i5 or AMD A6 or A8 processors in a Samsung laptop?

Hudpod25

I am going to buy one of three series 3, Samsung laptops (because they come with a non -reflective screen). The three all have quad core processors and 15.6" screens. They are available at PC World. www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops/703_7006_70006_43_xx/xx-criteria.html

1. NP300E5A: i5-2450M Processor; Memory: 6GB; Hard Drive 500GB; Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX Optimus £499.91

2. NP305V5A: AMD-83530M processor; Memory 8GB; Hard drive 750GB; Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6620G £449.97

3. NP305E5A: AMD A6-3420M processor; Memory 6GB; Hard drive 1TB; Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6520G £429

I surf the web, email, watch TV and the odd film and store loads of photographs. In the future I may use photoshop, convert old videos and perhaps play games.

I want to future proof to some extent but is there much difference in the performance of an i5 processor and either of the AMD's? The NVIDIA graphics card is bottom of the range but is it a better combination than the AMD 'package' and worth the extra money?

I realise any of the three are way above my seven year old laptop but any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Stuart

Notmyrealname

For what you're wanting to do it makes no difference at all which one you go for.

robmar0se

The relative scores for the 3 processors from the Passmark website are as follows. The larger the number the better the outright performance

i5 2450m - 3586
a8-3530m - 2571
a6-3420m - 2298

So for pure processing power the intel is the better buy - some would say that if graphics was a major issue the inbuilt gpu on the AMD chips is better - really your call on what is most important to you.

PS Processor is more important that RAM/HDD, as these are readily added to as needs arise - much more difficult to change the cpu!

paddyrg

AMD haven't really been competing on power for a while, their architecture just isn't as good as the current Intel family IMHO

almillar

I choose number 2. Processor not as fast, and probably not as efficient, but I think the 8GB RAM, bigger (faster) hard drive and better graphics will be more of an advantage.

Cisco001

NP305V5A: AMD-83530M processor; Memory 8GB; Hard drive 750GB; Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6620G £449.97

smos585

If

and perhaps play games

is an after thought and not the main reason, then I would go for no 1, all the other bits can be upgraded easily if and when you need it. The i5 will stand you in better stead for longer as it it considerably more powerful than the AMD processors.

Livingthedream

i5 is a more powerful processor, however, the 520mx GPU is pretty rubbish and for most games won't give a good gaming experience.
A8 is an entry level/mid range processor but it's 6620M graphic's will handle most games on Mid settings.
A6 is entry level processor but it's 6520M graphic's will handle most games on Low/Mid settings.

If you've got any thoughts of casual gaming then it's option 2, if not interested in gaming then I would choose option 1 as it's more future proof laptop.

poppy10_2

smos585 wrote: »

The i5 will stand you in better stead for longer as it it considerably more powerful than the AMD processors.

Not really. CPUs aren't the limiting factor for most laptops. Any of the models listed will be fine for handling web browsing, email, video and photoshop. The A6/A8 AMD processors have the added advantage of the integrated GPU which performs better and has lower power consumption than the i5 with a discrete mobile graphics cards. For laptops the AMD products are superior than intel's offerings

robmar0se

poppy10 wrote: »

Not really. CPUs aren't the limiting factor for most laptops. Any of the models listed will be fine for handling web browsing, email, video and photoshop. The A6/A8 AMD processors have the added advantage of the integrated GPU which performs better and has lower power consumption than the i5 with a discrete mobile graphics cards. For laptops the AMD products are superior than intel's offerings

Apologies. Without wishing to be rude, may I contradict the above?

Both cpus have integrated graphics, yes the AMD graphics is better, but some of the comments exaggerate the difference. If gaming is not a priority (as indicated), and if the user is a casual games player I don't believe the graphics superiority of the AMD will compensate for the relative poor processing power of the CPUs.

That is why in benchmark tests the Intel CPUs are considered to be superior. That is why we suggest the Intel is more viable in terms of usability going forward.

poppy10_2

The graphics component of the AMD CPGPUs will accelerate online and offline video as well as some photoshop functions. Plus it will actually be able to run casual games at a decent resolution. The i5 integrated graphics are very poor, which is why the i5 model posted above comes with a separate discrete nVidia card - however this comes at the price of increased battery consumption, even with the automatic Optimus switching.

In benchmark terms intel CPUs are superior, I agree (I run an intel setup on my high-end desktop). But the OP isn't buying a laptop to run benchmarks. In the casual use scenario he's posting about, the AMD processors will be more than fast enough in terms of raw processing power, and the additional boost from the graphics acceleration will count for a lot more in day-to-day usage than having the extra CPU horsepower.