Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Are AMD CPU's in laptops any good?

  • 07-04-2015 8:09pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,316 ✭✭✭✭


    Anyone have any idea if AMD are any good in laptops? Father had a dual core i5 Intel HP laptop until lately, but found it to be sluggish if more than two programs running concurrently. Think it was a G6-2380SA that he had previously. Budget is at around €600

    Looking at possible HP AMD quads; any use? It'd mainly used for multiple Office and web based applications to be ran. Graphics card not that big a deal, but would prefer having 8GB's of RAM in it from the start, to avoid having to upgrade it.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,157 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    I'd generally put those kind of performance issues down to disk, or lack of RAM. Most CPU's (including basic Intel Atoms) should be able to move between programs seamlessly. I run an Atom Windows 8.1 tablet without having such issues.

    As for the direct question of whether they are any good. I would prefer to go the Intel route to be honest....although I haven't used any AMD chips in a couple of years.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,316 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    As for the direct question of whether they are any good. I would prefer to go the Intel route to be honest....although I haven't used any AMD chips in a couple of years.
    Likewise. Have used AMD in a gaming machine in the past (Athlon 64 X2, or something?), and had nought complaints, but have been using various Intel quads for the past while, but as only AMD have quads in the price range I'm given, looking at them. Shall probably check if there're any heat issues with them, and see.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    use procexp to see what's eating the ram / cpu

    You can get 240GB SSD's from €83-110 which can help a lot depending on where the bottleneck is

    backup and restore to factory default / wipe and clean install if you suspect software



    CPU is probably soldered on since http://ark.intel.com/products/72056/Intel-Core-i5-3230M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz-BGA says it's FCBGA1023 From http://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c03617758 which says the CPU is a 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5-3230M

    But use CPUZ to confirm the ID or open it up ;)

    I'd recommend spending a little extra if it can get you a socketed cpu
    but only if you're handy with a screwdriver , and it's a relatively new socket for which there are better cpu's available and you are OK with waiting two years or so for them to drop in price. Even then be aware that your BIOS might not support a better CPU and putting in one that uses more watts than your current one is a great way to accelerate the heat death of the universe or at least that part in the immediate vicinity of the cpu.



    if running windows then use Disk2vhd to dump an image to a .vhd file
    you can test the image on another pc
    and dump the image on to the new laptop so you don't have to worry about missing stuff - setup shared folders between the guest and host and move stuff over to the host.


    The lower end AMD stuff is low end , but a lot of the low end intel laptops use integrated graphics , though if himself isn't a gamer then no advantage to having AMD and separate graphics.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Some of those AMD quads aren't true quads, and generally their performance isn't great compared to Intel. APU's are better is about all.

    I had an a10 mobile processor in a gaming laptop before, it was AMD's fastest mobile chip at the time - and it was an absolute farce. It was slower than a ULV mobile i3, bottlenecked the graphics card really badly.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,064 ✭✭✭poundhound


    I ran this query by 5 different sales assistants in PC world and Harvey Norman recently and got 5 completely different answers.

    Initially I was told an AMD10 was top of the range and performs great.

    Then I was informed the best AMD processor equates to an Intel i3 and yesterday I was told it was comparable to an Intel i7?!

    From reading up, it seems an AMD10 processor is actually comparable to an Intel i5.

    Thats my understanding anyway.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    poundhound wrote: »
    I ran this query by 5 different sales assistants in PC world and Harvey Norman recently and got 5 completely different answers.

    Initially I was told an AMD10 was top of the range and performs great.

    Then I was informed the best AMD processor equates to an Intel i3 and yesterday I was told it was comparable to an Intel i7?!

    From reading up, it seems an AMD10 processor is actually comparable to an Intel i5.

    Thats my understanding anyway.


    From experience it is no-where near i5 level. I have used the A10 in a high-end gaming laptop and it was rubbish. With a 7970M I was getting literally 50% the framerate of the same card with i5 processors and in some cases significantly below i3 processors. Worst purchase I ever made. It's well documented on the web how lackluster AMD's mobile uses are compared to Intel offerings.

    They're grand obviously for web browsing, office use, day to day stuff, and the integrated GPU is much better for the odd game than Intel's are.

    Anyone who says the A10 is equivalent to an i7 is smoking crack.

    I would take an i3 over an A10 any day. Either desktop or mobile.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,064 ✭✭✭poundhound


    @terrorfirmer

    Do you have any links where it says the AMD10 is lacklustre?

    I'm not doubting you but from what I've seen the amd10 and inteli5 are comparable.

    I'm on the verge of buying a system that uses the AMD10.
    I have no interest in gaming on a laptop.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭yeppydeppy


    I'd stay away from HP - their support is a joke.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    The A10 I had was the A10-5750. Quick google shows up it's performance as lower than a second gen i3.

