New Laptop Decision....i3 Dual, Pentium Quad, A8 Quad

[Dent1]

Hey,

Researching a new laptop for my sister. This is a general computer for browsing the internet and using Microsoft Office etc. NO GAMING. The needs a rig that will last at least 5 years. Her budget is only £350. She can only buy from http://www.very.co.uk

I've narrowed it down to these three:

Lenovo G505s AMD A8 Processor (quad core), 6Gb RAM, 1Tb Hard Drive, Wi-Fi, 15.6 inch Laptop - £349.99
http://www.very.co.uk/lenovo-g505s-...ve-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-black/1389679438.prd

Toshiba Satellite C55-1R9 Intel® Pentium® Processor N3520 (quad core), 8Gb RAM, 1Tb Hard Drive, Wi-Fi, 15.6 inch Laptop - £339.99
http://www.very.co.uk/toshiba-satel...e-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-silver/1314721537.prd

Lenovo G500 Intel® Core™ i3 Processor (dual core), 6Gb RAM, 1Tb Hard Drive, Wi-Fi, 15.6 inch Laptop - £329.99
http://www.very.co.uk/lenovo-g500-i...ve-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-black/1354381268.prd

I'm leaning on the Toshiba because its quad core and the only one with 8GB of RAM. But need the heads up, will be making purchase at the end of the day.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Id go with this one.

http://www.very.co.uk/toshiba-satel...e-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-silver/1314721537.prd

for word processing and everything else in general apart from gaming it will be a lot better than the AMD A8 Processor. The A8 however will allow you to game a little since the integrate GPU sits around the mid range level. neither of the 2 quad core laptops should have any problem playing 1080p videos.

 

[Dent1]

Id go with this one.

http://www.very.co.uk/toshiba-satel...e-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-silver/1314721537.prd

for word processing and everything else in general apart from gaming it will be a lot better than the AMD A8 Processor. The A8 however will allow you to game a little since the integrate GPU sits around the mid range level. neither of the 2 quad core laptops should have any problem playing 1080p videos.

Thanks, that is what I was leaning towards. Just needed reinforcement.

 

[Fourstaff]

No gaming -> I'll recommend the cheapest, in which case G500. Save the money for other stuff

 

[Shambles1980]

which ever cpu runs coolest with lowest power draw imo. so that's probably the i3.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

No gaming -> I'll recommend the cheapest, in which case G500. Save the money for other stuff

£340 vs £330 - not a huge difference. at least now he has some processing power from extra cores under the hood for future proofing.

 

[Fourstaff]

£340 vs £330 - not a huge difference. at least now he has some processing power from extra cores under the hood for future proofing.

My laptop was obsolete the day I bought it 4 years ago, today it can still perform all the internet surfing and word processing needed of it. I don't think there is a need to future proof.

 

[jsfitz54]

I lean towards the TOSHIBA.

They are better when it comes to the "Whitelist" of available upgrades, such as wireless adapters.

 

[Shambles1980]

how far in to the future is Future proof supposed to cover btw? i'm just curious to know. is its tomorrow, next month, 25 years?

 

[micropage7]

its little bit close each other but i may take toshiba since she may run many tabs and need more ram
but for basic need g500 is fine too, and you could save a little

 

[HalfAHertz]

The Toshiba one is atom based. Mind you it's the new and improved version of atom much better than the first ones...but it's still hella slow compared to an i3.
Check out some reviews on the atom and the amd kabini/a8:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8067/...athlon-53505150-and-sempron-38502650-tested/6

Web benchmarks because they're a lighter workload similar to office work. I would advise to stay away from anything kabini/atom if you're looking for longevity. They're adequate for now but unuless you'll update in <2 years, it's not worth it.

 

[OneMoar]

either the i3 or the APU AVOID the pentium chips they age even faster then the apu or the i3 will
but expecting 5 years out of any of those is unrealistic you simply don't get that kind of mileage(performance wise) out of something in that price bracket

 

[Dent1]

Id go with this one.

http://www.very.co.uk/toshiba-satel...e-wi-fi-156-inch-laptop-silver/1314721537.prd

for word processing and everything else in general apart from gaming it will be a lot better than the AMD A8 Processor. The A8 however will allow you to game a little since the integrate GPU sits around the mid range level. neither of the 2 quad core laptops should have any problem playing 1080p videos.

I'm starting to get conflicting advice now. Some people are saying to avoid the Intel Pentium N3520 because its an enhanced Atom in disguise. Are you certain it's the fastest? The annoying thing is I can't find any decent reviews with the exact model - similar models but not the exact.



So this leaves the Lenovo G500 and Lenovo G505s, Now I'm edging for the A8 quad core, although slower than the i3 dual core IPC, I'm feeling it will maintain it's performance with longevity. Sister doesn't need anything powerful, but she doesn't want a dips in performance say 5-6 years from now when applications become more intensive.

The Toshiba one is atom based. Mind you it's the new and improved version of atom much better than the first ones...but it's still hella slow compared to an i3.
Check out some reviews on the atom and the amd kabini/a8:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8067/...athlon-53505150-and-sempron-38502650-tested/6
Web benchmarks because they're a lighter workload similar to office work. I would advise to stay away from anything kabini/atom if you're looking for longevity. They're adequate for now but unuless you'll update in <2 years, it's not worth it.

