AMD Laptop for software dev and occasional gaming

the_new_mr · 10-09-2018 06:58PM #1

Hi all.

I'm looking for a laptop for some software development and the occasional bit of gaming. iRacing in particular (system requirements here: https://www.iracing.com/membership/system-requirements/)

I was very clued in some years ago on specs but am out of the loop. Been using the benchmark checkers on https://www.notebookcheck.net to get an idea of the kind of stuff out there.

Software Development will be mainly mobile development (Android, Flutter) so I imagine 8 GB of RAM would be the order of the day.

It's gotta be an AMD based laptop.

Also...
1. I'm on a tight budget (preferably 500 to 600 euro range or thereabouts)
2. I'd really like to buy on instalments (finance) if possible to help spread the cost.

The iRacing thing is a nice-to-have. If it can't happen, it's not the end of the world. The main priority is a good laptop that can do the software development.

I'm not pushed about the screen size either as it will be mainly hooked up to another monitor. But 15.6 inches would be ideal.

So, in summary:

Must have:
1. AMD processor (good enough for software dev)
2. 8 GB RAM
3. Don't want to buy Lenovo, Acer or Asus (no offence to any who own these brands - have my personal reasons).

Nice-to-have:
4. Good enough dedicated graphics card to run iRacing
5. 15.6 inch screen

I found these:
https://www.laptopsdirect.ie/nav/pt/laptops/brd/hewlett-packard/ramgr/8gb-and-above/procgrp/amd-processors/mc/laptops-and-netbooks

But not sure if the processors are good enough. Also not sure if finance is available to Ireland residents (it says UK but you know how these things are).

If my budget is pie-in-the-sky please let me know.

If you can recommend any sites that sell laptops that do finance anywhere else, I'd appreciate that.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Alanstrainor · 11-09-2018 10:27AM

Why AMD processors? By in large AMD falls well behind Intel in terms of performance. Perhaps with a slight exception to the very recent Ryzen processors. But even then it very much depends on the usage. Is this a constraint of the Dev work you are doing?

You should check out Dell. They have plenty of models that fit your needs, and even your gaming needs are light. You should be able to run that with a Core i5 8th gen processor with integrated graphics. It might not be the best, but it wouldn't be the worst either.

8GB of RAM really is the lowest anyone should go these days, and at your budget you simply won't get more than that either.

Subcomandante Marcos · 11-09-2018 10:45AM

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Why AMD processors? By in large AMD falls well behind Intel in terms of performance. Perhaps with a slight exception to the very recent Ryzen processors.

The newer Ryzen processors are anything but "far behind" intel chips at their price point, with the 2nd gen APU's especially being far more bang for your buck than intel chips at similar prices, and the higher end ryzen chips blowing intel out of the water for multi-core performance.
This is especially true for laptops where you can get a Ryzen APU that obliterates Intel chips in terms of graphical performance for the same money because the vega cores are massively more powerful than intel's onboard graphics. They also have lower power consumption so you can get upwards of 10 hours of battery life on very affordable laptops with amd chips.

OP. Look for something with one of the new mobile APUs which will do everything you need. The 2300u (6 Vega GPU cores), 2500u (8 Vega GPU cores) and 2700u (10 Vega GPU cores) would the best place to look, which one you go for will depend on your budget.

Laptops direct don't offer finance to Ireland. The only place that offers finance in Ireland worth considering is Argos because it's 0% interest if you pay it off within 6 month but you need to be sure it will be paid off by then or else it becomes 23%.
Other options in Ireland are all flexirent where you don't even own the product at the end of a contract despite paying nearly twice it's value in "rent" over that period, so avoid those deals.

These three would all do what you want OP, which you pick will come down to budget and preference.
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8528106/Trail/searchtext%3ERYZEN.htm
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8541279/Trail/searchtext%3ERYZEN.htm
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8659642/Trail/searchtext%3ERYZEN.htm

Alanstrainor · 11-09-2018 11:02AM

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

The newer Ryzen processors are anything but "far behind" intel chips at their price point, with the 2nd gen APU's especially being far more bang for your buck than intel chips at similar prices, and the higher end ryzen chips blowing intel out of the water for multi-core performance.
This is especially true for laptops where you can get a Ryzen APU that obliterates Intel chips in terms of graphical performance for the same money because the vega cores are massively more powerful than intel's onboard graphics. They also have lower power consumption so you can get upwards of 10 hours of battery life on very affordable laptops with amd chips.

