A10 VS i3

[ilikemoneygreen]

Ive been laptop hunting lately and Hp has a nice selection on its site and im in for a new laptop. My budget is around 750 +/- 50 (without tax) and I like the "HP Pavilion dv6z-7000" on the site. My thoughts are around the gpu, i want a good one. im not exactly a gamer but i do game from time to time and i never really do cpu intense things except for game. anyway the decision for me is this an: AMD Quad-Core A10-4600M paired with a 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7730M. and the other option which is a 2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2350M paired with a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Graphics with 2GB GDDR 5 video memory.


A10 (http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-A-Series-A10-4600M-Notebook-Processor.74065.0.html)
i3 (http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i3-2350M-Notebook-Processor.53423.0.html)
AMD 650M (http/www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html)
NVIDIA 7730M (http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7730M.72678.0.html)

I think the 650M is better then the 7730M but im not sure if im even going to push that to its limits if i pair it with only an i3. If I get the AMD A10 maybe ill actually get a well rounded laptop while using AMDs 7730M. Both GPUs are great IMO but im not a fan of having an i3 and its a whole $75 to bump that up to an i5.... Your thoughts?


btw, If youve seen a decent laptop with a good gpu such as these please throw in a link, id love to see it. Ive looked at all the major electronics companies and cant seem to find anything better then what hp is providing.

 

[jaguarskx]

Going with the Trinity A10 and Radeon HD 7730m will give you a better all around laptop than the Sandy Bridge i3 and the 650m.

The Trinity A10 would have a more powerful core because Turbo Core allows it to overclock up 3.2GHz; I'm not sure if that is only with one or two cores. There are very few games that can use more than 2 cores, but those that can may run better on the Trinity A10 despite the weaker Radeon HD 7730m. Battefield 3 in multiplayer mode is capable of using 4 cores.

The Core i3 and the nVidia GT 650m makes for a better gaming laptop in general. The exceptions maybe be games that can take advantage of 4 cores, but since the vast majority of games only use 2 cores, there is not much disadvantage for the Core i3. That especially the case since a desktop Core i3 can perform just as well or better than AMD quad core CPUs costing more money (using the same graphic card). The nVidia GT 650m is more powerful than the Radeon HD 7730m, which of course means better performance.

Upgrading from a Core i3 to a Core i5, can give you better performance because i5 CPUs have TurboBoost to overclock the CPU while Core i3 CPUs do not. Ivy Bridge CPUs tends to be about 5% faster than Sandy Bridge CPUs at the same clockspeed. So a 2.0GHz Ivy Bridge CPU would be equal to a 2.1GHz Sandy Bridge CPU. Not a big difference though. The main difference is the new Intel HD 4000 graphic core, but that's not an issue with a dedicate graphic card.

 

[geekapproved]

Id take the i3. It'll use a lot less power and create a lot less heat too. The whole point of trinity is it's strong graphics core, and buying one and not using the graphics core doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[motorneuron]

Id take the i3. It'll use a lot less power and create a lot less heat too. The whole point of trinity is it's strong graphics core, and buying one and not using the graphics core doesn't make a lot of sense.

I agree with this unless the 7730m and the A10 are a combination that permits hybrid crossfiring of the on-die GPU and the discrete GPU. I'm trying to find a list of what can be combined with the A10, but I haven't found anything.

 

[Thorfkin]

Both have benefits but I can tell you that I myself would go with the Trinity based machine.

I should probably start by specifying that I AM bias as I personally am a huge AMD fan but perhaps if I explain why that is then you might understand why I prefer AMD chips over Intel or nVidia. The answer is Software. Intel is absolutely terrible at making or updating their drivers. nVidia does update their drivers but they've also has a long history of making laptop chips that tend to burn out shortly after the warranty period. AMD updates their drivers regularly and they always seem to support at least 5 years of prior hardware releases so with the Trinity laptop you get at least a little bit of future proofing that in my opinion you won't get from the Intel / nVidia combination.

 

[kracker]

I would go A10.

