Is this laptop a solid deal for school, gaming and djing?

dobosmoez

Distinguished
Jan 29, 2012
22
0
18,560
Hey i'm wondering if buying this laptop off the hp Canadian site is a good deal for what I want to use it for. I'm planning on playing Diablo 3 on it, among other games like Dota 2, maybe call of duty, etc. I'm also going to be using it for school so word, etc. and Also for Mixing with Traktor. In terms of gaming i'm not a huge "has to be full graphics full res" kinda person. I'm just looking for mid range textures, etc and to play in my screen resolution. However, the thing is i want high fps, so possible 35+ fps. Will this laptop deliver? it looks promising. and could someone also explain this dual graphics and processor concept to me as well? Pro's and Con's are always appreciated too :)

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-5191856-5218532.html?dnr=1
 
AMD A8-3500M APU Review

Llano%20CPU%20Die%20blocks.jpg

 

dobosmoez

Distinguished
Jan 29, 2012
22
0
18,560
Uhm I'm a bit of a computer nooby tbh so i don't fully understand your answer lol. and not too soon i'm hoping at least by the end of summer. I'm not completely sure on which laptop i'd like to get, if you have any specific ones in mind <1000$, for my preferences above, that I can find on the HP website or at best buy/future shop, please i'd love to hear your suggestion.
 
If you can wait, then wait. Starting next month laptops using the new Intel Ivy Bridge CPUs and AMD Trinity APUs should be available for sale. They represent an increase in performance over the previous Sandy Bridge CPUs and Llano APUs.

Generally speaking, Intel's CPUs have better processing power than AMDs APUs. Therefore, they are generally better for anything that uses a lot of processing power like encoding videos. However, the graphic core in AMD's APU's are more powerful than the graphic core in Intel CPUs. Therefore, games will perform better with AMD's APUs. "APU" is simply a term AMD came up with for a combined CPU with integrated graphics. Even though Intel's CPUs also have integrated graphic cores, Intel still calls them CPUs.

In terms of graphics performance, the Intel HD 4000 graphic core is basically as powerful as a Radeon HD 5550 desktop graphic card; all Ivy Bridge Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs will have the HD 4000 graphic core. The graphic core in AMD's Trinity APUs vary based on the model, the most powerful graphic core is the Radeon HD 7660G in the A10-4600m APU. It's performance is a little faster than a desktop Radeon HD 5570 graphic card; you can say the HD 7660G might be almost as fast as a desktop HD 5590 if such a card ever existed.

The Intel HD 4000 graphic core works by itself. If the laptop you buy comes with a nVidia or AMD graphic card, the HD 4000 automatically disables itself. If a laptop with a Trinity APU also comes with an AMD Radeon discrete graphic card, then the integrated graphic core and the graphic card can both work together giving better performance than either one alone; "hybrid crossfire". However, I believe any graphic card faster than a Radeon HD 7670M will automatically disable the integrated HD 7660G. Lastly, only a few high end gaming laptops ($1,500+) may offer you the opportunity to replace a discrete graphic card.

 

dobosmoez

Distinguished
Jan 29, 2012
22
0
18,560
@jaguarskx and these pc's with the new trinity or whatever, will be available in stores like best buy? with relatively decent specs (i.e. decent gaming graphics card)