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Geek Culture / Buying a New Computer, AMD A8-3500M vs Intel Core i3 370M

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Epimetheus
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 07:56
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buying a new laptop this black friday and I can't decide between the two computers in my budget, here there are:

1. an HP Pavilion with an AMD A8-3500M, and Radeon HD 6620G, 4gb ram

2. an HP with an Intel Core i3 370M, and Intel's integrated graphics - an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (GMA HD), 4gb ram

as you can see both brands are the same, and ram is the same so it all comes down to the processor/graphics setup. I plan to eventually upgrade the ram as well.

My main use is multi-tasking between tons of chrome windows and doing some Photoshop work on the side. I also do some level of 3D rendering, word processing, working with huge spreadsheets, etc.

I guess mainly my biggest concern is speed while multi-tasking on alot of little things which is why I was leaning toward the AMD because it was a quad core and the graphics setup might give an extra boost with everything that will be going on.

Other than that, the stats on the processors seem close, so is the AMD worthwhile spending an extra $100 or so on it?
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 08:53
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Intel GMA is really awful, it really is a basic graphics chip, not sure how well GMA HD will handle polygons on the screen for your 3D rendering - but standard GMA models don't necessarily do it that well (depending on how many you're using), but I'd probably say not go for GMA for anything 3D related.

I went for GMA myself because I wasn't intending to do anything graphics intensive. It handles the 3D I do, but I only have done low poly stuff.

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DevilLiger
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 09:53 Edited at: 23rd Nov 2011 09:54
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choice one is probably cheaper than two, but on the other hand choice two is Intel and they are better than AMD at it's class, but depending.

maybe choice one if you still want to do some db pro and some 3d modeling. maybe choice one? only because choice one has a better video card.

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Epimetheus
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 10:38 Edited at: 23rd Nov 2011 10:39
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@DevilLiger

the AMD is actually more expensive and the processor on pure power is some deal better than the i3, according to PassMark, but on application specific data I can't find many benchmarks on the i3

technically though, I guess the AMD is just about slightly better than the i3 on most things, I'm wondering if that and the graphics card is worth the extra $100 I'd pay for it
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MrValentine
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 11:13
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Avoid A Mad Disease like... Well. a disease... the i3 has 4 threads... and is excellent for multi tasking... and the ati chip there isnt much special... The intel HD chips do pretty well..
Just remember for cheap... you get what you pay for.

If you go for the AMD ... make sure you do not have any issues returning it if it burns out on you or critically fails on you like every AMD chip has here recently...

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Epimetheus
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 15:24
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@MrValentine

where have you heard of core failure in AMD chips? I've had an AMD motherboard fail on me once, but never a core, I'm assuming because it's an HP the build quality will be good, also I get a one year warranty

the A8 is a higher end AMD chip, how do those fare?
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Oolite
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 15:40
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Personally, being stuck with an integrated graphics accelerator i'm going to dodge them like crap on a stick in future. I've essentially stopped my 3d modelling because its too slow to use on this laptop and even the simplest of games has trouble running on it. Photoshop work is alright but once you start getting into complicated scenarios it starts to fail. I know intel processors are pretty awesome, but when its coupled with an awful GPU then it makes the entire thing redundant really.
It's been a few years since I built my own computer but i've had several AMD components in my computing history and never had any problems with them.
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bitJericho
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 15:51
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Really, the only reason to shy away from AMD is power consumption. They use a bit more power than an Intel of the same spec. That said, AMD chips are sometimes up to half the price, well worth it IMO.


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MrValentine
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 17:43
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I agree with Jer and also dissagree however this is a laptop convo... so umm yeah when have I ever had an AMD chip die on me... pretty much 80% of the time... when have I had an intel chip die on me... 0% how many AMD chips have i had... 8 due to lack of interest... how many intel chips have i toyed with that have worked and continue to work... 640+ built most of them at the university of technology in Copenhagen... back in the days...

anyway for a more recent proof of product... Comet (A UK retailer - well known one...) sold us an AMD chip the weird c-60 chipsets which are a fusion thing with a cpu and gpu coupled together... my plus on it is that its 64bit... my negative on it is that it was not put together properly and within 24 hours I got a BSOD while simply browsing the net... and just the net... got an intel replacement... cheaper one and its working a beaut...

