,thinking whether to wait for price getting down or for any other model or should "make the call" and finish it off by stretching the limit..

Well that's one decision that haunts many a PC buyer.
Given that Richland has just been announced, and not even been released in the US, i'd say it would take a good 4-5 months if not more for Richland based lappies to come to the Indian market. That's a lot of time. Given that this A10 lappy just got released, I doubt the price would fall anytime soon. So if you ask me, wait for 2-3 weeks to see what other OEM's bring out, and then take a decision whether to nail the deal or not

 

[rathin2j]

yeah!! it takes a LOT of time to reach things to indian market!! and i cant wait long, i am going crazy

so will think over it soon in 2nd week of FEB probably,

but only one DOUBT, is HP a trustworthy company to buy?? asking coz i am having HP desktop, and it got blue screen error very first day when i tried installing matlab, not only that it's harddisk got corrupted in 8 months!!(though it was under warranty) and currently also PC has started acting up!! where as i am a very careful single handed user!!

PS: this A10 system, will it be able to run MASS EFFECT 3 or fra cry 3??

 

[$hawn]

Bad items slip through quality checks every now and then, happens once in a while wid every company.

You must remember that all OEMs make their laptops out of near similar components, and they all buy in bulk.....the only difference is how they place the components inside the lappy AFAIK HP is one of the top 3 laptop makers worldwide.

Also keep in mind that ANY laptop when using discrete graphics under full load WILL BECOME HOT. You cannot escape this fact, although HP CoolSense might offset this a bit.

Yes ofcourse it can play those games

 

[rathin2j]

@iCrazyNoob- thanks for the feed back man..!!

@$hwan- okk!! yeah i am also giving a "benefit of doubt",
and yes, i have heard HP being good, my few friends are using them from 4-5 years, without any prbm...

btw thanks for the tip on "Being HOT" will keep in mind..

and happy to know that it will run all LATEST "HIGH END" games..

looking forward to it..!!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Laptops & Notebooks by Mousemonkey

 

[rathin2j]

Hello everyone,
Sorry to be inactive or indecisive for such a long TIME..!!

I was about to go and BUY AMD, that is HP G6-2313AX

but a friend over there suggested me another very competent one that is HP G4-2049TX

now i am AGAIN confused.!! which one to go for??!! I5 or A10??!! :-|

and in addition lot of people are scolding HP for improper BUILD!! and cheap casing and design!!
main worry:which one of this will play (&keep playing) the latest games in comming year :-D

can you experts throw some LIGHT!! i trust you people MORE, rather than other "Friends"

so please guide me..

thank you..

 

[whyso]

Hello everyone,
Sorry to be inactive or indecisive for such a long TIME..!!

I was about to go and BUY AMD, that is HP G6-2313AX

but a friend over there suggested me another very competent one that is HP G4-2049TX

now i am AGAIN confused! which one to go for??!! I5 or A10??!! :-|

and in addition lot of people are scolding HP for improper BUILD!! and cheap casing and design!!
main worry:which one of this will play (&keep playing) the latest games in comming year :-D

can you experts throw some LIGHT!! i trust you people MORE, rather than other "Friends"

so please guide me..

thank you..

$shawn yep, the 7670m will make it better, didn't see that. But generally the a10 falls between the i3 and a pentium cpu wise (a10 gets about 2 points on cinebench multi vs ~2.2 for i3 and ~2.5-2.7 for i5). This is kinda irrelevant for the op though.

i5 ivy with the 7670 vs the a10 + 7670m with better ram and hd go with the a10. Hybrid crossfire is better than no hybrid crossfire but don't expect the gains you see from synthetics like 3d mark 11 (cause a10 + 7670m does not perform like a 2100 point gpu in games), Some games may stutter and some may run better without it. But in general hybrid crossfire> no hybrid crossfire.

 

[rathin2j]

Hello everyone,
Sorry to be inactive or indecisive for such a long TIME..!!

I was about to go and BUY AMD, that is HP G6-2313AX

but a friend over there suggested me another very competent one that is HP G4-2049TX

now i am AGAIN confused! which one to go for??!! I5 or A10??!! :-|

and in addition lot of people are scolding HP for improper BUILD!! and cheap casing and design!!
main worry:which one of this will play (&keep playing) the latest games in comming year :-D

can you experts throw some LIGHT!! i trust you people MORE, rather than other "Friends"

so please guide me..

thank you..

$shawn yep, the 7670m will make it better, didn't see that. But generally the a10 falls between the i3 and a pentium cpu wise (a10 gets about 2 points on cinebench multi vs ~2.2 for i3 and ~2.5-2.7 for i5). This is kinda irrelevant for the op though.

i5 ivy with the 7670 vs the a10 + 7670m with better ram and hd go with the a10. Hybrid crossfire is better than no hybrid crossfire but don't expect the gains you see from synthetics like 3d mark 11 (cause a10 + 7670m does not perform like a 2100 point gpu in games), Some games may stutter and some may run better without it. But in general hybrid crossfire> no hybrid crossfire.

okk..!! i c..!! and in matter of multi tasking 4 cores are better then 2 so, that way also may be A10 is a wiser choice

and i am not a HARDCORE gamer (if i die several times,I call it a day-i stop the game So, 2100 point GPU are not my necessity

thanks for the feedback "WHYSO" and "$hawn" (default)