Sandy Bridge laptop HD 3000 graphics..enough for 720p?

[happita]

I'm torn between which laptop to get. I'm very close to making my purchase and I literally need some last minute advice before I make my decision. My total budget is $550. I only have a few questions.

1. Since laptops are capped at their native res, wouldn't that put more stress on the CPU versus the GPU?

2. Can Intel's HD 3000 graphics handle 720p streaming videos with ease? (I'm talking like 2-3 years down the line, will it still be good in that distant future)

3. Would a more powerful CPU be more practical in terms of longevity for my uses such as an i3-2350M versus an A8-3500M or even an A8-4400M? (graphics aren't too much of a concern for me, except for question 2)

 

[Crap Daddy]

1. If you don't game then no. I assume you don't want to do serious gaming with a HD3000.
2. Yes
3. What the CPU is in that laptop?

Maybe get an i5-3210M, it has HD4000 which is a big improvement over 3000.

 

[happita]

1. If you don't game then no. I assume you don't want to do serious gaming with a HD3000.
2. Yes
3. What the CPU is in that laptop?

Maybe get an i5-3210M, it has HD4000 which is a big improvement over 3000.

1. I will probably game, but most likely either old games or very non-graphic intensive casual games. And I'm more concerned with the laptop being very responsive with MS Office applications and web-browsing.

2. Nice

3. The laptops that are in my crosshairs have i3-2350M, i3-2370M, A8-4400M, A8-4500M, and i5-2450.

The Ivy Bridge based laptops are out of my price range, so those are out of the question.

edit: Review sites haven't properly reviewed the Trinity-based APUs yet, at least for the laptop segment, which is why I don't know how good the revised Piledriver cores are vs. Intel's Core i series.

 

[INSTG8R]

Well I would say the AMD's would have better GFX performance. Hold on for Trinity?

 

[Crap Daddy]

Review sites haven't properly reviewed the Trinity-based APUs yet, at least for the laptop segment, which is why I don't know how good the revised Piledriver cores are vs. Intel's Core i series.

There are some reviews around but the surprise is that A10-4600m (the one that seems to be available) is more expensive than an Ivy mobile. Here's what I found at newegg:

TOSHIBA Satellite S855D-S5256 Notebook AMD A-Serie...

SONY VAIO SVE15114FXS Notebook Intel Core i5 3210M...

 

[mastrdrver]

You could jump on some old Llano laptops since it appears that vendors are trying to flush inventory before Trinity comes fully out. Some of the A6s are going for cheap, add in a SSD and get some real performance.

There are some reviews around but the surprise is that A10-4600m (the one that seems to be available) is more expensive than an Ivy mobile. Here's what I found at newegg:

TOSHIBA Satellite S855D-S5256 Notebook AMD A-Serie...

SONY VAIO SVE15114FXS Notebook Intel Core i5 3210M...

He said $550 is the limit.

 

[Mussels]

I'm torn between which laptop to get. I'm very close to making my purchase and I literally need some last minute advice before I make my decision. My total budget is $550. I only have a few questions.

last minute decisions are always fun

1. Since laptops are capped at their native res, wouldn't that put more stress on the CPU versus the GPU?

no. this is a myth that people mis-interpret. the GPU becomes less important at lower res, but that does NOT mean the same thing as the CPU becoming MORE important.

2. Can Intel's HD 3000 graphics handle 720p streaming videos with ease? (I'm talking like 2-3 years down the line, will it still be good in that distant future)

8MB intel onboard in my netbook can handle 720p HD video playback, and 720p youtube. this is CPU dependant, not GPU. all of the laptops CPU's and GPU's you've listed can handle 1080p media playback.

3. Would a more powerful CPU be more practical in terms of longevity for my uses such as an i3-2350M versus an A8-3500M or even an A8-4400M? (graphics aren't too much of a concern for me, except for question 2)

the i3 has more CPU power, but the A8 AMD's have a far, FAR better GPU, and they're easy to overclock too (a single program can OC the mobile fusion laptops, at least with my A6 anyway)

 

[Nordic]

To be honest I am suprised how well my laptop can do in games. i3-2150 with hd 3000. I can play most older games at medium settings. I even play need for speed world at medium settings. When I was looking for a laptop I wanted an intel i3 or better for $400 or less. I got a lenovo b570. If I was going to game more I would of went for amd.

 

[happita]

Thank you all so very much.
Now I have a much clearer picture of what I want in a laptop. I didn't want to compensate so much graphics for the cpu and vice versa, but now I guess I can get a decently fast Intel i3 or even i5 (if i can find a deal) and not worry about how much graphics power I want for my needs. Thanks guys. Now all I need to focus on are the features that are outside the main components, like good sound, usb 3.0, etc.

 

[happita]

Ok, the 3 laptops that I'm considering are as follows:

1 - DELL Inspiron N5050 (i15N-2728BK) Notebook Intel C... - Great price, I just don't know what they mean by "integrated sound". Sound is important to me as I want to watch movies with good sound, and I don't just mean loud, I mean crisp.

2 - SAMSUNG Series 3 NP300E4C-A01US Notebook Intel Cor... - Is HD Audio and Sound Alive both software based?

3 - Acer Aspire AS5750-2456G50Mtkk 15.6' LED Noteb... - Has a Core i5-2450!! But from what info I gathered, it has DDR3 1066

4 - Question, does having DDR3 1066 hinder performance as far as system responsiveness is concerned to a significant amount versus DDR3 1333? All my choices above have 6GB RAM.

Which one would you guys go for?

 

[Nordic]

Samsung doesn't have enough sales yet to be relevant. I hear thought that they would be right next to asus. If price is a bigger concern the dell is it. Otherwise the acer's i5 and nvidea graphics catch my eye.

To get good sound you also need good speakers/headphones.

 

[happita]

The amount of laptop/notebook sales a manufacturer does every single year is of no concern to me. If they have good support, then that's good enough for me. I know Dell has good support, but I just don't know about Samsung and Acer.

 

[Nordic]

You should re read the title of that graph. That is not sales, but malfunction rates by manufacturer. So one that malfunctions less would need less support

 

[happita]

I was responding to the comment you made right below the graph, not the graph itself. The quality of support is more important to me versus the malfunction projection rates they have posted in that graph. In a 3 year period after owning a laptop, they say 1/4 at MOST, will malfunction based on that graph. So I would say that an average laptop would last anyone from 3-5 years with good care, which is enough me.

edit: Can anyone tell me about Acer support, whether it be for laptops or not? I'd really like to know how they are.

 

[happita]

After many hours of researching. It comes down to 2 models that are the same exact price.


lenovo 4334DDU Notebook Intel Core i5 2450M(2.50GH...

or

DELL Inspiron N5050 (i15N-2728BK) Notebook Intel C...


Do I sacrifice the i5-2450M w/ 4GB RAM for the i3-2370M w/ 6GB RAM? Almost every other spec is the same. Give me your opinions and help me choose.

 

[Nordic]

Keep in mind the ram is shared with the iGPU which could be a problem in some games. I haven't ran into it with my laptop. The i5 will probably do you better in the end. You could even add more ram yourself later on if you needed it. I also like lenovo's fast boot software. I don't know what it does. I think it move the OS to the front of the hdd but... I have tried other software that do that and they don't work as well.

 

[Mussels]

you can always upgrade ram, you cant upgrade the rest. so go with the better CPU model.