Which is better for laptop: AMD A8-6410 or Intel Pentium N3520?

vaultwit

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Jul 18, 2014
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Hello, I am trying to decide between two laptops -- one has AMD A8-6410 and the other has Intel Mobile Pentium N3520. These two laptops are identical models with identical specs (literally same brand, RAM, everything) other than the processor, and both priced equally at $300. Which is the better laptop? Thanks in advance
 
Solution
I would choose the AMD one. Lets go with the facts:

- The A8-6410 is a 15W TDP 4-core 2.0GHz base/ 2.4GHz Turbo. Passmark CPU: 2400/ single core: 813.
- The Pentium N3520 is a 7.5W TDP 4-Core 2.2GHz base/ 2.4GHz Turbo. Passmark CPU: 1903/ single core: 519.

AMD iGPUs are better than Intel ones, that's a fact. Also, the Intel CPU consumes less energy, that's another fact. If those to laptops have the same battery capacity, the Intel one will last longer turned on.

But if you need "raw" performance, go with the AMD one.

Brunostako

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I would choose the AMD one. Lets go with the facts:

- The A8-6410 is a 15W TDP 4-core 2.0GHz base/ 2.4GHz Turbo. Passmark CPU: 2400/ single core: 813.
- The Pentium N3520 is a 7.5W TDP 4-Core 2.2GHz base/ 2.4GHz Turbo. Passmark CPU: 1903/ single core: 519.

AMD iGPUs are better than Intel ones, that's a fact. Also, the Intel CPU consumes less energy, that's another fact. If those to laptops have the same battery capacity, the Intel one will last longer turned on.

But if you need "raw" performance, go with the AMD one.
 
Solution

vaultwit

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Jul 18, 2014
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Thank you both for the quick responses. How about the laptop's general longevity, assuming both are used to similar extents? Does the processor affect the life of a laptop in anyway? Is there any way to say that with one processor the laptop will probably last a little longer than the other? I've heard talk that Intel is more reliable than AMD, but I have no basis for such a claim other than just hearing things from people...

The laptop will be used for everyday tasks such as web browsing, word processing, and video streaming. However, I would like to be able to do all of those without a hiccup and thus I'm staying away from Celerons (in particular the ever popular N2830).

In case anyone's curious, the two laptops are the following:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-laptop-amd-a8-series-4gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive-black-licorice/6516006.p?id=1219219383024&skuId=6516006&st=15-g012dx&cp=1&lp=1
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-r011dx-laptop-internet-security-software-sleeve-mouse-flash-drive-package/9999228200050001.p?id=pcmprd226900050001&skuId=9999228200050001&st=HP%2015-r011dx&lp=1&cp=1
Yes the Intel version comes with free goodies...lol
 
CPUs in general have a low failure rate. Your real concern should lie in the overall build quality of the laptop. Be sure to look at user reviews and expert reviews of the systems you're considering before you purchase. Laptops are bit like cars in that most manufacturers put together decent systems, but certain models or series have earned a bad reputation.
 

Brunostako

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Agreed.

I have never seen a CPU die because of its age. Heat is a real problem for chips, but since the APUs started, there's no longer that risk of burning the GPU chip and you're comparing low power parts, so there's no problem.

Choose the one you want.
 

Sarath MT

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Nov 17, 2014
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Hi,

Am planning to buy HP 15-g049AU Notebook (APU Quad Core A8)

Which has A8-6410 processor, Please confirm whether any heat problem will arise and the performance

i wil use my laptop majorly for Coding ( Java ( running program in Eclipse or netbans, Dotnet fram work 4.0

and surfing and waching movies

Need to know like using this processor will show any drastic slowness or performance issue when compare to i3

Kinldy advise on this
 

Pltanndx

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Nov 18, 2014
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Pentium Quad Core N3520 though has 4 cores it is a low end CPU. Pentium is never meant for demanding tasks these days. It would be wise to buy it if you only want to browse web and watch movies, listen to music or light programming etc.
PQC only supports 1333mhz DDR3 RAM whereas Amd A8 6410 comes with support for 1866mhz DDR3 RAM so will definitely perform faster. And just think why i3 which is a dual -core CPU with HT outperforms PQC, just because of the architecture and better Cache availability.