I think the AMD laptop has an AMD A8 4500M, which is Trinity. Does this change the scenario?

 

[OneMoar]

personally I would go with the APU the APU will give you more performance due to the beefier GPU practically EVERYTHING now adays is hardware accelerated its also a quad core and while clock for the clock the i3 is faster in single and duel threaded applications the APU should still pull ahead
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-N3520-vs-AMD-A8-4500M
assuming its the lowest end A8 its still better then the pentium
don't even think about the Pentium its just not worth it

 

[Dent1]

personally I would go with the APU the APU will give you more performance due to the beefier GPU practically EVERYTHING now adays is hardware accelerated its also a quad core and while clock for the clock the i3 is faster in single and duel threaded applications the APU should still pull ahead

I see.

Another issue is the i3 laptop comes with 8GB of RAM, the APU 6GB of RAM. Would this influence you. Or would you still go the APU?

 

[OneMoar]

I see.

Another issue is the i3 laptop comes with 8GB of RAM, the APU 6GB of RAM. Would this influence you. Or would you still go the APU?

still the APU for the better Video acceleration you would be surprised how much video hardware makes a difference in day to day operation while intels video has gotten better its still not a match for the APU the apu also should have some upgradablity left in it down the road(faster ram and maby a SSD)
everything from CHROME to youtube to even office has some kind of GPGPU acceleration support liberoffice uses a hardware acceleration where ever it can (not sure about Microsoft office but I would assume so)

 

[OneMoar]

this is how it stacks up according to fmark
http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD A8-4500M/compare
and according to lenovo's site its a celeron not a i3 (at least I can't find a i3 option available here newegg does list it with the i3 tho but its under a different SKU )
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/g-series/g500/
HUGE difference in performance their the celeron is like 25% slower then the the i3
personally buyer-beware Iv never heard of very.co.uk

 

[Dent1]

Thanks, placing order tomorrow.

Welcome any other last minute suggestions before we pull the trigger.

this is how it stacks up according to fmark
http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD A8-4500M/compare
and according to lenovo's site its a celeron not a i3 (at least I can't find a i3 option available here newegg does list it with the i3 tho )
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/g-series/g500/
HUGE difference in performance their the celeron is like 25% slower then the the i3

Yh I was Googling around, some websites say the Lenovo G500 has a Core i3, whereas some sites say its a Celeron. There is contradictions all over the web.

Knowing my luck, I will end up getting the Celeron. Best not take the risk and get the AMD APU (Lenovo G505s).

 

[OneMoar]

as I said the i3 will trounce the APU in CPU intensive tasks but unless you are gonna be compressing 5GB .rar files or cracking the NSA computers you are likely not the care
vs the APU meaning the difference of having the capability to comfortably watch beyond 1080p video and maby play a game of angry birds lol
first thing I would do would be to order 6GB kit of ddr 1866 ram to take FULL advantage of the APU's gpu core

 

[OneMoar]

honestly none of the options are perfect I would save up and step up to the next price bracket 500 to 600 usd

 

[Dent1]

honestly none of the options are perfect I would save up and step up to the next price bracket 500 to 600 usd

She needs it ASAP. She's been putting off buying a laptop for years. If I tell her to save it will never happen.

as I said the i3 will trounce the APU in CPU intensive tasks but unless you are gonna be compressing 5GB .rar files or cracking the NSA computers you are likely not the care
vs the APU meaning the difference of having the capability to comfortably watch beyond 1080p video and maby play a game of angry birds lol
first thing I would do would be to order 6GB kit of ddr 1866 ram to take FULL advantage of the APU's gpu core

I would if it was my laptop. Don't want to ruin her warranty with any bizarre upgrades.

I'm convinced there is no i3 on the table after looking at Lenovo's website. So her money is on the A8 APU fully (unless somebody else interjects between now and tomorrow)

Thanks for the help. night.

 

[Steevo]

I asked for a G505s and instead was given a i7 4702MQ Lenovo, I wish I had the APU, mainly as I am gaming and using it for in home streaming, besides work, but Intel still has a lot of catch up to do to reach the success AMD has with their graphics.

 

[Shambles1980]

She needs it ASAP. She's been putting off buying a laptop for years. If I tell her to save it will never happen.



I would if it was my laptop. Don't want to ruin her warranty with any bizarre upgrades.

I'm convinced there is no i3 on the table after looking at Lenovo's website. So her money is on the A8 APU fully (unless somebody else interjects between now and tomorrow)

Thanks for the help. night.

if its not an i3 then id get the a8, atoms really aren't that good.

 

[Frick]

either the i3 or the APU AVOID the pentium chips they age even faster then the apu or the i3 will
but expecting 5 years out of any of those is unrealistic you simply don't get that kind of mileage(performance wise) out of something in that price bracket

Windows 7 has support five more years, and I doubt Windows 9 will make a giant leap in system requirements. It will last if maintained.