    Don't know what A10 you're looking at presently but let's assume it's the A10-7400, the fastest one available....that is still definitely not on an i7 level. The only one that's technically on level with the i7 is the FX-7600 (which is just re-named to sound cool, still an A10 class cpu).

    And I say technically because even then it's similar to the ULV, low wattage dual core i7 - not the true quad core i7, which leaves the FX in the dust. The i5's you're looking at comparison wise would be i5 ULV's as well. Normal i5 processors are much faster than A10.

    Of course it really depends on what price you're paying as well.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,064 ✭✭✭poundhound




  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Seems like a poor configuration for your uses considering it costs 700. Weak processor at that price point, 16gb of ram is just silly, and you're paying for a dedicated 260M video card that you've said you won't use.

    At that price I'd be looking for an i7, 8GB Ram, and possibly an SSD drive.

    Performance wise that laptop will have the same or worse performance than a 400 euro i3 based laptop.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37,316 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    yeppydeppy wrote: »
    I'd stay away from HP - their support is a joke.
    I tend to be the support :/

    For apps A8>A10 it would seem , with A8<A10 for gaming.

    =-=

    From looking at the various amazon reviews, it seems laptop with AMD quad = loud fan (or at least continuous high revs when using a Word document). Too used to a PC with a decent fan stuck on, I am :D

    http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03617758 was bought for €600 some time back, with the CPU Base Frequency being 2.6GHz - 3rd generation i5-3230M.

    Anything Intel I find with a 15.6" screen around the €600 mark is a 4th generation CPU, with a Base Frequency of 1.7GHz

    I'd have thought they'd be faster now, but it seems I'd get a lot less now.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 93,857 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    the_syco wrote: »
    Anything Intel I find with a 15.6" screen around the €600 mark is a 4th generation CPU, with a Base Frequency of 1.7GHz

    I'd have thought they'd be faster now, but it seems I'd get a lot less now.
    The one big change is that the chips use a lot less power so giving better battery life.

    I'm still looking for reasons to move from an i3 370m laptop that I've put an SSD into and apart from USB 3 and better battery life I'm not seeing anything that will give me a significant improvement without spending a lot more than the laptop cost originally.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,225 ✭✭✭✭unkel


    I'm still looking for reasons to move from an i3 370m laptop that I've put an SSD into and apart from USB 3 and better battery life I'm not seeing anything that will give me a significant improvement without spending a lot more than the laptop cost originally.

    +1

    My main laptop is a 9 year old Dell 6400 with a dual core T2080 processor in it running Windows 8.1 pro

    It lives in the kitchen and is for basic family use - web browsing / office / emails / watching films and youtube etc. After I stuck in an SSD a few days ago, I doubt you would see any performance differences for that use compared to a brand new low to mid end laptop (sub €500)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,157 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    unkel wrote: »
    +1

    My main laptop is a 9 year old Dell 6400 with a dual core T2080 processor in it running Windows 8.1 pro

    It lives in the kitchen and is for basic family use - web browsing / office / emails / watching films and youtube etc. After I stuck in an SSD a few days ago, I doubt you would see any performance differences for that use compared to a brand new low to mid end laptop (sub €500)

    I wish I still had my 6400....I bet it would still run well to this day had I not butchered it...I think I got 5/6 years out of it before I took the screen out of it. :(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,296 ✭✭✭bonzodog2


    A Latitude E6400 or an Inspiron 6400? I have several E6400s, a very well designed and built machine. I bought another one recently for 14.50 GBP!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,012 ✭✭✭✭Cuddlesworth


    I wish I still had my 6400....I bet it would still run well to this day had I not butchered it...I think I got 5/6 years out of it before I took the screen out of it. :(

    It craps out when doing something like a 1080p steam, cpu starts to throttle since one core sits at 100%


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,588 ✭✭✭Slutmonkey57b


    The answer to any "my old laptop/desktop is really slow" question is always "ssd" IMO.

    Truly shocking if you ever switch between spinning disks and solid state. I'd go so far as to describe any PC without one as unusable.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,157 ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    bonzodog2 wrote: »
    A Latitude E6400 or an Inspiron 6400? I have several E6400s, a very well designed and built machine. I bought another one recently for 14.50 GBP!

    Inspiron 6400, I did have a work E6400 too, good machine!
    The answer to any "my old laptop/desktop is really slow" question is always "ssd" IMO.

    Truly shocking if you ever switch between spinning disks and solid state. I'd go so far as to describe any PC without one as unusable.

    I run a laptop with a hybrid drive, after coming from a desktop with a 46GB SSD for 2+ years and it's frustrating at times. But not the worst. I'm just waiting for 256GB SSDs to become the standard disk in all laptops.

    Interesting hearing opinions on the AMD A10, surprised they are that bad!


Advertisement