I mean, I did say with exception to Ryzen...

TerrorFirmer · 11-09-2018 01:23PM

Why does it have to be AMD? You won't get better than those Ryzen laptops at that price point, though iRacing will only run at lower levels obviously.

Avoid anything AMD that's not Ryzen, all the A6/A8/A9/etc are pretty terrible and gaming on those would be a no-no.

Something like this for the same money is much better for games though processor is weaker and Intel.

It is very difficult to get a solid all-rounder on your budget. Either settle for a weak CPU + decent gaming card or good CPU and weaker card.

the_new_mr · 11-09-2018 01:49PM

My goodness! Thanks guys! That was extremely helpful.

Subcomandante Marcos, thanks for the detailed answer regarding Ryzen processors and the Argos finance thing. I had no idea that Argos did the 0% for 6 months deal. Sounds perfect!

Thanks again!

TitianGerm · 11-09-2018 02:16PM

Hope the OP doesn't mind me jumping in here but I'll be getting a new laptop in the coming weeks to replace my i5 Surface as I just need something a little bigger for watching online lectures and working from home the odd day.

Would anyone have any recommendations? It will probably see a small bit of gaming (Overwatch) and have about €700 to spend but could stretch a little further.

Subcomandante Marcos · 11-09-2018 02:30PM

For 700 you'll get something with a Ryzen 5 APU. Probably have a few choices between the 2500u, the other option would be an Intel i5 or i3 system with an Nvidia mx130 but the Ryzen will be better value for money. Neither are going to be running the likes of PUBG very well but both will run CSGO at well over 100fps at 1080 low or 720 high, and you'll probably knock out near in and around 60fps in fortnite in 1080 low.

Those HP's linked above from Argos are going to be hard beat value for money wise, especially the middle link. Throw in a 120gb SSD for less than €30 to use as a boot drive and you'll have a really good jack of all trades sort of package there.

TitianGerm · 11-09-2018 02:35PM

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

For 700 you'll get something with a Ryzen 5 APU. Probably have a few choices between the 2500u, the other option would be an Intel i5 or i3 system with an Nvidia mx130 but the Ryzen will be better value for money. Neither are going to be running the likes of PUBG very well but both will run CSGO at well over 100fps at 1080 low or 720 high, and you'll probably knock out near in and around 60fps in fortnite in 1080 low.

Those HP's linked above from Argos are going to be hard beat value for money wise, especially the middle link. Throw in a 120gb SSD for less than €30 to use as a boot drive and you'll have a really good jack of all trades sort of package there.

I will probably be only playing Overwatch (and maybe the old C&C games) on it as I have PS4, One X and Switch for sprawling out on the sofa playing.

I'll have a look at those again!! Cheers.

the_new_mr · 11-09-2018 02:39PM

TitianGerm: I don't really mind but I'd prefer if you started your own thread to avoid confusion since this thread was about AMD based laptops only. Thanks.

Okay, so I was all set to go buy one of those HP laptops but had to back out at the last second. I need to not buy HP (for personal reasons).

Sorry to make this difficult.

I'm trying to avoid the following companies:
HP, Lenovo, Intel.

I've heard that build quality and customer service of Asus and Acer to not be so good some years ago. Is this still the case? The only Ryzen based laptop with 8GB of RAM on Argos is that Acer Nitro. It's quite a bit over budget and I'm just a little wary of buying Acer unless someone can tell me otherwise.

Sorry for dragging this out.

All help greatly appreciated!

11-09-2018 02:43PM

TitianGerm wrote: »

Hope the OP doesn't mind me jumping in here but I'll be getting a new laptop in the coming weeks to replace my i5 Surface as I just need something a little bigger for watching online lectures and working from home the odd day.

Would anyone have any recommendations? It will probably see a small bit of gaming (Overwatch) and have about €700 to spend but could stretch a little further.

