A8 3500m + 6750m vs i7 + 540m

[Abyssalx]

I'm in the market for a laptop, and my budget is about $700. I'm looking for the best gaming I can get out of a $700 laptop. Best Buy actually has a really good deal going on with this: http/www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+A-Series+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+6GB+Memory+/+640GB+Hard+Drive+-+Dark+Umber/2738329.p?id=1218348120631&skuId=2738329&st=pavilion

It's an HP Pavilion dv6, with a 1.5ghz quad core AMD A8 3500m processor, 6gb of ram, and a Radeon 6750m graphics processor. I was pretty hooked on it but I found this Acer on newegg.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834215004

2GHz i7 with a GT 540m and 4gb of ram.

I already know that the 6750m is decently more powerful than the 540m, but the i7 is obviously better than the A8 3500m. I need to know if the i7 would give the Acer the edge, or if the 6750m is far enough ahead that I'll still get better framerates even with the slower processor.

If it's a difference of just a couple FPS I'd probably be more inclined to go with the HP, just because of the extra stuff (bigger HDD, nice audio, more RAM, bluray player, and fingerprint reader which I don't care about but might be fun to use.)

So if I could get some opinions on which is better, or if you have a better idea in mind, post it here, thanks!

 

[Abyssalx]

Well, the only reason I stated the low battery life on the lenovo, was even on the website, Y570 says 4 hour battery life. I don't know why it says that if you can get 6. I'll have to look and see what the battery specs are on the one online.

 

[Immudzen]

Gaming with the dv6-6135dx is not just a single number. For a lot of games including fallout 3 type games you can do gaming on the integrated GPU and still get good battery life. When you use the dedicated GPU your battery life does drain a lot faster but not any faster then the intel machine with dedicated GPU running. The point is that the intel CPU with integrated GPU can not really play games at all while the AMD one can. On the AMD laptop many games can be easily played on the integrated GPU and give you nice long battery life.

 

[Abyssalx]

That's a good point. It's pretty convenient to just be able to switch from doing homework to playing a game, just like that, which raises another question I have. The Lenovo Y570 has nVidia Optimus, and it has the switch for the Intel Integrated and the 555m on the front. Can I only change the GPU when it's off, or can I change it any time?

Funny thing I just found too.

The Dv6-6xxx uses the MU09 battery, I just found a 12 cell 95wH battery, it's not retail of course, but jesus.
http/www.battery4us.com/hp-notebook-batteries/MU09.htm

Edit again - I guess it is retail. HP makes a 12cell battery for the dv6-6000 series for $100. I wonder what kinda battery life this gives X.X

 

[WR2]

The standard battery is rated 55WHr 6-Cell Lithium-Ion. If 55WHr = 5hrs+09min then 95WHr = 8hrs+54min or there abouts.

Another HP Pavilion DV6-6135DX AMD Llano 3500M APU Review

 

[WR2]

The Lenovo Y570 has that Optimus lockout switch with the LED to show you when its on/off. The default is switched off which has caught quite a few people out.

Besides the manual lockout switch to limit the Y570 to the HD 3000 graphics only you can influence how Optimus works in several ways.
Hardware Canucks did a video review that explains in more detail about the Automatic mode and the custom profile settings that are also available: NVIDIA Optimus Technology Video Review

It's probably worth your while to dig up the User Manuals (and maybe even see if you can find the more elusive Maintenance/Service Manual) and look them over.

 

[Immudzen]

It is not just about switching from games to homework. It is about being able to have GPU acceleration in common apps without having to activate the dedicated card.

Many of the games I have from steam run just fine on the integrated GPU so I don't even have to use the dedicated GPU to use them. This makes a huge power and performance difference. To play games as old as fallout 3 or older you really need to use the dedicated GPU on the intel systems but for many of these the integrated GPU on the AMD system will work just fine.

Being able to do some gaming on the integrated GPU is such a huge thing. Since it means while you are out and you have an hour between classes and you may not be able to plug in you can still do some gaming while waiting or run software that is GPU accelerated.

One thing I really don't like about the PCMark and 3DMark stuff is that way it is so heavily biased against reality and focused almost totally on the CPU. They are not representative benchmarks. Which is why intel is the only hardware vendor left that supports them IIRC. Many apps you use every day are already GPU accelerated and so actual experience does not reflect what you would expect from that benchmark number.

In general ignore any synthetic benchmark and go purely based on actual app benchmarks. Also if what you are doing is not CPU bound just ignore benchmarks completely pretty much since for most people just about anything is far more then fast enough.

That 12 cell battery though looks extremely cool for the dv6.

