Choosing between 2 laptops, which has better CPU and better performance?

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naxster

naxster

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Hi guys i have a choice to make, which laptop do you think i should buy?? And its only between these two, no other. Which has better performance and speed and durability?

The First laptop
ASUS K55DR
- A8-4500M
- 8GB DDR3 RAM
- 750GB HDD
- AMD Radeon HD 7470 + HD 7640G CrossFire 1GB

The Second laptop
Asus X550CC
- i3-3217U
- 6GB DDR3 RAM
- 750GB HDD
- GT 720 2GB

Which one should i choose and which one do you think is better? :)
 
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naxster

naxster

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hahaha yea i know that they have crappy video card xD
And no im not going to game alot with it just easy games, so you would recommend i3 over the amd even if it has 8GB ram??
 
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naxster

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Hmm but do you if the CPU fan has anything to do with these two CPUs??
I mean is intels CPU fan more quiet than AMD CPU fan???
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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We have no way of knowing that without actually trying the laptop.

It's not an "INTEL" or "AMD" fan either. It's whatever cooling solution the laptop manufacture used which is usually heatpipes running to the GPU, CPU/APU then exhausted with a fan.

Also CROSSFIRE has issues with microstutter. While these are being addressed with a recent DRIVER, laptop manufacturers are known for not having the latest drivers available and usually you can't use the ones from AMD themselves. Perhaps something to investigate (whether the new driver is already available or will be soon for that exact laptop).

Do you have any DATA on benchmarks at all to compare the two laptops? Unless there's a big difference, my gut reaction is to recommend the Intel/NVidia solution but again I don't have any hard data.
 
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naxster

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hmm actually no i have no DATA at all, so your gut tells you to pick the i3 over the amd? xD
Because im thinking to buy the one with the i3, but i have no idea which one i should pick
 
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guggi4

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On the and site, only Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic laptops are as not compatible listed so he should be able to install lastest 13.8 beta drivers and micro stutter shouldn't be a issue.
So I'd personally go with the amd, would perform better in games.
 
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naxster

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wait wait what??? I dont want to have any problem if i buy a new laptop, and what is this micro stutter all about?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Micro-stutter:
As we've mentioned the issue is being fixed (improved) with new drivers but until you get these new drivers you will have micro-stutter. That's why I suggest verifying when/if the new driver will be available. Again, I don't think you can use the official AMD drivers usually. I did so on my dad's laptop but after installing a FRESH COPY of Windows that wasn't created by the laptop manufacturer (otherwise it wouldn't even let me install the official drivers).

What is micro-stutter?
When you have two GPU's in Crossfire, they alternate outputting the frames the screen. So at 60FPS (Frames Per Second) each one contributes 30 Frames total but like this:
GPU1, GPU2, GPU1, GPU2...

The problem is that they discovered one the GPU's would frequently create such a short frame (RUNT) that it wasn't really visible. Not to get too technical but games would feel sluggish because while FRAPS might report 60FPS the actual PERCEIVED frame rate might be 30FPS.

Basically the 2nd GPU wasn't contributing anything observable but was still telling FRAPS and the game that it was.

Oversimplified but essentially accurate.
*I'm not telling you to ignore the AMD laptop, I'm just giving you the facts.

**Currently the driver fix won't address DX9 games either.

If I knew a BUDGET I might recommend a completely different laptop but based on these two I'm not comfortable recommending the Crossfire solution.
 
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naxster

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Thanks for the reply! :)
So what you are saying is that there is not a compatible driver for the cross in Windows 8?
If that is so, i dont want to have to search all over the web just to "fix" this problem. And it wont fix the DX9? Well in that case i think i the i3 is better because i dont want to wait until they release a fix to that micro stuttering and DX9...
And you said i should choose completely a new laptop, well i have been searching and i found almost similar specs but its an Lenovo. Which brand do you think i should go with, Lenovo or ASUS?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Hi,
*If you want more help, provide THIS information:
1) BUDGET
2) Location (United States?)
3) Screen size (17" or 15.6")

Crossfire:
a) Again, the issue is being fixed but the LAPTOP MANUFACTURER often has to make these drivers available. AMD makes them, and in DESKTOPS we can download in AMD but it's a different scenario for laptop manufacturers who often do custom screen/HDMI things so they have to modify drivers slightly but they always STOP doing that so while new drivers keep being made you can't install them (code added prevents this; code not in a fresh, generic version of Windows.

*My dad bought his laptop in 2006. The last video drivers from NVidia that HP provided were in 2007. I downloaded "compatible" drivers for his GPU but they wouldn't install. I installed Windows 8 when it was $40 (Upgrade, but it did a clean installation) and the latest 2013 drivers work just fine (screen, HDMI all working). Drivers from NVidia themselves, not HP.

b) Crossfire LATEST INFO (again irrelevent if the drivers aren't available; results may vary from low-end GPU's):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dual-graphics-crossfire-benchmark,3583.html
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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I noticed THIS at the end of the article I linked which is about DUAL GRAPHICS (what the "Crossfire" laptop you have is I believe):

"With that said, the latest driver doesn't help Dual Graphics. And the problems with this technology are more severe than we imagined even before this story was conceptualized. We're hoping the company gets serious about fixing Dual Graphics, just as it did when it committed to improving CrossFire with two discrete GPUs. Right now it's evangelizing a feature that helps improve benchmark results, but not actual gameplay. That's just not right. "
 
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naxster

naxster

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wow... if the latest driver doesn't help the dual graphics, what will?? and they MAY fix this in the future?? That can take forever, weeks, months, even a year. I dont want to buy a laptop hope that the "fix" this problem with the graphics and if they fix it it will probably be a "beta" to the driver and will improve it later... so no i wont buy that laptop with the dual graphics even if its maybe a bit better.

Thank you photonboy! :D
 
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naxster

naxster

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Well i found this laptop i might buy:

Asus X550CC
- Intel® Core™ i5-3337U
- 6 GB DDR3 RAM
- 750 GB HDD
- Nvidia Geforce GT 720M

But i dont live in the US or UK i live in Sweden. And my current budget is $850. YES I KNOW i can get much better laptop for that price, but in sweden this is the best i can find, and i only want an ASUS since i dont know which brand i should trust or not to trust. I want durability and a good life span.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Asus is my top choice for laptops in general.

If that CPU and GPU are the best you can get in your budget where you live, then I see no issues.

*If you have Windows 8, you may wish to buy START8 from Stardock for $5. You'll need to configure it to your tastes, but it adds back the Start Menu, allows you to boot directly to the desktop, and removes the CHARMS BAR from the desktop (CHARMS BAR is very annoying on the desktop as it pops up every time I try to close a program).
 
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