Samsung NP305V4Z-T01TH vs. HP ProBook 4530s

SwanKnight

August 23, 2012 11:22:58 PM

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new laptop very soon and so far I narrowed my choice to these two laptops:

1) Samsung NP305V4Z-T01TH

2) HP ProBook 4530s

Their price is pretty close (Samsung is slightly cheaper).

I still can't decide between them so I'm looking for advise/thoughts.

I made a small comparison that sums up their most notable specs:

First, the main reason I chose those two is because their displays are NOT glossy, which is the most important thing since I HATE glossy displays.

Second, I'll be using the laptop (mainly) for Encoding, Gaming, Movies and Programming (through Virtual Machines) in that order.

To make a a little clearer, here are my questions:

1) Knowing that the AMD A8 supports Dual Graphics (aka Hybrid CrossFireX), how much better/worse will it be for gaming compared to the HP?
Note: The A8 integrated chip is the 6620G coupled with the discrete 6630M, AMD calls that combination HD 6690G2.

2) Knowing that the i5 is dual core while the A8 is quad core, which will deliver better performance for (video) encoding?

3) The HP comes with a faster HDD (7200 RPM) and 2GB of extra RAM, how much both of them together will affect the performance (increase) compared to the Samsung?

PS: I'm not looking for alternatives since what you suggest may not be available where I live or simply over my budget limit.

Thanks in advance.

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scottiemedic

August 24, 2012 12:54:42 AM

One thing I notice is the HP comes with FreeDOS and not Windows? That will be an extra bill out of your wallet. The i5 will run circles around the A8 for video coding. The dual graphics isn't going to make a huge difference for gaming over the 6490 as it stands and if you're doing video, you will WANT the extra 2GB RAM (more if the mobo will support it down the road) and the 7200 will help for access and read/write times.

Short but sweet, I'd look at nothing that had AMD, and between these two, it's easy for me to choose the HP. And it's even lighter slightly with a LOT more ooomph...

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SwanKnight

August 24, 2012 7:48:57 AM

scottiemedic said:

One thing I notice is the HP comes with FreeDOS and not Windows? That will be an extra bill out of your wallet. The i5 will run circles around the A8 for video coding. The dual graphics isn't going to make a huge difference for gaming over the 6490 as it stands and if you're doing video, you will WANT the extra 2GB RAM (more if the mobo will support it down the road) and the 7200 will help for access and read/write times.

Short but sweet, I'd look at nothing that had AMD, and between these two, it's easy for me to choose the HP. And it's even lighter slightly with a LOT more ooomph...

First of all, thanks for your response.

How so? Correct me if I'm wrong but encoding is one of the tasks that make use of muti cores, so wouldn't quad core offer better performance compared to dual core?

As for graphics, from what I've read there's quite a difference between the HP's 6490 and the Samsung's 6630 and that's not considering the Dual Graphics (6690G2), so it makes me wonder about gaming performance..

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scottiemedic

August 24, 2012 6:21:43 PM

A Ferrari and a Hyundai are both cars, but one is built better and thus runs faster. The architecture of the i5 will blow the A8 out of the water, plain and simple, not to mention the fact the i5 is dual core with hyperthreading, so it has 4 effective cores.

And yes, you will have '2' GPUs, but only one at a time can be used, the integrated when you're surfing the net and such, and the discrete kicks in (and shuts off the integrated) when your machine demands more GPU power, so it's not "dual" like a Crossfire setup.

What's more important? Gaming on the laptop or video encoding?

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SwanKnight

August 24, 2012 9:22:28 PM

scottiemedic said:

A Ferrari and a Hyundai are both cars, but one is built better and thus runs faster. The architecture of the i5 will blow the A8 out of the water, plain and simple, not to mention the fact the i5 is dual core with hyperthreading, so it has 4 effective cores.

I don't really think the difference is THAT big, but I guess I'll have to take your word for it.

scottiemedic said:

And yes, you will have '2' GPUs, but only one at a time can be used, the integrated when you're surfing the net and such, and the discrete kicks in (and shuts off the integrated) when your machine demands more GPU power, so it's not "dual" like a Crossfire setup.

I think you minunderstood something. What you're referring to is called "PowerXpress". Here's the explanation for that technology:

Quote:

PowerXpress technology allows seamless switching from integrated graphics (IGP) to discrete graphics on notebooks when the notebook is connected to the AC power supply for better 3D rendering capabilities, and vice versa when disconnected from the power supply to increase battery life. The process does not require a system reboot as in the past and some current notebook implementations.

As for "Dual Graphics" (aka Hybrid CrossFireX) here's the definition/explanation:

Quote:

It allows combining discrete video cards and the IGP for increased performance. This combination results in power-savings when simple or 2D graphics are used and performance increases of 25% to over 200% in 3D graphics over using a non CrossFire option. As of March 2012, it appears that this is now called "AMD Radeon Dual Graphics" and means using A-series Fusion APUs together with discrete video cards.

Just trying to clear things up.

scottiemedic said:

What's more important? Gaming on the laptop or video encoding?

That's a tough call, especially since games' requirements gets steeper everyday. If possible I'd like to balance the two without sacrifice, but I HAD to choose, I'd say I do a lot more (video) encoding than I play games.

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