I'd try to go for something with nvidia mx150 in it.
ryzen mobile graphics are not great really even in the 2700u. better than intel but not amazing.

mx150 will run overwatch quite well.

something like this for 650 euro

https://www.amazon.de/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Notebook-i5-8250U-GeForce/dp/B07GBFTPX4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1536673093&sr=8-8&keywords=mx150

doesn't have ssd but has intel optane which speeds up normal spinning hds.
could always add a cheap ssd as think it has a spare m.2 slot

or here is the same laptop but with both ssd and hd spinning drive for 729
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07GC1M4KT/ref=psdc_427957031_t2_B07GBFTPX4

11-09-2018 02:47PM

the_new_mr wrote: »

TitianGerm: I don't really mind but I'd prefer if you started your own thread to avoid confusion since this thread was about AMD based laptops only. Thanks.

Okay, so I was all set to go buy one of those HP laptops but had to back out at the last second. I need to not buy HP (for personal reasons).

Sorry to make this difficult.

I'm trying to avoid the following companies:
HP, Lenovo, Intel.

I've heard that build quality and customer service of Asus and Acer to not be so good some years ago. Is this still the case? The only Ryzen based laptop with 8GB of RAM on Argos is that Acer Nitro. It's quite a bit over budget and I'm just a little wary of buying Acer unless someone can tell me otherwise.

Sorry for dragging this out.

All help greatly appreciated!

no hp and must be amd (which you haven't explained why)

there are quite few ryzen mobile laptops out there and HP seems to be the main user of the chips.

Subcomandante Marcos · 11-09-2018 02:50PM

The reason the Acer Nitro is more expensive is because it has a dedicated GPU with 4GB of DDR5 memory which is not far off the GTX 1050 in terms of performance.

Acer and Asus make perfectly good hardware.

the_new_mr · 11-09-2018 03:38PM

Yes I was thinking that regarding the higher price.

Would you happen to know what Acer's customer service is like? If the build quality and customer service is good, maybe I could try and squeeze out the extra 250 (not too easily though).

11-09-2018 03:42PM

the_new_mr wrote: »

Yes I was thinking that regarding the higher price.

Would you happen to know what Acer's customer service is like? If the build quality and customer service is good, maybe I could try and squeeze out the extra 250 (not too easily though).

if something goes wrong you're going to be going back to Argos as a first port of call, not Acer.

buy extended insurance / warranty from Argos if you're worried about long-term cover.

all manufacturers have made some unreliable sh1t laptops over the years - mainly at the lower-end of pricing but things on the quality side are very much improved imo and you're unlikely to have a problem.
laptops are very standardised now. it was only when they tried new things like putting in graphics cards in laptops without providing adequate cooling etc that problems arose in terms of a high % failure rate

in fact I'd argue that you'd be more likely to have an issue with the AMD ryzen mobile chips in a laptop as they are relatively new and unproven (not many out there) than intel

the_new_mr · 11-09-2018 03:52PM

Thanks for your input on that glasso. Good point about the point of sale thing.

I found this as well:
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10180944-pdt.html

Seems pretty good. Ryzen 5 2500U, 8 GB RAM, Vega 8 and 1 TB HDD. Thoughts?

Currys seem to do the 6 month no interest thing as well.

11-09-2018 03:57PM

the_new_mr wrote: »

Thanks for your input on that glasso. Good point about the point of sale thing.

I found this as well:
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-15-6-amd-ryzen-5-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10180944-pdt.html

Seems pretty good. Ryzen 5 2500U, 8 GB RAM, Vega 8 and 1 TB HDD. Thoughts?

Currys seem to do the 6 month no interest thing as well.

battery life seems low at 4.5 hours (usually overstated so expect 3 to 4 hours)

basic plastic construction and heavy enough

full hd screen but not ips

spinning drive, not ssd

same chip 2500u. vega 8 is just integrated amd graphics.

won't be great for gaming tbh.

nvidia mx150 discrete graphics is the minimum starting level for entry-level gaming on a laptop imo

11-09-2018 04:32PM

if it's your only option and you need the finance maybe go for it. you will be able to run some games at 720p lowest settings depending on how well they are optimised (e.g. gtav will even run on intel hd integrated graphics) but some will not be playable (framerates so low that it just won't work properly) at all.

will be fine for software dev.

could get better service at pcworld/curry's in the event of an issue as they actually are pc specialists as opposed to argos where the workers will know nothing about laptops.

