Buying a laptop, finally found an AMD option

[Cool Buddy]

My brother is going to buy a laptop. It will be used for some programming, movies, Internet & games (occasional). He was looking at dell T540613IN8 & VAIO VPCEB16FG/L. However yesterday he noticed Dell T540902IN8 which is an AMD lappy and thus it is cheaper.

Here are the brief specs of all 3 so that you don't have to visit website:

Dell T540613IN8 (first one)

i5 460M (dual core 2.53 Ghz)
4GB 1066 Mhz DDR3 RAM
HD5470 1GB gfx (a crappy card for gaming I believe)
Price: Rs. 48,400

VAIO VPCEB16FG/L

i3 330M 2.13 Ghz
4GB 1066 Mhz DDR3 RAM
HD 5650 gfx
Price: Rs. 50,000

Dell T540902IN8

Phenom II quad core N930 2Ghz
4 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz RAM
ATI Mobility Radeoon HD 550v 1 GB gfx
Price: Rs. 43,000

He had a budget of around 45-46k but not finding any suitable option, was willing to increase it to 50k. At that price, sony would be the best option with its decent graphics card. However, after noticing the phenom, he was reconsidering his decision. So my question is, how much would be the performance difference between the sony & the phenom?

One more question, if in the phenom option, only processor is changed to i3 2.4 Ghz, whether it will have greater performance or lower. (I believe it would be lower)

Please use this link for reference of laptop graphics card hierarchy: Comparison of Laptop Graphics Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech
HD 550v is placed just above GT 240M

Also suggest any other models around 45-46k (from HP, lenovo etc.) worth having a look

And if possible, someone suggest shops in Chennai/Bangalore

 

[desiibond]

the phenom options looks good. Though the processor would be slightly slower than core i5 460M, the faster RAM and GPU should make up for the loss in speed. But do remember that the GPU is DirectX 10.1 and not dx11.

In Bangalore, Check Dell store near Domlur (in that Dell building, Embassy Golf Links campus, inner ring road)

 

[Cool Buddy]

yeah, bro pointed the DX 10.1 thing. So will DX11 games not run at all or their performance will be hampered?

 

[SlashDK]

^^ DX 11 games that support 10.1 will run in DX 10.1 mode.

btw remember that the mobile phenom performance is similiar to desktop athlons as it doesn't have any L3 cache

 

[Cilus]

The AMD based laptop looks good to me. ATI 545v 1 GB is actually a re-branded mobility Radeon HD 4650. Performance wise it is almost in the same league of HD 5650, without the Dx11 support.

Also the laptop you have chosen looks very good to me, at least configuration wise. The Quad core Phenom II is a very good processor, available at the price point. For programming and multi tasking that would be a great companion.

But for gaming you can also look at the model Acer 5740G avialable @ 42.5k in Kolkata. It is the best gaming laptop withinn budget with very good Battery life, DX11 5650 Gfx, and a full keyboard, Check the reviews in AnandTech and NotebookCheck.

Basic config is
Core i5 430M, 4 GB DDR3, 500 GB 5400 rpm SATA, 1 GB HD 5650 GDDR3, 4 USB, 1.3 Mpx, 15.6" (1366X768), 3 Hour + battery

 

[coderunknown]

hows the battery life on the Phenom II lappy? but i'll suggest going for the Acer one Cilus pointed to. its best cheapest lappy one can buy that carries more value than AMD. actually currently its best avoid AMD in lappies cause it eats battery very fast. waiting to see Athlon II X2 based cheap lappy here. anyway next year better lappies sure to come @ very good pricing.

 

[Cilus]

hows the battery life on the Phenom II lappy? but i'll suggest going for the Acer one Cilus pointed to. its best cheapest lappy one can buy that carries more value than AMD. actually currently its best avoid AMD in lappies cause it eats battery very fast. waiting to see Athlon II X2 based cheap lappy here. anyway next year better lappies sure to come @ very good pricing.

Sam, there are lots of AMD Athlon II based lappy available. They are like P3XX series. But they eats battery too.
Ya, The Intel Core i3 and i5 processors consumes a lot less power than their AMD counter parts, thanks to its 32 nm fabrication.

 

[coderunknown]

Sam, there are lots of AMD Athlon II based lappy available. They are like P3XX series.

from DELL?

But they eats battery too.
Ya, The Intel Core i3 and i5 processors consumes a lot less power than their AMD counter parts, thanks to its 32 nm fabrication.

thats problem with AMD. but thankfully AMD's graphics is better than Intel. so anyone don't care about battery (not me) & want game a bit on the go can give a thought to AMD based lappy.

actually the old processor (Turion II) was best in eating battery. Athlon II at least "better" than Turion II but still long way to go to reach Core i* efficiency.

 

[Cool Buddy]

yeah, I also think it's better to go for an Intel lappy, AMD has never been very good in the mobile computing department. However, my brother doesn't require too much battery life. AMD one seemed good coz no other Dell option has that graphics card (except the i3 one). Will suggest the acer laptop. I had seen the review earlier when it was mentioned in some other thread.

Any comments on Acer's after sales service? Heard the build quality is not so good.

 

[Cool Buddy]

People here say that Acer 5740G has Core i5 430M processor and HD5650 graphics card. but the product listing on Acer's website says something else. Why is it so? It says Intel Graphics Media Accelerator in the graphics column.

 

[dsmarty]

People here say that Acer 5740G has Core i5 430M processor and HD5650 graphics card. but the product listing on Acer's website says something else. Why is it so? It says Intel Graphics Media Accelerator in the graphics column.

Because there is only single 5740 model listed in homepage of India region...
So don't be confused, As far I think these following models available in Acer Aspire 5740G along with ATI Radeon HD

AS5740G-5309
Intel i3-330M Processor (3MB Intel Smart Cache, 2.13GHz)
4GB 2*2 DDR3 1066 SDRAM
500GB hard drive
Acer CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768)
ATI Radeon HD 5470


AS5740G-6395
Intel i5-520M Processor (3MB Intel Smart Cache, 2.40GHz)
4GB 2*2 DDR3 1066 SDRAM
320GB hard drive
Acer CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768)
ATI Radeon HD 5650

AS5740G-6979
Intel i5-430M Processor (3MB Intel Smart Cache, 2.26GHz)
4GB 2*2 DDR3 1066 SDRAM
500GB hard drive
Acer CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768)
ATI Radeon HD 5650

 

[skeletor]

People here say that Acer 5740G has Core i5 430M processor and HD5650 graphics card. but the product listing on Acer's website says something else. Why is it so? It says Intel Graphics Media Accelerator in the graphics column.

Acer's India website is outdated.

 

[giprabu]

Does any of the above mentioned model or is there any lap model that supports the upgradation of gfx chip ?
i've heard some "yes" from some of my coll mates but wen i disagreed they made fun of me. .
(sorry for posting here, i dint want to start a separate thread for this simple query)

 

[acewin]

no you cannot upgrade gfx card you live with what comes supplied in the laptop.
To upgrade gfx card you would need to change mobo as these gfx card are chipped onboard into the motherboard

only other option is buying external gfx card solutions like these *www.villageinstruments.com/tiki-index.php?page=ViDock

i do not know if they actually work, just have given the link

External Graphics Upgrade for Notebooks : Upgrading your Laptop

MSI Shows External Graphics Card w/ATI