Which is better AMD A6-4400M Accelerated Processor or Intel i5-2450M processorvi

[sunniesmama]

Please help me. I want to get a new laptop, but am not sure which to get and whether it is worth spending more for the Intel processor. Which is better the AMD A6-4400M Accelerated Processor or Intel i5-2450M?

 

[RetiredChief]

As junky77 asked - What d you do.
For Video encoding the Intel i5 would probasbly be better as long as it has a dedicated GPU along with the iGPU (HD3000) as it can take advantage of quick snyc - Also dependent on software.
If SSD is in your future, the Intel Chipset seems slightly better and less probmatic.

If Gaming,
... Then it will depend largly on the GPU. The integrated GPU with the i5 is not a grate gaming gpu, so recommend you consider a i5 Laptop with a dedicated GPU.

.. Not sure what GPU you get with the AMD build.

.. http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html Check here

 

[Sakkura]

The AMD chip has Radeon HD 7520G graphics, which is much better than the HD graphics 3000 of the Intel chip. So the Intel chip is a stronger CPU but weaker GPU.

 

[RetiredChief]

After reading this: http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-A-Series-A6-4400M-Notebook-Processor.71726.0.html
I think Id look for a i5-24xxM with a dedicated dGPU, oor look for an IB based Intel Notebook (the iGPU (HD4000) would be better than the 7520G. Have to be carefull as all IB's do NOT come with the HD4000, just as Not all SB come with HD3000.

 

[jaguarskx]

Actually, all Sandy Bridge mobile CPUs have the Intel HD 3000 graphic core and all Ivy Bridge mobile CPUs have the HD 4000 graphic core. It's the desktop version of those two series that come with one of two Intel graphic cores depending on the model.

 

[RetiredChief]

^ Thanks for Clearing that up - My comment was generic and included both the moble and desktop verisions.

 

[RetiredChief]

Quote
The AMD chip has Radeon HD 7520G graphics, which is much better than the HD graphics 3000 of the Intel chip. So the Intel chip is a stronger CPU but weaker GPU.
End Quote

Here are the "gaming"formance for the 7520 G. Just scroll down and look for the games you play.
http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7520G.71728.0.html

 

[Sakkura]

Quote
The AMD chip has Radeon HD 7520G graphics, which is much better than the HD graphics 3000 of the Intel chip. So the Intel chip is a stronger CPU but weaker GPU.
End Quote

Here are the "gaming"formance for the 7520 G. Just scroll down and look for the games you play.
http/www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7520G.71728.0.html

If you look at the HD Graphics 4000 benchmarks, you'll notice the Radeon HD 7520G generally matches it or comes very close. So it's clearly better than HD Graphics 3000. Still pretty marginal in terms of gaming performance of course.

 

[RetiredChief]

^ Concur, If gaming - For Intel I'd look for a dedicated GPU (540M or Better)
Also would recommend a higher end GPU than he 7520G

 

[Xenturion]

One thing I did with my A6 is use K10STAT to overclock it while undervolting it. My A6 runs stable 2Ghz@1.0V vs the initial 1.4Ghz@1.075V. It really makes a significant difference. Sometimes I wish the A6 had only three cores rather than 4 because that would give it a little more thermal headroom to get those clock rates up.

 

[RetiredChief]

^ The AMD A6-4400M only has 2 cores
Quote
The CPU cores are based on a reworked Bulldozer architecture, called Piledriver. Although marketed as a dual-core processor, the A6-4400M includes only one module with two integer-cores and one floating-point core. As a result, the CPU is not a true dual-core processor
End quote.

Also as this is a notebook, bios limitatons my preclude OC.

Intel i5-2450M is a daul core/4 thread CPU with iDGP = HD 3000
I have the i5-2410 HD3000 Plus a 540M dGPU

 

[Xenturion]

Oh, woops, kinda derped there. I assumed it was Llano-based.

 

[deksman]

More threads in a cpu translate to less than 5% performance difference (if that - I was being generous).

The i5 2450m on the other hand is a more powerful CPU than A6-4400M.
The HD3000 on the other hand is a lot less powerful than 7520G.