11-09-2018 05:22PM

I think that that laptop has a spare m.2 sata port so you could add a mini ssd if you needed in the future to speed up the hard drive operation. even a small cheap 128gb one like the link below and you move windows over to it would be good for improving boot up and windows running times. also put your most used applications on that.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-WDS120G2G0B-Internal-Green/dp/B078WYRR9S/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1536682855&sr=8-6&keywords=m.2+sata+ssd

the_new_mr · 11-09-2018 05:33PM

Thanks for that additional info glasso.

It's a big of a beggars-choosers situation as I'm on a budget and trying to save as much money as possible. Also, I'm not really that likely to get that much gaming done as I rarely have the time. It was just a question of if I had the time and it would be iRacing so not very demanding specs wise. Main target is to do some solid software development on it.

I noticed this one as well:
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-15-6-amd-ryzen-7-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10181312-pdt.html

Ryzen 7 instead of 5 and Vega 10 instead of 8. 720 euro.

Honestly, if the 600 euro one can do solid enough software development without choking when switching tasks, I'd be happy.

// Edit
The 600 euro Acer seems comparable to the 640 euro HP that Subcomandante Marcos had posted earlier.

11-09-2018 05:38PM

the_new_mr wrote: »

Thanks for that additional info glasso.

It's a big of a beggars-choosers situation as I'm on a budget and trying to save as much money as possible. Also, I'm not really that likely to get that much gaming done as I rarely have the time. It was just a question of if I had the time and it would be iRacing so not very demanding specs wise. Main target is to do some solid software development on it.

I noticed this one as well:
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-15-6-amd-ryzen-7-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10181312-pdt.html

Ryzen 7 instead of 5 and Vega 10 instead of 8. 720 euro.

Honestly, if the 600 euro one can do solid enough software development without choking when switching tasks, I'd be happy.

I wouldn't bother spending the extra on the ryzen 7 (5 is ok, just don't get the 3). I would strongly recommend buying the cheap m.2 sata ssd tho and moving all of windows over to it. it will make for a much faster laptop.

here's some info on how to add it.
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/532296/aspire-3-a315-51-has-m-2-or-msata-slot

even pay an extra 14£ to get a double size ssd size
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078WYS5K6/ref=twister_B07D8HYLGX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

would be fine for software dev and would probably run the iracing ok also

11-09-2018 05:55PM

to do the move. clone the hd to ssd (plenty of free software available e.g. https://www.backup-utility.com/download.html) and then set in your bios (enter bios when starting pc from cold is easiest) to run from the ssd, not the original hd. all very easy.

do it before you add a lot of stuff to the original hd or it may all get too big to move over.

then you will have a fast ssd to run windows and most used programs off and the benefit of the bigger original drive to store stuff on also.

TerrorFirmer · 11-09-2018 09:07PM

TitianGerm wrote: »

Hope the OP doesn't mind me jumping in here but I'll be getting a new laptop in the coming weeks to replace my i5 Surface as I just need something a little bigger for watching online lectures and working from home the odd day.

Would anyone have any recommendations? It will probably see a small bit of gaming (Overwatch) and have about €700 to spend but could stretch a little further.

With that budget a GTX1050 should be a minimum.

Something like this is within budget. GTX1050, 256GB SSD. Would run Overwatch at high settings 60fps perfectly.

11-09-2018 09:37PM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

With that budget a GTX1050 should be a minimum.

Something like this is within budget. GTX1050, 256GB SSD. Would run Overwatch at high settings 60fps perfectly.

for some unrevealed reason he's ONLY considering AMD cpus!

TitianGerm · 11-09-2018 09:39PM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

With that budget a GTX1050 should be a minimum.

Something like this is within budget. GTX1050, 256GB SSD. Would run Overwatch at high settings 60fps perfectly.

Cheers for that. Definitely looks a good option and not very "gamey" either.

11-09-2018 09:42PM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

With that budget a GTX1050 should be a minimum.

Something like this is within budget. GTX1050, 256GB SSD. Would run Overwatch at high settings 60fps perfectly.

oh for the other poster lol - yep that's a good option.

Subcomandante Marcos · 12-09-2018 02:35AM

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

With that budget a GTX1050 should be a minimum.

