I5-3210M or A8-4500M? Which is Better for Entry-Level Gaming?

[pita82]

Hi, I'm trying to get back into computer gaming some; but I'm also a student on a budget. I'm between these two processors and no discreet GPU. I want to be able to play things like Diablo 3, LOTRO, SC2, Baldur's Gate (if they ever rerelease it), maybe Guild Wars 2. None have to be on high settings; I just want to be able to play and have a decent frame-rate.

Thanks!

 

[geekapproved]

The A8 has superior graphics, while the i5 has superior cpu power and efficiency.

 

[pita82]

That's kindof what I've been reading, but this website had all kinds of game benchmarks and had the intel HD 4000 at better frame-rates for most of them:

http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7640G.69836.0.html

Maybe I'm reading them wrong. Thanks for the quick response. If you could shed any more light on this, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Nebster]

Check out notebookcheck website. Or just type in the name of the A8 graphics (discreet or integrated, doesn't matter), and you will find test scores and gaming performance reviews.

http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7520G.71728.0.html

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

Can you see the gren, light green, red etc game fps scores?
Than you can click on a title of the game and see screenshots of the graphic settings, and check out the visual effect you would get in a certain setup.
For example:

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Diablo-III-Benchmarked.74918.0.html

So, judging from this, you would be better off with an AMD laptop.

 

[williamjuly2003]

I really recommended you getting a discrete graphics card in your laptop. Intergrated graphics on laptops are quite bad and will only do most games on low settings.

 

[ram1009]

Maybe you missed the memo. AMD announced a few months ago that they would no longer compete with Intel for new desktop CPU business. If they don't consider their CPUs competitive neither do I.

 

[3r0s4nn1n]

ram1009 you said it yourself DESKTOP CPU not laptop and AMD's APUs are pretty decent for entry level gaming. My wife has a A8 vision equipped laptop and she is satisfied with it.

 

[Kamen_BG]

Maybe you missed the memo. AMD announced a few months ago that they would no longer compete with Intel for new desktop CPU business. If they don't consider their CPUs competitive neither do I.

Umm no they didn't quite say that.You just interpreted it wrong

 

[airanp]

Entry level gaming with no dedicated GPU...go with the A8. It's 7640g IGP will hands down beat intels HD 4000 in gaming. You will even be able to play some current games on medium settings and some older games on high. But for the price/power ratio the trinity chip wins for gaming.

now if you found the i5 with a dedicated 620m or 7670m then that's a different story.

 

[pita82]

Check out notebookcheck website. Or just type in the name of the A8 graphics (discreet or integrated, doesn't matter), and you will find test scores and gaming performance reviews.

http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7520G.71728.0.html

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

Can you see the gren, light green, red etc game fps scores?
Than you can click on a title of the game and see screenshots of the graphic settings, and check out the visual effect you would get in a certain setup.
For example:

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Diablo-III-Benchmarked.74918.0.html

So, judging from this, you would be better off with an AMD laptop.

Neb, the problem I'm having is, when you read into intel's HD 4000, it tends to rank higher on the game benchmarks. But, if you read the description of the HD 4000, it all depends on which CPU you're using. My guess is that, when they benchmark the games, they're using a high-end, quad core i7. . .

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html

So, I'm not really sure then if it's really better than the 7640g or not. . .

 

[swifty_morgan]

for integrated graphics I wouldn't touch Intel at this point in time.

 

[Nebster]

Ok... but the A8 comes with the 7520 or 7640 if I'm correct. So try at least to find the 7520 integrated card. The 7640 I think is less capable than the HD 4000. Even if the model name suggests a more powerful GPU.

If the price is a problem, try to find AMD's A6 processor. But with dual graphics. I think that it should be the same price as A8 with only integrated graphics.

If that is a problem, try to find something used, but with newer and powerful hardware. Or you will have to save more money.

 

[airanp]

@pita

I should have started this entire thing with asking what your budget is, sorry for not doing that. With that said, for $599.99 (plus applicable taxes) you can get a dv6z-7000 with an A10-4600m and a dedicated 7670m which will allow you to utilize asymetric crossfire (dual graphics IGP+GPU or 7660g+7670m) which is currently evaluated at 1% lower performance than a gt 650m. There is a catch though, and that is the drivers for dual graphics are still maturing and are not always supported, and there may be micro stuttering. Or for $25 more you can upgrade to a 2gb 7730m. The 7730m does not support dual graphics but is a stronger dedicated card. Both solutions will be able to play the games you have in your OP. For access to this price just use the coupon code. NB119.