Also, the A6 should be overclockable. In that regard, you could do the same thing Xenturion did (undervolt and Overclock at the same time and your cpu will not only run faster, but consume less power in the process).
Or, you could ultimately keep the voltage as is and overclock it more (I wouldn't worry about temperatures though as the A6 is a pretty cool chip as is).
I think its possible for an A6 to approach the i5 2450m in terms of raw CPU performance through overclocking - needs to be close to 2.3 or 2.4GhZ though (or 2.6GhZ) if I'm not mistaken.

If you will be using the laptop for CPU based tasks (CAD work, etc.), then the i5 would be a better option, however if gaming is your priority, then AMD definitely (which you can easily overclock on the CPU part and approach i5 in terms of raw performance).

 

[turbineTom]

The A6-4400M doesn't overclock, unlike llano, AMD trinity chips are locked down. I own one and have tried K10Stat and it doesn't even recognize the APU. Depending on what you're gonna use the laptop for either chip is a good choice at the right price. A lot of budget laptops are using these now.

 

[RetiredChief]

@ deksman - Is The "Laptop" Moble chip OC able - Most laptop Bios preclude this as they are somewhat locked and limited????
.. Added - I think turbineTom aswered this - end added.
While the 7520G is HIGHER on the "food chain" Neither the 7520G nor the HD3000 are really a "gaming" GPU, Reason I recommend a higher end GPU for the AMD, or a 2Ndary dedicated GPU for an SB i5 build.

As I indicated the AMD A6 is a SINGLE core CPU set up to work as 2 cores, the Intel is a true 2-core CPU. For AMD Moble version I dought you will get anywheres near the i5-24xx (could be wrong) for CPU performance.

 

[sunniesmama]

better - for what purpose?

I just want to use it for everyday things like social media, emailing, gaming. Not anything too intense.

 

[RetiredChief]

For the majority of your needs either CPU will more than meet your needs.

For gaming you really need to look at the FPS (and if you can even Play the game) based on the GPU. Use the Links I've provided and scroll down to see if the games are listed and what the expected FPS is - If FPS is Not listed, then normally the game is NOT playable.

 

[loonglow]

I just want to use it for everyday things like social media, emailing, gaming. Not anything too intense.

For your usage, amd will be a better choice. It has longer battery life, better gaming experience and more value of your money.

 

[jaguarskx]

Both A6-4400m and Core i5-2450 are both rated at 35w. However, TDP does not directly say how power efficient a CPU is. Both CPUs should give virtually the same battery life assuming the battery capacity is the same in both laptops.

For everyday use either one would be fine, but I would prefer the i5-2450m since it is a more powerful CPU which means the A6-4400m would "feel" more sluggish sooner than the i5-2450m. If you are going to place more emphasis on games, then the Trinity A6-4400m is the better choice because the Radeon HD 7520G is a bit more powerful than the Intel HD 3000.

The Intel HD 3000 is still pretty good for a low end integrated graphic core. It's capable of playing Fallout 3 with a mix of low and medium settings on a 1366x768 resolution screen. It is also able to handle Mass Effect 3 well enough for me to play on Hardcore difficulty. I decided play one game of ME3 from start to finish on my laptop using the Intel HD 3000 instead of the nVidia Gt 550m.

An Ivy Bridge Core i5 CPU with the Intel HD 4000 would be either just as powerful as the Radeon HD 7520G or slightly more powerful. The Intel HD 4000's performance is close to that of the Radeon HD 6620G found in AMD's top end Llano A8-35xx series APUs. While the Intel HD 4000 comes close in benchmarks, it actually never beats the Radeon HD 6620G in any single benchmarks that I can remember.

 

[Thomzey]

Ok so both of them are good but the AMD A6-4400m would be better for gaming even though they say it is slower than the i5 because the A6 has the dual graphics (Radeon HD 7520G + HD7600M with 1.5GB dedicated) and the CPU Baseclock is 2.7GHz and turbos to 3.2GHz and can run MW3 on Extra, Fallout 3 on Ultra, most AMD made games on high and other games on medium or high (tested myself) so if i were you i would go with the A6