Amd a8 quad core with 7670m vs intel i5 with 7670m

[R4Zi]

Im looking to buy a new laptop which i will use for gaming, some programming, movies, internet etc..
I have shortlisted two hp models which fall within my budget and am unable to decide!

Both essentially have the same specs except for their cpu

Choice 1:
cpu: amd a8 4500m (7640g igc)
gpu: amd radeon hd 7670m 1gb

Choice2:
cpu: intel i5 2450m
gpu: amd radeon hd 7670m


Now, i know the i5 outstrips the a8 based on raw power but i'm not going to be using the laptop for any intensive tasks other than some gaming and in choice 1 i can use crossfire to run both the 7640g+7670m. So i was wondering whether the crossfire setup would perform better while playing games compared to the i5 with just the 7670m. I've checked out a few forums and read that crossfire driver support isn't great and is quite buggy. But some of these threads were over a year old! That being said, I've also come across quite a number of driver updates and profiles that amd has come out with to address these issues.

Considering all of this, which one do you think i should go for??

 

[nna2]

the a8 is a better gaming choice, the i5 is a better processing choice

 

[R4Zi]

the a8 is a better gaming choice, the i5 is a better processing choice

Yeah, better gaming is what im looking for
When you say the i5 is a better processing choice, what would the i5 be able to do that the a8 cannot?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The A8 laptop is the better gaming choice ONLY because of CF. Otherwise, the i5 would be WAY ahead. Hell, it still might be close. And you answered your own question about the difference in processing power in your OP. The i5 will be the better overall CPU in everything, even gaming, but the ability for CF with the A8 is what makes it a little better choice here.

 

[R4Zi]

Alright then, if the performance between the two is going to be that close then i might as well go in for the i5. I dont want my laptop to suffer in other aspects just to get that little extra juice while gaming. Im not too fussy whether i play with shadows at high or medium as long as i get a good framerate. Thanks!!

 

[Kroneage]

The A8 laptop is the better gaming choice ONLY because of CF. Otherwise, the i5 would be WAY ahead. Hell, it still might be close. And you answered your own question about the difference in processing power in your OP. The i5 will be the better overall CPU in everything, even gaming, but the ability for CF with the A8 is what makes it a little better choice here.

If all you had was an i5 vs an AMD Quadcore that's integrated into their APU, you'd be right. The Intel CPU would whack the AMD CPU up side the head. But there is a reason AMD bought ATI in the first place. Building and designing CPU's vs GPU's is a whole lot easier said than done. The logic designs are a whole lot more intense because you're dealing with 100's of SPU's vs only a few CPU cores to mesh with the substrate. Intel as yet has been unable to fathom the principles of GPU design, let alone integrate it with their far inferior Atom chips as compared to AMD's new APU's.

Therefore Intel totally freaked when AMD bought ATI and protested the deal to no avail. So when you take a superior GPU with far better logic and internal bus designs, use your own Hyper Transport on the SoC like design all in one design, you've eliminated bottlenecks on the motherboard. The closer the GPU and CPU are the more efficient graphical processing is. So if you're only concerned with processing CPU intensive calculations, then obviously you go for the Intel processor. But for all around computing we now have to include the GPU, that are capable of actually crunching more single precision calculations than CPU's today. So therein lies the rub that ATI buy in the face of Intel!

AMD APU are set to only get better and even more powerful on the GPU side than the CPU. Add in more double precision units (like AMD is now doing) and in the future both Nvidia and AMD will not only be challenging Intel for the number crunching title but will continue to totally blow them away on Graphics! .....face it AMD APU isn't just a slightly better choice, but a BLOW OUT on Gaming, when Intel's own APU like Atom chips or Graphics chips can't even come close to competing with it!

 

[FinneousPJ]

Your general usage wouldn't suffer with the AMD, but gaming will benefit from it. I'd grab the AMD.

 

[kiranflys]

Also the price tag!!! The i5-ATi 7670M would surely cost 20% more than the A8-4500 - ATi 7670 combo...

I own the A8 laptop and I play most of the games at Max to Max-Med settings with very good frame rates... Before this I was using a 1st gen i5 lappy and this CPU is way better than that for sure as well...

For instance, I play Witcher 2 at Ultra settings with just the Ubersampling disabled and I get a very good frame rate...

Definitely A8 for me coz of the value for money and performance PLUS a lot of other features like video stabilizing and the likes which are not there in Intel CPUs...

 

[chad2625]

Actually, to set the record strait unless there is something that the core I5 does that the A8 can't, then A8 beats the crap out of the I5-2450m witch according to cpubenchmark.net the I5 gets 3586 marks, and the A8-4500m gets 4308 marks. The A8 gets about 20% more performance, plus you get the dual video cards. With Crossfire of those two graphics cards you should be able to play most games a high if not full settings. I know that Intel normally mean more powerful CPU's, this case it does not.

