AMD vs Intel

[mutzy89]

Hi,


I trying to make a choice between these two HP Pavilion 15 laptops:


A: AMD A12 quad core, 12gb ram and 4gb radeoo graphics

B: 7th generation core i5 with 8gb ram (not sure about the graphics)


I mean to use the laptop for Visual Studio Code, Android Studio, Photoshop and maybe some gaming if I ever find the time. Which would be best? The AMD sounds great but I am reading some negative reviews about battery life and incapacity to handle processes well. Any help?



Thanks.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Well, between the two I'd suggest the Intel laptop, however, there should be a third contender in there. AMD's Ryzen laptops are starting to hit the market in that segment. There are Ryzen 3 and 5 laptops out now, which would blow that A10 out of the water.

The A10 is not a great CPU. It works but, compared to the i5 or Ryzen options, it is almost a decade behind the times in terms of CPU performance.

Now, I'm not sure about your budget, but if you search Ryzen laptop on Amazon there are a few options for you to check out. They have some reasonably priced Ryzen 3 options and some Ryzen 5 options that cost a little more, but will be good performers.

 

[mutzy89]

Thanks Justin. The above though is AMD A12. Is it at par with a core i5 7th generation? Does it have an advantage over Intel laptop processors i.e. those ending in u e.g. 6100u?

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Thanks Justin. The above though is AMD A12. Is it at par with a core i5 7th generation? Does it have an advantage over Intel laptop processors i.e. those ending in u e.g. 6100u?

Ack! I mistaked! Sorry about that.

To put it bluntly, no A series APU can quite match an i5 7200U. The top of the line A12 9730p is still behind by 14%. The Ryzen 3 2200U cuts that to being 8% behind... however, the Ryzen 3 2300U is 21% faster than the i5 7200U. Strangely the i5 2500U is only 20% faster, but all Ryzen Mobile CPUs are actually APUs with Vega graphics, usually Vega 3 (for the Ryzen 3) or Vega 8 (for the Ryzen 5), and those Vega graphics aren't that bad.

 

[mutzy89]

Thanks Justin. The above though is AMD A12. Is it at par with a core i5 7th generation? Does it have an advantage over Intel laptop processors i.e. those ending in u e.g. 6100u?

Ack! I mistaked! Sorry about that.

To put it bluntly, no A series APU can quite match an i5 7200U. The top of the line A12 9730p is still behind by 14%. The Ryzen 3 2200U cuts that to being 8% behind... however, the Ryzen 3 2300U is 21% faster than the i5 7200U. Strangely the i5 2500U is only 20% faster, but all Ryzen Mobile CPUs are actually APUs with Vega graphics, usually Vega 3 (for the Ryzen 3) or Vega 8 (for the Ryzen 5), and those Vega graphics aren't that bad.

Thanks. I'll go with the Intel then. No one seems to be siding with the AMD as far as I can see. Appreciate the help.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

No problem. You should be really happy with the i5 option. It provides good performance and great battery life. Can't do much better at the price either.