 

[pita82]

@pita

I should have started this entire thing with asking what your budget is, sorry for not doing that. With that said, for $599.99 (plus applicable taxes) you can get a dv6z-7000 with an A10-4600m and a dedicated 7670m which will allow you to utilize asymetric crossfire (dual graphics IGP+GPU or 7660g+7670m) which is currently evaluated at 1% lower performance than a gt 650m. There is a catch though, and that is the drivers for dual graphics are still maturing and are not always supported, and there may be micro stuttering. Or for $25 more you can upgrade to a 2gb 7730m. The 7730m does not support dual graphics but is a stronger dedicated card. Both solutions will be able to play the games you have in your OP. For access to this price just use the coupon code. NB119.

My budget is about $700, but I was hoping to stay under $500, so I can get my wife's laptop fixed as well (she's stuck on a desktop a.t.m.).

 

[pita82]

Okay, so what about this unit, with a dedicated (but what sounds like mediocre) graphics card? Also, does anyone find 17" worth it if you want to game too?

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-246-491&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

It's an i5 with an GeForce GT 630M

 

[Nebster]

That Lenovo is good, and the GT 630M will do the job.
From my point of veiw, the i5 and GT630M are a good combination since the situation is the same in my country. That particular combo is the most present one in the market, and has a good price.
Check it out on notebookcheck website, the card has good fps in Diablo 3. So if you need it now, go for it. But since you are from the USA, what about waiting for the holiday season? Are you in a hurry? I'm from Eastern Europe, but don't you guys in the US get very good discounts before all the Christmas & new year celebration begin?
It's something like at least 2 months away, but if you aren't in a rush why not wait a bit and get something better?

 

[jackspeed]

Baldur's Gate (if they ever rerelease it)

Do you know something I don't? I loved those games also one and 2 have been out for years .

How come these are your choices? The CPU is the less important part compared to the GPU.

This is true.

http/shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/A4G32AV?HP-Pavilion-g6t-2000-Notebook-PC&aoid=35252&adid=10432028&affpid=5672651

I'd get that with the 2GB 7670M and put some more money in the processor if you have any left over.

 

[airanp]

For entry level gaming I would stick with 1366x768 screen. No reason to push a low to mid range card and play at full 1080p when 768p is more than enough. That 150 is better off spent on CPU upgrades or not spending at all. I would still suggest the dv6z though. Good thermals and battery life when not gaming and good overall performance for the money. As I stated above for 599.99 you can get the a10 with a 7670m for dual graphics or upgrade to the 7730m for 624.99 both with coupon code NB119. Throw in 8gb of 1600Mhz ram and you have a great entry level gaming machine under your budget.

 

[RetiredChief]

Reference: ram1009 Comment and Kamen_Bg response. I concur with ram1009 along with a MAJORITY of financial advisors - NO real fanboy there and more adjective evaluation. One of the reasons that amd stock is in the Lew (curently $3.62) and carries a junk status rating from some.

pita82 - "when they benchmark the games, they're using a high-end, quad core i7. . "
That depends on how threaded the Game is. If the game is optimized for multicore (ie 4 or more cores then yes), but many games are still optimized for 1/2 cores. For these games there would be very little diff betweern a i5 and an i7. In some cases the i5 may have a higher frequency than the i7 with more cores. The dif between my i5M and a higher end i7M SB w/HD3000) is the i5 is 4 cores/4 threads vs the i7 with 4 cores and 8 threads - NO increase in HD3000 performance UNLESS the i7 has a higher speed.

OP. If gaming is your only concern then the amd + gpu will give you just as good of performance as the intel + an equivalent dGPU. Overall the Intel CPU + a dGPU is more expensive, but also a better overall performer.

Too often it's all about CPU performance, Most of the AMD and Intel (mid-upper end) are MORE than enough Horsepower. The biggest diff here is in chipsets and drivers and unfornunatly AMD is sucking Hind Ti^%%$ in this department. ie HD chipset / driver look how long it took amd to develop it's own driver for supporting TRIM when using SSDs, while Intel driver provided native support MUCH earilier and already has a driver that supports Trim when SSD is in Raid mode. Another example amd GPU drive support when a dDGP and an Intel iGPU coupled and are used for encoding (check out quick sync) and the ability to switch between dGPU and iGPu when switching between 2D and 3D graphics.

Bottom Line:
If ONLY interest in gaming, go AMD wih the Highest end dGPU at the lowest cost. If interest in productivity apps + gaming go with an Intel i5-3xxxM with the best dGPU you can afford.

PS before IB came out I bout a 17.3" Samsung i5-2410M with a Nvidia 540M dGPU, Bluray ROM/DVDRW drive, 4 gigs ram (cost me $50 -> 8 gigs), 2 HD drive bays (which I latter upgraded to a 128 Gig SSD + a 256 Gig SSD) - Initial cost was $750. Just LOOK for a SALE price.
PSS Either system will play a DVD or Blu-ray equally as well, Internet and email are equal.

 

[pita82]

Do you know something I don't? I loved those games also one and 2 have been out for years .

They're rereleasing an "enhanced" edition:

http/www.baldursgate.com/