If money is no object, and your primary concern is processor power, then buy an i5.
If the primary concern is graphics power, then it will depend on whether the i5 laptops have discrete GPUs, because Intel's onboard graphics are blown away by the APU's onboard graphics.
If price is a factor, then it starts becoming a toss-up. While the i5 as a processor will function better, you'll not only take the graphics performance hit but you'll lose capability in other spots.
For example, the local Micro Center has among their current offerings these 2 laptops:
-- Lenovo G505s 15.6" (http://www.microcenter.com/product/428590/G505s_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black), base price $570 USD, currently on sale for $500 USD.
-- Dell Inspiron 15 15.6" (http://www.microcenter.com/product/428255/Inspiron_15_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black_Matte_with_Textured_Finish), model #I15RV-8574BLK, base price $580 USD, currently on sale for $500 USD.
Both laptops come with a DVD-RW drive, Windows 8.1, 6GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, built-in Wireless-N, and built-in Ethernet 100Mbps adapter. Both have 2 USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, and an audio port. There are a few minor differences (1 USB 2.0 in the Lenovo vs. 2 for the Dell; 2-in-1 card reader for the Lenovo vs. 8-in-1 for the Dell; VGA port on the Lenovo but not the Dell).
The biggest difference, however, comes with the primary stuff: hard drive and CPU. The Lenovo comes with the A10-5750M and a 1TB hard drive (5400 RPM); the Dell has the i5-4200U, but only a 750GB hard drive (also 5,400 RPM). It may not seem like much, but with the A10 being close in performance (Sorry, but considering that CPUBoss showed the A10 closer in performance than the A6, but the i5-5200U "wins" over the A10 when the A6 is "too close to call", just doesn't cut it for me), I would pick the larger hard drive any day.
Or, as a different comparison, look at the Lenovo G505s versus the G510 (http://www.microcenter.com/product/428609/G510_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black_Textured): same RAM, same Ethernet, same Bluetooth, same Wi-Fi, same card reader, same hard drive. The only difference is, the G510 doens't have a price break, so you pay $500 for the A10-equipped G505s, but pay $590 for the i5-equipped G510. Is the slight increase in performance worth the extra $90? That's a personal choice.
Now, sure, you could get an MSI GP60 Leopard -- comparable to the Dell Inspiron 15, but with the card reader replaced by a discrete nVidia GT 840M. But that jacks your price up to $850.
So, the big questions are:
1. What's your budget?
2. What is your most important performance metric you need: CPU power, GPU power, storage space, or RAM?
3. What is your second most important performance metric?
And realize that, if your budget is limited, and especially if it's limited to $500 or less, you will probably get more mileage out an APU-based system than an Intel system
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