Something like this is within budget. GTX1050, 256GB SSD. Would run Overwatch at high settings 60fps perfectly.

Besides late stock or returns being discounted you will not get a new laptop with a 1050 in the OPs price point.
The example you found is the exception not the rule. At 700 as a upper limit they will generally be bound to Ryzen 5 systems or intel systems with mx130 discrete cards, with the Ryzen cars offering far better value for money.

The OPs reasons for discounting HP, intel or anything else are immaterial. They gave a price point and usage and it's clear as day from the specs requested that a Ryzen 5 2500u or 2700u system would do anything they needed.

The 25OO u will play overwatch and CSGO at over 100fps in competitive settings.

I currently get 90+ FPS in CSGO from i5-6200u with terrible intel onboard you and 8gb DDR4 at 720p mid.
The Ryzen 5 2500u blows my laptop out of the water.

TitianGerm · 12-09-2018 07:58AM

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Besides late stock or returns being discounted you will not get a new laptop with a 1050 in the OPs price point.
The example you found is the exception not the rule. At 700 as a upper limit they will generally be bound to Ryzen 5 systems or intel systems with mx130 discrete cards, with the Ryzen cars offering far better value for money.

The OPs reasons for discounting HP, intel or anything else are immaterial. They gave a price point and usage and it's clear as day from the specs requested that a Ryzen 5 2500u or 2700u system would do anything they needed.

The 25OO u will play overwatch and CSGO at over 100fps in competitive settings.

I currently get 90+ FPS in CSGO from i5-6200u with terrible intel onboard you and 8gb DDR4 at 720p mid.
The Ryzen 5 2500u blows my laptop out of the water.

TF was replying to me (not OP). Sorry for making everything confusing I'll see can a mod take my posts out of here and pop them in a separate thread.

TerrorFirmer · 12-09-2018 09:45AM

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

The 25OO u will play overwatch and CSGO at over 100fps in competitive settings.

I currently get 90+ FPS in CSGO from i5-6200u with terrible intel onboard you and 8gb DDR4 at 720p mid.
The Ryzen 5 2500u blows my laptop out of the water.

As pointed out I was responding to someone elses query but I think you are giving the Ryzen APU a little too much credit.

It's a good APU - certainly better than Intel - but nowhere near as good as might be implied there. To get 100fps in Overwatch on the 2500U you would have to run at 720p low settings with lowered render scale (sub 720p).

That's an excellent result for an APU compared to the competition (think HD620 would scrape about 40fps in same scenario) but not ideal.

Overwatch is actually more demanding than people give it credit for. It has a reputation for running on virtually anything like CSGO or Fortnite but it's not really true, it demands far more of the CPU and GPU.

I agree for the actual OP of course that a Ryzen 2500U is perfectly good and a good all-rounder of course considering his needs/wants....and obviously if someone wants a light, portable machine the Ryzen is gonna be better than lugging around a 15.6" lumpier machine.

GTX1050 now regularly features at sub €650, it's a golden era for laptop gaming when you can get such powerful machines for so little.

12-09-2018 10:52AM

overwatch will not run at 100fps on the 2500u even at lowest everything.
in any case it was the second poster looking for overwatch capability, not the OP.

also many games are poor at 720p at lowest settings for detail, texture, draw distance etc - you're not getting to play the game in any way like it was designed in terms of the full experience.

ideally you want to be able to play at 1080p medium settings really imo

the 2500u is a good option if you want to play older games or less demanding games (e.g. windows store stuf) if you have to make a choice between that cpu and intel hd at the same price point.

but as terrorfirmer says you can increasingly get nvdia discrete at a competitive price, albeit in the clunky big laptop form factor.

trying to get something that you could call portable in the sense of being ok with carrying it in a backpack with you regularly is still very expensive.

the_new_mr · 12-09-2018 05:05PM

Thanks for your input Subcomandante Marcos and glasso and everyone who commented on this thread with helpful information.

I'm definitely much more educated in terms of what specs I'm looking for and where I can buy them with a finance option. And I think I'm pretty much settled on which laptop to get. Think I'll be going for the Ryzen 5 Acer laptop.

You've been a great help. Thanks again.

AMD Laptop for software dev and occasional gaming

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