Proof is in the pudding.

Jer I dissagreed with the price btw.
But you can get the pentium class chips from Intel pretty cheap.

But your on the ball with the heat and its the power and heat reasons that keep me away from AMD... I am an environment conscious person. Power is nothing if your eating the earth dry >.<

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Indicium
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 18:25
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If 80% of your AMD cpus have failed, you're doing something wrong.

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bitJericho
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 18:35 Edited at: 23rd Nov 2011 18:38
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Quote: "But you can get the pentium class chips from Intel pretty cheap."


Uh, a pentium chip? Like a P4? Do they even make those anymore?

A 40 dollar AMD chip would beat a used P4 hands down. The 6 core phenom chips are half the price of an i7. They compare pretty equally.

If you're talking laptops, yeah, heat and power consumption are much more important. Even still, the price difference is often worthwhile, though the price difference may not be obvious when buying at retail, because the retailer will probably taken in the extra profit than price nearly identical laptops differently. PROTIP: Buy online.


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MrValentine
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 22:08
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No indi... fyi I am a tech...

Jer umm the new celeron chips are called pentiums lol dont ask me anything they had me cionfused for quite some time now... basically the budget chips...

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Indicium
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 22:28
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Well two of the computers in my house have AMD Processors. Assuming your 80% failure rate is correct, you'd think one of them would have failed. If I'm lucky enough to have both cpus in that wonderful 20%, can it also explain the two friends of mine with AMD?

Hardly.

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ionstream
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 23:01
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The AMD computer is significantly better than the Intel, possessing both a better video card and a faster CPU. I would definitely go with that one if the price is worth it for you, as it will definitely be able to do some medium gaming for a while.

I have only ever owned AMD chips and they are still chugging along, some around 5 years old. Anyone with an 80% failure rate shouldn't blame the manufacturer.

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MrValentine
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Posted: 23rd Nov 2011 23:41
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I never blamed the manufacturer lol but neverming... ignore it...

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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 24th Nov 2011 01:27
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Quote: "an HP Pavilion with an AMD A8-3500M, and Radeon HD 6620G, 4gb ram "


this september i decided to buy a samsung laptop for 600 bucks just because i wanted to check out the new AMD A6 CPUs (somewhat worse than A8 but a lot better than i was expecting from a 1.6 quadcore) Also the laptop had some Hybrid Xfire on 6620G anda 6250 built into the A6 CPU. 4GB of DDR3 memory. (this looks pretty close to the AMD A8 HP config you wanted to buy. si i wanna share my experience based on it and hopefully my experience can point you in the right direction. ) I thought it was crap, but i liked how it looked and i was curios about the new technology as it was the first time i even saw anything with a new AMD CPU.

(infact i had no idea that AMD came out with a new line of processors)

Also the laptop looked very visually pleasing to me and all my laptops in the last 5 years were ugly and i was tired of that and wanted something that looked good.

I wasnt expecting anything much better than my crappy 1yo Acer (also 600 bucks a year ago) But this new AMD A6 (1.6 Ghz Quadcore) and the hybrod Crossfire really surprised me (does the A8 HP you want to buy have a built in graphics ion the CPU like my A6? but i think the A8 is definatley better than the A6.
I was also blown away at the laptops ability to run even modern games smoothly on medium even hight settings. (my 1 yo acer couldnt run games from 6 years ago on low settings).

The Ati drivers (i assume i have the same ones as the AMD HP on your list)are very flexible. All kinds of options with clock speeds shader speeds, sound, video etc. There is also a power/performance manager. which i kinda like. Every program you start for the first time, it asks you if you want the program to run on full power potential or battery saving mode, it does not bother you again with it, only 1 time for each program at first run.

The standard battery life in laptops these days is about 3 hours so ill assume thats how much your A8 HP is.

