Difference Between i3-3130M and AMD A8-4500M

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rhym1n

rhym1n

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I'm trying to determine which HP laptop to buy. They have basically the same parts, but the CPU and GPU. Here are the CPUs and the links to the laptops:

3rd Gen Intel® Core™ i3-3130M processor
Features a 3MB L3 cache and 2.6GHz processor speed.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/pavilion-17-3-laptop-4gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive/5154007.p?id=1219112460192&skuId=5154007&st=categoryid$pcmcat247400050000&cp=1&lp=1

AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 7640G discrete-class graphics
Ensures optimal computing performance.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavilion-17-3-34-laptop-amd-a8-series-4gb-memory-750gb-hard-drive-anodized-silver/4340003.p?id=1219097786526&skuid=4340003&sellerId=

Are these both quad-core? Basically all I want to do is browse the web, watch movies online or from a DVD/HDD. I may have several applications open at once, which is why I want the quad-core. Which CPU is better?
 
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Wisecracker

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The i3-3130M is a dual-core 35w with hyperthreading.
The A8-4500M is a quad-core 35w Trinity 'APU'.

The 'Radeon HD 7640G' is the APU on-die graphics.

If I were you, I'd snag the AMD, and purchase a Vantec external enclosure (USB3 versions are $7 more), along with a Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD for $85.

Use the Samsung data migration tool to clone the original HDD to the SSD in the external enclosure, then swap-out the drives.

edit: It's highly debatable that the i3-3130M is a 'better' processor that the A8-4500m -- I look forward to the gyrations explaining that one.





 
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rhym1n

rhym1n

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Web browsing, watching movies through browser, dvd, or HDD, listening to music, possibly having several small applications open at once such as multiple browser tabs, instant messaging, AVG, etc.

I'm really not looking for a gaming PC, so both CPUs should be able to handle all of this, right?
 
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boosted1g

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The i3 will run better for single thread applications and general multitasking.

The better GPU of the A8 will give you no bennifit in watching movies.

My laptop is an i3 and it has never had an issue doing tasks more demanding then what you are doing. (I also have 8gb ram and an ssd drive)

If you do not need a ton of hard drive space you can pick up a 120 gb or 250 gb samsung evo ssd for fairly cheap (85-90 for 120gb and 130-140 for 250gb) and use the disk clone utility (you will need a usb hard drive adapter to do the copy).
This will give you a much improved system boot time and programs and files will load much faster.
 
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rhym1n

rhym1n

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I have a lot of experience building and putting in components in a desktop PC, but none in laptops. I was wondering how difficult it would be to put another 4 GB of RAM (to make 8 GB total). The link shows that it is upgradable to 8GB. Would Best Buy have to do that, or could I do it myself?
 
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boosted1g

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On most laptops it is very simple, there is an access panel on the bottom, unscrew it, push in ram stick until it clicks, its that way on most all PC laptops.

Now I have seens some models where it is a royal pain. Best thing to do since it is at best buy is just flip it over, if you see an access panel or two on the bottom then you are good, if the bottom is one big solid piece then you might have some difficulties.
 
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rhym1n

rhym1n

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Awesome. The only thing is that it doesn't tell you the exact brand and other features of the RAM, it just says:

4GB DDR3L SDRAM
For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB.

You really want to get the exact brand and model of the RAM already in there, correct? Is there an easy way to find out what it is exactly?
 
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boosted1g

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Once you have the computer you can either manually check it, or use cpuid's cpu-z to see the model number. Without the computer you would just have to search the OEMs site and other parts the internet and hope to find it

Odds are they use some offbeat brand (like hyinx) that you wont even be able to match outside of buying it for double the cost straight from the OEM. White it is marginally better to get the same model of stick, it wont hurt anything to have two different brands (the sticks in my laptop are not the same), I would try to match the speed though.

In reality it would probably cost you the same if not less to just buy a 2x4gb kit of ram then to buy another 4gb stick of exactly what the OEM used.
 
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Wisecracker

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If you purchase a Samsung SSD, it comes with (or, you may download) their *Data Migration Tool* which will clone the laptop HDD to the Samsung SSD -- then, you simply switch-out the drives. See my post at the very top.

There are other 'cloning' tools out there -- but the Samsung tool has yet to let me down on multiple HP laptop conversions on both Win7 and Win8.

The Radeon graphics has something called "UVD" (Universal Video Decoding) which off-loads much of the CPU utilization when watching movies -- the i3 has less refined decoding which does not cover all the video formats of the APU UVD.

Additionally, the APU graphics engine uses OpenCL GPU acceleration in addition to the 4 integer CPU cores. The i3 uses a 'patched' version of OpenCL that may, or may not, be recognized by your laptop's BIOS.

And, finally :lol: you may keep your original Windows installation image on the HDD as a backup, hide it in a blind partition, and reclaim the free disk space on the HDD for storage of your files, movies and music ...

You will be tested later :D


 
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2Be_or_Not2Be

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It seems that you are positioning the AMD as the best solution. I would point out that the Intel CPU also has similar features that help w/video output (not that either side needs much to display videos/DVDs), so that isn't a clear winner for AMD.

The only part that is a clear winner for AMD is that its integrated graphics is better than the Intel integrated graphics. Other than that, it loses in almost everything else. You do him a disservice by not mentioning some of the drawbacks.

What you didn't say is that the AMD is 1.9Ghz, and can go up to 2.8Ghz with Turbo Core. The Intel CPU is 2.6Ghz all the time. It has some unique features of its own, like QuickSync, that can be a big difference maker if creating digital content.

But the biggest issue is this quote from Notebook Review:

"In terms of raw general performance, the A8-4500M performs similar to the Llano-based A8-3500M. Single-threaded workloads can especially benefit from the new architecture and the updated Turbo Core functionality. If compared to Intels Core-i3-series, the A8-4500M offers less performance in most cases. Nonetheless, CPU performance from the AMD processor should be sufficient for all daily workloads like Office, Internet browsing and even light video editing or gaming."

So for the long-term, he'll get more performance from the i3 than he will the AMD. Neither one are serious gaming platforms, but they are fine for his cited needs. However, if price is a key factor, then likely the AMD will be cheaper while still performing well for his needs. I wouldn't have a problem with that recommendation.
 
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rhym1n

rhym1n

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I downloaded CPUID HWMonitor to monitor my component temps. Under AMD A8-4500M, it shows running at 87-90 degrees celcius? Isn't that extremely hot? I know my desktop CPU runs at 35-40 celcius.

Or is this normal for a laptop? It has maybe an hour of use.
 
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