Intel i5+nvidia 630m vs amd a8+ATI 7670M+ AMD 7640G for games

[ragmj]

Hello,
I am planning to buy a BUDGET laptop for gaming and am confused between the following 2 laptops, the prices are in INDIAN rupees, to be clear the AMD latop is close to 150 USD cheaper.
I have read threads dealing with integrated graphics for both intel and amd processors and noted that while intel has poor integrated graphics for gaming and amd offers better integrated graphics, intel processors outperform amd when they have dedicated graphics. So, here are the links.

Please help me choose an option, A or B.

A) AMD: http://www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion-g6-2005ax-laptop-amd-a8-quad-core-4gb-500gb-win-7-hb-1gb-graphics/p/itmdaa2xq7jnnvch?pid=COMDAA2USZGGXKZK&ref=f29fde68-c752-48d3-9b5b-c266b63e5cbd

B) Intel: http://www.flipkart.com/asus-k53sm-sx010d-2nd-gen-ci5-4-gb-750-gb-2gb-graphics-dos/p/itmd7vs3bhr6jtgb?pid=COMD7VPKTSFNFZWM&ref=8c356369-bf97-435a-a467-2a9a1acd759c

And I also read that the 2 AMD/ATI cards are integrated by crossfire, how much of an real time advantage is that? And also, I read that there are lot of bugs in the crossfire drivers, how far has that been fixed?
Thanks in advance.

 

[das_stig]

The i5 is better cpu for gaming, while the GT630m although better that the AMD 76xxm is still a weak gaming GPU.

So out of the two, the Asus K53SM-SX010D is my choice.

 

[rinval]

+1 if you can afford the extra the Asus with an I5 is the way to go even with the weak gt630m. generally speaking most gaming laptops are CPU starved so the more CPU performance you can get the better. as of right now Intel per core performance is about 15-20% better than amd.

 

[-Fran-]

Guys, don't mislead him.

I have the previous HP model (A8 3500) but with a 1080p screen and 8GB DDR1600 [strike]I got that same HP[/strike] here with me and I also had something very very close to that i5, but the previous version of it: i3 380 + GT425M (no slouch at gaming, mind you all).

The GT630 is a re-branded GT540M, so it does game a lot (my fab discrete for mobile, in fact), but consumes a lot of battery life; anyway, the true kepler mobile is the GT650M and some particular GT640M (hard to know, since there is no other way to identify whether it's a re-branded GT550M or a 28nm part). Also, the 7670M (re-branded 6770M) is better by a tad than the GT540M/GT630M at gaming.

Anyway, the A8 with the dual vga (hybrid xfire of sorts) is better at not-cpu intensive games (unless you set core affinity and change P-States; which really boosts performance since it allows you to clock it higher), but plays better in multiplayers (i5 is dual core + HT, whereas the A8 is full quad).

It's a trade off in most areas, but if you want to game on a notebook, the A8 + discrete fares better overall. And keep in mind neither will play games butter smooth at that price point.

Cheers!

EDIT: Made a mistake, now corrected.

EDIT2: More info:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-540M.41715.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-7690M.67737.0.html

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/325?vs=387 <- Benchies

 

[rinval]

sry i stand correct i didnt realize the HP had duel graphics i was thinking it was APU only. i must have been spacing out when i read this my bad...

as said above though both are going to be lack luster when it comes to games but may be playable at medium to low settings at best.

good call Yuka!

 

[ragmj]

Best answer selected by ragmj.