Finally what really forced me to question the fabric of reality... i decided to insult this laptop by installing Skyrim tearlier this week. The reacrion of the laptop unexpectadley bold by claiming that it can run Skyrim on High! It couldnt of course, but after i played around with the settings and drivers bit (nothing complicated ATI drivers are easy and great) and i managed to get skyrim to run smoothly on medium - (can get close to high without loosing perfornance) but to run FRIGGING SKYRIM ON THIS LAPTOP ON ANYTHING above low!
This Hybrod Crossfire tech is really robust and i am very happy with it. The only downside is sometimes it takes a little while to switch from 1 program to another backround program especially if you are running the first program in high performance mode. I only had this issue with firefox tho nothing else and i am really not complaining about it either, i was not expecting an actual gaming notebook for 600 bucks.

So if you chose to buy the laptop with the AMD radeon setup, you made the right choice. and the best part is that what i described about my setup on an A4 CPU should be nothing compared to your A8 laptop.
THe good thing about the AMD/ATI setup is these new mobile CPUs and GPUs are so efficient that they can crank out some real power even out of crappy hardware if used correctley.

I dont know about the intel/ intel GMA/HDA but the last time i dealt with it in detail was proboly my friends but i remembered it as being crap. so PLEASE BUY THE AMD/ATI HP LAPTOP PLEASE!!!!


LING LIVE RADEON!
LONG LIVE THE GREAD AMD!


When i got a copy skyrim,


dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Epimetheus
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Posted: 24th Nov 2011 02:29
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@PAGAN

yeah, with the graphics card, the AMD will easily beat the i3 in anything graphical

but how do you think they stack up just based on pure processor capability?
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bitJericho
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Posted: 24th Nov 2011 11:39
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Quad core is better than dual core for rendering and multitasking.


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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 24th Nov 2011 12:14 Edited at: 24th Nov 2011 12:20
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I dont know about the AMD a8 CPUs themselves, and honestley i didnt look into it so i dont know, but i think its more than just the CPU. Intel laptops apperentley also have a similar thing going on, Hybrid SLI with one of the GPUs on the CPU and the other in the board.

Personally i believe that they finally went serious with the whole efficiency thing and made the overall system make better use of the ram and CPU so so the system runs faster. This seemes to work well because it allows them to boost performance on cheap laptops.

One of my other guesses is that they managed to take full advantage of DDR3. As far as i know, Computer ram, up to DDR2 whas always a major bottleneck in computers untill DDR 3 came out.

ine thing i am sure of is that i had many laptops in my life. but this samsung with A6 AMD and hybrid crossfire thing is the biggest and the best bang for a buck i evenr bought when it comes to laptops.

Keep in mind there is always room for upgrade as well. I upgraded my A6 samsung from 4 to 6 gigs. If i get around to it ill do 8 gigs. I will also upgrade it to A8 eventuaally.
But seriosly dont get turned off by the low CPU clock. the CPU is quadcore and the system is very efficient, taking full advantage of the hardware, I am still thrilled at my A6 and at how amazing it is for 600 bucks and you are getting an a8 which should be waaay better.


dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Epimetheus
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Posted: 26th Nov 2011 10:14
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Well, I went with the AMD, I'll post pics soon, until then, feast your eyes on this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+A-Series+Processor+/+15.6%26%2334%3B+Display+/+4GB+Memory+-+Steel+Gray/3649058.p?id=1218422882872&skuId=3649058&st=3649058%20&cp=1&lp=1
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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 00:10
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YES! i canve converted another follower to the AMD/Radeon cult! your soul is now mine! There is no turning back now hehehehe for every time you take up ownership of an nvidia or intel products they will bring you unspeakable pain and suffering Trust me on this one i know it all too well, because i have a masochistic passion for nvidia/intel stuff.... dont ask.

anyway.... welcome to the family



dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Isocadia
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 08:22
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PAGAN: And if you combined the 2, AMD CPU with NVidia GPU???
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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 09:33
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Thats HERECY


dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Indicium
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Posted: 27th Nov 2011 13:59
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Then off with my head I guess.

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