Laptop for school and next year for college!

iDann

Still haven't got round to get a laptop..
I'm looking for one that will handle a DCG Application called Solid works smoothly as I will need to practice for my Leaving Cert project, and I want to keep it to for next year in college, hopefully I'll be doing electronic engineering. Is there any laptops out there that will suit might needs? Looking for a price range of €400-€500..
Thanks..

Overheal

Ask yourself if you really really need it right now.

Its better to wait probably until next summer and save a larger budget for your laptop when you actually get approval back through CAO. 500 for a laptop that you are only planning 2-3 years of use out of is not a great idea. I always tell people that in actuality especially if you live away from home for college to really budget yourself closer to €1500 for something with the specs to last 4+ years, with a good service/accidental plan on it, and that budget factors in things like a Printer/Scanner, School/Laptop Bag, security lock, headphones, mouse, school supplies, etc. and all the other little things people forget about when it actually comes to time. Correctly though, that budget is on the consideration for a 3 year service plan (about €500-600 of the estimate), the extras (about €300), and about a €600-650 laptop.

Personally I'd hold back and plan pragmatically. You might always not get the course you want, or have to repeat, because something can always come up that is out of your control. Good that you are thinking about it now though.

Presumably you're still living at home? It would be wiser to upgrade the family PC. A new Graphics Card with power supply, or more RAM, would set back about €250 on average and your parents probably wouldn't mind footing most/all of that since the machine will stay with them after you go to college. What are the specs of your PCs at home?

Torqay

iDann wrote: »

I'm looking for one that will handle a DCG Application called Solid works smoothly

If you're looking for a laptop with a Solid Works certified graphics card, you better quadruple your budget.

Just kidding... but you're looking for at least an Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor and a dedicated GPU, such laptops are available from around 600 Euro at the moment.

(@ Overheal: Yes, I know, there is the AMD A10 Triton APU, but I haven't seen them on offer on this side of the pond yet)

Overheal

In the price range its really hard to beat the Triton though in most uses. Obviously once you get a few hundred dollars above there, everything is Intel, but AMD isn't really trying to even be up in that range. Highest laptop CPU they have is that Triton.

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

In the price range its really hard to beat the Triton though in most uses.

Well, the A8 and A10 have yet to arrive in Ireland. I see some A6 offered alright but they're not exactly cheap. 100 Euro and more above the best Sandy Bridge Core i3 deals. Even some Sandy Bridge Core i5 you'll get cheaper.

Overheal

Thats odd. They should be competitively priced against the SB i3. Sounds like a market issue

http://m.amd.com/us/salesguide/Pages/competitive-guide.aspx

Thats the actual competition guide, from AMD. I'd note though the A10 really shouldn't stack up to the SB i7 unless it's for multimedia.

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

Thats odd. They should be competitively priced against the SB i3. Sounds like a market issue

http://m.amd.com/us/salesguide/Pages/competitive-guide.aspx

Thats the actual competition guide, from AMD. I'd note though the A10 really shouldn't stack up to the SB i7 unless it's for multimedia.

That "Competitive Positioning Guide" is hilarious...

The way AMD have themselves "positioned", none of their processors will stand a chance against their respective Intel counterparts in pure CPU benchmarks. Marketing indeed.

Overheal

CPU Benchmarks, or practical use?

Torqay

Even with regard to practical use, AMD don't do themselves much of a favour to position the flagship A-10 against a Sandy Bridge Core i7. It's wishful thinking, even from a marketing point of view as you will probably get SB Core i7 machines cheaper than AMD a-10 laptops, they're old models to be sold in stock clearance deals.

And if you compare the entry level Fusion processors with Intel's dual core Celeron (let alone Pentium), AMD doesn't have a winner either. They can compete with Atom CPUs at best.

Overheal

Torqay wrote: »

Even with regard to practical use, AMD don't do themselves much of a favour to position the flagship A-10 against a Sandy Bridge Core i7. It's wishful thinking, even from a marketing point of view as you will probably get SB Core i7 machines cheaper than AMD a-10 laptops, they're old models to be sold in stock clearance deals.

Even in our best clearance deals the lowest I've seen an i7 sell for is $600. The A10 laptops are positioned new at that price point. Not saying you wont find the i7-2's cheaper but someone isn't doing their job right if thats the case. Either way, it's all around better for gaming even up to a 3rd gen i7 in some of the benches Im seeing. SB didn't have DX11 support either. All around though I dont feel like the cost difference justifies the performance you get with intel, on AMD youre looking at far better graphics (also applies to web browsing and everything else) and battery life.

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

iDann

thanks for the info guys really appreciate it!!

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

Even in our best clearance deals the lowest I've seen an i7 sell for is $600. The A10 laptops are positioned new at that price point. Not saying you wont find the i7-2's cheaper but someone isn't doing their job right if thats the case. Either way, it's all around better for gaming even up to a 3rd gen i7 in some of the benches Im seeing.

Which benches are that now?

I've just spotted a SB Core i7 Quad laptop w 6 GB RAM and a GT 630M (which is faster than the A10's HD 7660D) for little over 500 Sterling. No A10 laptop can possibly match this combo, no matter what benches you throw at them.

Anyone into gaming would never buy an Intel laptop without dedicated GPU.

And when it comes to the desktop variants, AMD appears in an even less favourable light, according to extensive tests at Tom's Hardware, the A-10 is struggling against a Core i3-2100 in most realms.

While the Triton APUs are not as poor an attempt as the Fusion APU, they're nothing Intel has to be overly concerned about. AMD still has a lot of work to do.

Overheal

Well sure, but it's damn impressive when Intel spends more in R&D than AMD generates in Revenue.

I will never buy a nvidia product again after what they did with their 8000/9000 series in the mobile lineup. That was a disaster.

As it stands though AMD is going to have the same market presence in Europe as it does here, and of that, Intel is going to be a little cheaper there anyway because of Irish manufacturing.

I'd like to see that deal you found though, seems below market value - either it's clearance, open box, has a fat mail in rebate, or something is wrong with it?

Torqay

Overheal wrote: »

I'd like to see that deal you found though, seems below market value - either it's clearance, open box, has a fat mail in rebate, or something is wrong with it?

Don't see anything wrong with this deal, it is just the kind of competition AMD will face in the coming weeks.

Overheal

Aside from the all plastic construction (no USB 3 ports?) the Optimus tech is a downer, it can be a little finnicky about actually stepping up/down to the Intel HD depending on your use which pretty much defeats the purpose of having it. It is last years tech though, priced to clear. No advertised battery life either. One of Triton's handiest qualities is that the high and the low end graphics are all on the same die, so theres really not much to confuddle in the system as far as power savings go.

Torqay

If we'd only live in a perfect world...

But If I had to choose between this years Triton A-10 and last years Core i7 & GT 630 M for the same money or less, I'd take the Intel any day. They may be good allrounders, but nothing more (the HD 7660D is not gaming material) and they will only sell if the price is right.