 

[Abyssalx]

Another thing though about the DV6 is that the graphics switching that HP or whoever put in it, doesn't support OpenGL games. This means you have to manually switch the discrete GPU on in the Bios if you want to play a graphics-intensive OpenGL game. I'm still really conflicted on this, however. Optimus seems like the perfected technology attempted in the HP. But there are a few things that still lead me on to the HP.

#1 is the low power used to gaming on the integrated chip. To be honest, my classes are short enough and I could probably manage to use the dedicated card in between them and not have to worry, but still, there are many times when this would come in handy. The HP also has a blu-ray player, which would be nice. And, I can just go to the store and grab the HP, as opposed to waiting for shipping.

Two things, though.

First, I really love the look of the Lenovo Y570. Despite what PCMAG says, I think its one of the best looking laptops available.

And second, It almost looks to me like bestbuy is phasing the 6135dx out. As of 2 days ago, the price went up by $50, There is only one store an hour away that has it in stock, and it's now no longer available for shipping.

--On a side note, my purchase is most likely going to be made on the 30th.

 

[Abyssalx]

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246153

The Y570, on newegg for only $699. I hope this deal stays until the 30th when I go to buy it. Free 3 day shipping too. Ill grab 8gb of ram for an extra $40 too, why not.
It seems that this one comes with a 48wh battery, I'm guessing that's standard off the website too. That's really disappointing. The 6 hour benchmark was on a 62wh battery, meaning optimal life would be 4 hours. Which means with mostly full brightness (medium inside and full when outside) and watching youtube for maybe an hour, etc, it would probably only last about 3 hours, and that puts gaming in between classes out of the question.

 

[Immudzen]

Apparently there is a dv6-6145dx now that is on sale for $650 from bestbuy. It gets another 2G of ram but loses the bluray drive. Other then that the specs look the same.

 

[Abyssalx]

I don't think it has the 6750m, only the 6620g from the A8 processor.

 

[Immudzen]

You might be right, you would have to check in person. If you look in the device manager under display adapters you will see a 6750M and 6620G if it really has both.

 

[Abyssalx]

Well they stopped selling the Dv6-6135dx, but it was on refurb on Newegg for $550. My best guess for the reason of the refurb was that someone couldn't play OpenGL games because of the switchable graphics bug, and didn't know how to update the bios. Either way, I decided to test my luck, and I bought it, it was too good of a deal for me to pass up.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out, I plan on making many a review video and thread about it, and I'll detail every little aspect of it.

 

[QuakerOM]

Well they stopped selling the Dv6-6135dx, but it was on refurb on Newegg for $550. My best guess for the reason of the refurb was that someone couldn't play OpenGL games because of the switchable graphics bug, and didn't know how to update the bios. Either way, I decided to test my luck, and I bought it, it was too good of a deal for me to pass up.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out, I plan on making many a review video and thread about it, and I'll detail every little aspect of it.

I'm considering buying the same laptop. Have you received it yet? And if so, how good is it? I'm afraid of buying because of it being refurbished. Was it in a good condition?

 

[batteryroofer]

<a href="http/www.laptop-battery-inc.co.uk/power-tool-batteries/makita.htm"><b>"MAKITA Power Tool Batteries"</b></a> sell the cheapest and good quality <a href="http/www.laptop-battery-inc.co.uk/power-tool-batteries/makita.htm"><b>"MAKITA Power Tool Batteries"</b></a>, We supply Fastest Delivery, One Year Warranty and 30 Days Money Back. Every Power Tool batteries are 100% compatible with OEM Power Tool Batteries.

 

[batteryroofer]

<a href="http/www.laptop-battery-inc.co.uk/power-tool-batteries/makita.htm"><b>MAKITA Power Tool Batteries</b></a> sell the cheapest and good quality MAKITA Power Tool Batteries, We supply Fastest Delivery, One Year Warranty and 30 Days Money Back. Every Power Tool batteries are 100% compatible with OEM Power Tool Batteries.

 

[batteryroofer]

<a href="http/www.laptop-battery-inc.co.uk/power-tool-batteries/makita.htm"><b>MAKITA Power Tool Batteries</b></a> shop sells cheap, new Makita Power Tool batteries , any Makita battery in our Power Tool batteries shop is brand new,work very well with the original Power Tool batteries.

Makita battery 100% oem compatible,One year warranty Original equipment specifications for correct fit and capabilities Lithium Ion technology gives this Makita battery a long life,and light weight. No menmory loss effect.Integrated microchip prevents overcharging & lengthens battery life.

Battery life is generally computed by the times of full charge.Lithium battery usual have 300-400 times and once is defined charge it up to 80%-90%. So don't be worried.