Is APU better?

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xxgeorgexxl

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Aug 20, 2013
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Hi everyone,
I have a low budget for buying a laptop. This is the first time I am buying one. Before this I have used several Desktops. I have always played game in high setting with ease on desktop but when I though of buying a laptop for the same, non of them are even close to what I want in my budget. I want to play games in at least high setting. I got few APU laptops at low price. They have dedicated and integrated graphic. Are they better for gaming, performance wise? I was also looking for a Laptop with GT 650M which is costing a bit more.
Please look at my options:

Lenovo Essential G505s

Lenovo Ideapad Z500

Samsung NP550P5C-S04IN Laptop

Let me know if I should go for APUs or COREi s. You can also suggest me some other laptops.
 
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Ranko Kohime

Ranko Kohime

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Aug 18, 2013
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My experience is that the AMD APU is slightly better than the Intel integrated graphics, but I may be comparing apples to oranges, as I've got an HD3000 laptop vs. an A8-6600K APU in my desktop. (Last generation vs bleeding edge, respectively)

That being said, I wouldn't expect to run either on High anything, at resolutions greater than 640x480 and framerates over 20. (Or less)

Though Alan Wake certainly looks good at absolute minimum settings, and runs at 30 fps at 720p on the APU.

Bottom line: If you can't settle for turning the graphics down, you're just not going to be happy without dedicated graphics.
 
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babosadaltonica

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Dec 5, 2013
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Check the benchmarks: an A8-6600K APU will be a LOT faster than an HD 3000 laptop graphics. Don't really see how you are getting those results.

To the OP: APUs do NOT have dedicated AND integrated graphics unless you add a dedicated graphics card, which doesn't make sense. Why would you waste the graphics component of the APU when you were going to get a discrete card? The only way I could see this happening would be if you got an APU and then decided to get a video card when you realized that you needed more oomph in your game. An APU has the CPU and the graphics mixed in, just like intel CPUs with their "HD" graphics solutions. The only difference is that AMD's integrated graphics is just plain better. A lot in some games, a little in others.
 
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Ranko Kohime

Ranko Kohime

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Aug 18, 2013
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Some things run better on Intel than AMD. The reverse is also true, but I've not run into any of the games that would make it so. Intel's iGPU's are more powerful in the mobile versions than the desktop versions, and perhaps the same might be true of AMD?

And anyway, you apparently have not heard about Optimus, which is a laptop-only technology whereby the discrete card, (in the case of Optimus, it's an Nvidia trademark) is off most of the time, and the Intel iGPU handles the workload, and then when more performance is demanded the discrete card starts up. It has a tremendously beneficial effect on battery life, and AMD has a similar technology for laptops, though it is less common.
 
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