Im looking to buy a new laptop which i will use for gaming, some programming, movies, internet etc..
I have shortlisted two hp models which fall within my budget and am unable to decide!

Both essentially have the same specs except for their cpu

Choice 1:
cpu: amd a8 4500m (7640g igc)
gpu: amd radeon hd 7670m 1gb

Choice2:
cpu: intel i5 2450m
gpu: amd radeon hd 7670m


Now, i know the i5 outstrips the a8 based on raw power but i'm not going to be using the laptop for any intensive tasks other than some gaming and in choice 1 i can use crossfire to run both the 7640g+7670m. So i was wondering whether the crossfire setup would perform better while playing games compared to the i5 with just the 7670m. I've checked out a few forums and read that crossfire driver support isn't great and is quite buggy. But some of these threads were over a year old! That being said, I've also come across quite a number of driver updates and profiles that amd has come out with to address these issues.

Considering all of this, which one do you think i should go for??

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Actually, to set the record strait unless there is something that the core I5 the A8 beats the crap out of the I5-2450m witch according to cpubenchmark.net the I5 gets 3586 marks, and the A8-4500m gets 4308 marks. With Crossfire of those two graphics cards you should be able to play most games a high if not full settings. I know that Intel normally mean more powerful CPU's, this case it does not.

CPUBenchmark.net uses PassMark which is a total, absolute, and complete joke. It's seriously screwed and literally agrees with absolutely NO other benchmarks. DO NOT trust it.

The i5 (ANY i5) is SIGNIFICANTLY better, in EVERYTHING but the integrated graphics and the ability for Hybrid CF. The only knock on the i5 is the price difference.

 

[esrever]

the i5 isn't that much better. In general you won't notice the difference. The A8 with crossfire is a lot better and you will notice the different in gaming.

The i5 is maybe 20% faster in cpu tests but you can do everything the i5 can on the A8, just takes a bit longer.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

the i5 isn't that much better. In general you won't notice the difference. The A8 with crossfire is a lot better and you will notice the different in gaming.

The i5 is maybe 20% faster in cpu tests but you can do everything the i5 can on the A8, just takes a bit longer.

Yeah, I let my general dislike for APU's get in the way a bit, but I'd always pick the i5 with a good discreet GPU personally. Just my own opinion.

I only recommend APU's if that's what fits into your budget.

 

[chad2625]

Ok if this is true, I don't know why this benchmark is a joke but I would agree that there are some mixed results the fact is as of right now the the A8-4500 is to new to have much hard data like I would like to see. Maybe it is not as powerful as the I5 but most games are limited by the Video end of the spectrum, and with the Crossfire capbility it probably is the best Performance per dollar.

I dont know if this link will still work, but this is from 3dmark (Results) I could not find any benchmarks with the a8-4500 so I used the a8-3530mx wich is from the previous generation and the two processors compete, so it is pretty safe to assume that the next generation would perform better. IF the OP purchased the A8-4500 laptop perhapes he/she could post some 3dmark vantage results.

CPUBenchmark.net uses PassMark which is a total, absolute, and complete joke. It's seriously screwed and literally agrees with absolutely NO other benchmarks. DO NOT trust it.

The i5 (ANY i5) is SIGNIFICANTLY better, in EVERYTHING but the integrated graphics and the ability for Hybrid CF. The only knock on the i5 is the price difference.

 

[esrever]

the A8 should be very compatible to the i5 in well threaded benchmarks but generally its going to be slower in everyday use, not that you would really notice imo.

 

[rathin2j]

hello everyone, really a WONDERFUL discussion. loved it!! in addition to this can you suggest

which one should be chosen between i5 2450 w/ 7670m 1G and A10 w/ 2G, i am confused because i have a crush on the i5 laptop model :-D

this the following two laptops:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c03647907

http://www.sony.co.in/product/sve14a15fn (real BEAUTY + backlight and all .. what to do??

my normal usage is multi tasking like (browser+ matlab+ notepad++ VLC +netbean/ eclipse/Qt creator ) yes some times video editing like FormatFactory or HandBreak

and in the matter of gaming i love gaming but i am not a persistent player, as soon as enemy shot me i shut down the game ;-D (joking, u r supposed to LAUGH

 

[OMS TechConsulting]

Not seeing anyone say it here, but the i5 IS a dual core, the A8 is definitely a quad. That being said I have the Acer V3-551-5484 from newegg, and after swapping the HD for an SSD, the performance in absolutely everything is a non-issue. If you like Intel a ton for performance and are torn between that and the AMDz, but want CF (let's call it full frames max settings ftw), get the amd A8 setup (or A10) and an SSD, and race your friends...game over.


ps: you CAN upgrade the cpu+gpu (apu) in your amd and by doing so, upgrade one of your video devices. I have an A8, and will ultimately get a 10 or ?12? one day. GL, Intel, on that one. Only ever gonna be able to upgrade processor power, never graphics processing power.