AMD A8 is second best APU series after A10 series and beats even i3 4010U in passmark albeit by a small margin. The APU will always give you better graphics performance. While PQC is lower end CPU i told you before.
If you are using Eclipse for big projects, you must not compromise on CPU speed therefore you should go for AMD A8.

There is no heating problems with CPUs these days thanks to better manufacturing processes (22nm and 28nm) and low power consumption motherboards (3-5 W). These two will give similar battery life in less demanding tasks while AMD A8 will perform better for high works load tasks. The battery life difference would be like 5-6 hours versus 4-5 hours or may be there is no difference and if you are plugged in it doesn't even matter.

The AMD A8 can bear tempratures upto 90 degrees whereas Pentium would bear 105 degrees in Celcius for the sake of knowing. But this can hardly happen with modern laptops.

AMD A8 vs i3 is a bit tricky, there can be tasks in which i3 will outperform A8 or vice versa. But i3 wins majority of cases. I3 will beat AMD A8 in less demanding tasks due to higher per core performance and shared l3 cache which provides benefits but heavy tasks favor AMD A8 which is why it beats it in passmark score.

I3 is a safe bet if you can afford it otherwise go for AMD A8. AMD is less promoted or advertised brand or had CPU heating problems in past which is why people avoid it in my opinion, those problems do not exist now and when people buy an AMD laptop these days they first say "There is no heating problem" . The AMD ones are cheaper due to the fact that companies can use Asus or MSI mobos which costs them very less compared to intel ones otherwise they have to use intel chipsets. You can check online prices of mobos to get an idea.
Good Luck!


 

mfoulks

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Jan 6, 2015
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Greetings, Just grabbed an HP Pavilion Desktop from CostCo. The tower is running the AMD Quad Core A8 6410 processor. Other specs are typical of a $400 machine I suppose. Here's the weird thing.
Bought this desktop because wife was growing weary of her 5 yr old HP Laptop. Also, her study is about 90 away from our router and she felt perhaps a newer machine would somehow have better wireless performance and thus not drop the wifi signal so often. WEIRD THING is that this shiny new desktop is only getting .45 mps on the speedtest site whereas the old laptop clocks in at 15.2 ups! A full 30X better than this new HP Pavilion. WTF?
I spoke to an HP agent in India and, after I refused to pay $$ for this customer service issue, she was kind enough to take control of the screen and make a few adjustments she felt were needed. I was right to be leary, cuz the thing still loads websites like a mid 90s dial up! Any idea what's happening here? Should I just return the damn thing or is there something Im missing?
 

kavehsun

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Feb 3, 2015
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It's not a well built desktop. I had one. Get a usb wireless adapter or a better desktop. I got mine i5 for 450. It's much faster.


 

JSS123

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Feb 28, 2015
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If i were you i woúld have bought a new wifi router and a range extender(if needed)......nobody buys a laptop for a range issue...thats quite idiotic in a way unless its an excuse for buying in which case it would be totally cool...



And check whether your wifi card in your laptop is fine or else reinstall the OS which usually works out well for me..
If not return/replace the laptop..

 

Piccolo55

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Jun 2, 2015
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I ended up going with a amd a8 6410 over the Intel i5 4210u Because the amd has 4 real cores and I thought with the amd r7 m260 I'd be able to play games very well but it only plays cs and some other lower end games well, so if anyone thinks that you can do real gaming on a a8 that is kinda false. I'm ending up having to build myself a gaming pc later this year and let my laptop be a everyday use device.
 

psiboy

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First thing I would have done is replace your modem! I replace mine every 2 years!
2nd thing I would have done was check if the unit can connect with 5ghz instead of the older 2.4ghz (which is highly likely) if your router/modem doesn't support newer 5ghz units then I'd definitely replace asap! It seems strange that a newer machine is slower on the same modem... I'd dig into setting and run malware scans too!
 

psiboy

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In this case the CPU i5 vs A8 argument is stupid. They are talking about internet speeds! You could have the worlds fastest CPU but pair it with a shitty internet connection and it will only run as fast as your shitty internet connection when doing web based stuff!
 

psiboy

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Clearly you don't read the reviews on Tom's.. Which is ironic given you posted here... Integrated graphics regardless of whether it's AMD or Intel will for a few years yet be crap unless it's older games or run newer ones at lower settings!