 

[parkerm35]

Id take the i3. It'll use a lot less power and create a lot less heat too. The whole point of trinity is it's strong graphics core, and buying one and not using the graphics core doesn't make a lot of sense.

Wrong, both 35w parts, AMD wins. Trinity runs more efficient than the 22nm Ivy bridges let alone old 32nm SB. Also a A10 will be a faster all round CPU compared to a i3, whilst having longer battery life.

 

[Supernova90]

If you get the A10, you should get the 7670m, not the 7730m. The 7670m will be able to crossfire with the integrated 7660g to get graphics performance as good as the 650m while costing less than the i3+650m combo.

 

[edit1754]

Generally, if you're going to buy an HP DV6, you should buy it in a configuration that includes the upgraded 1920x1080 display, and not the stock 1366x768 display, unless you require larger text for eyesight-related reasons. It usually isn't a good idea to buy an HP DV6 in any configuration that includes the stock 1366x768 display.

1366x768 resolution in a 15.6" display makes things onscreen large, and 15.6" displays that have 1366x768 resolution tend to have very poor image quality due to low contrast. It is advisable to avoid this type of display when it is reasonable to do so.

Prioritize the 1920x1080 display upgrade over upgrades to the processor. Many games aren't affected particularly much by the processor, because game performance is primarily GPU-bottlenecked.

Another way to think about it is: Essentially any CPU and dedicated GPU you select in a new laptop will be a quantum leap over what you had in your previous system. But if you aren't careful to make sure that you get a decent display then you will likely have a similar or worse display than you had previously.

Remember to use coupon code 20DEALIGG (or SAVE50HP if it works on your model/configuration and gives you a bigger discount).

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HP DV6z-7000 (AMD A6-4400M, AMD Radeon 7730M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $754 after coupon code 20DEALIGG

HP DV6z-7000 (AMD A8-4500M, AMD Radeon 7730M, 15.6" 1920x1080 matte display) - $804 after coupon code 20DEALIGG

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Note: The deals on the HP DV-Series aren't particularly good right now. The DV6z deals are about $55 more expensive than normal (A10 + 7730M + 1920x1080 would be $799), but until recently get the HP DV6t with the Core i3, GT 650M, and 1920x1080 display for around $824.

If you wait a bit, you can probably get the A10, 1920x1080 display, and Radeon 7730M for $799, or the i3, GT 650M, and 1920x1080 display for $824.

If you don't want to wait and can either afford one of your mentioned configurations plus the 1920x1080 display or go with one of the configurations I posted, then you could go ahead and buy. But if buying now prevents you from getting the 1920x1080 display, then you should wait until the discounts are better.

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[ilikemoneygreen]

idk, a 1080p on a 15.6 screen? for 150 more bucks? lol, i think id rather upgrade the cpu and run it through my tv like i usually do. i rarely use the actual screen. only when i go to school in which i would be fine with a lower res screen. The advice you guys gave was really good. I decided on my choice and thats to save more $$ for a higher cpu. My family wants me to use roxio which i remember taking a crazy amount of time to convert videos.
I think im going with an i7 GT 650M Config. Before my family made me think about roxio i was going to do the a10. ITS SO MUCH CHEAPER. Intel is the name brand which is all about more $$$.
ANyway, Can somone confirm that this is a decent gaming pc?
3rd gen i7-3612QM
Geforce GT 650M
9cell lithium
1366x768 display
intel 802.11 b/g/n wlan and bluetooth (Is this better then the other option?)
Backlit keyboard
ANy changes youd make??

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

I seem to be seeing a lot of threads with the recommendation of the hd display. if the display sucks that bad when it comes do you guys know if i could send it back and purchase that upgrade? Can one still add upgrades to the computer once they already receive it and keep the warranty they bought??

 

[edit1754]

The newer DV6 models make it a bit harder to upgrade the display, I believe. It was still a bit difficult with the older models because you would not only have to buy a replacement display, but also a different cable. But for the 7000 series, not only would you still have to buy both a cable and LCD, but since it uses a slim form-factor (IPS?) display I wouldn't know which LCD model to recommend.

Also keep in mind that a laptop's internal display is still useful with an external monitor with an extended desktop setup.