# Intel i5 (3rd Gen) vs AMD (Trinity)



## iChaitanya (Aug 7, 2012)

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
- 38k INR max.

2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?
- Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like: Dell, Lenovo, HP
b. Dislike: Acer

4) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook? 
- Web surfing, MS Office apps, casual gaming, basic engg. programming, Photoshop, watching HD movies, working on MATLAB.

5) What screen resolution(s) & type (glossy/matte) would you prefer?
- 1366x768 or better; preferably matte but glossy would do.

6) Anything else you would like to say?
- This laptop is going to be a desktop replacement and is not going to leave the home. So, battery life is also not much of an issue.

I've considered two laptops (for my sis):

1) *Lenovo G580* (ships with Intel i5 3rd gen.) - Lenovo Essential G Series G580 (59-324061) Laptop 3rd Gen Ci5/4GB/500GB/DOS: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Lenovo Notebook

2) *HP Pavilion G6-2005AX* (ships with AMD A8 4500M) - HP Pavilion G6-2005AX Laptop AMD A8 Quad Core/4GB/500GB/Win 7 HB/1GB Graphics: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review HP Notebook

From what I've read everywhere, it seems that among these two, the i5 (with HD4000 IGP) leads in raw processing power / multi-tasking whereas the AMD APU (with the 7670M GPU + 7640G IGP) leads in the graphics dept.

So, considering my sis's primary usage which one should she opt for?

Also, a friend's cousin wants to buy a laptop within the same budget mentioned above. But, he wants a gaming lappy. So, I've advised him to go for the AMD one mentioned above. But, what about my sis?

Will the 7670M GPU + 7640G IGP combo benefit her in image editing (Photoshop) or MATLAB? Gaming is not much of a priority for her, but it would be a plus if she could play a few (old?) games (at playable FPS) once in a while.

AMD's GPU is nice, but how is the performance of AMD A8 4500M APU in general usage as compared to the i5 (3rd gen)? Will she experience any kind of sluggishness during normal laptop usage like browsing the web, office, etc. ? I've read that the performance of A8 is same as that of i3. I've used a Lenovo Z570 with 1st gen i3 and I found it to be slow/sluggish. 

I'm confused.


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## aroraanant (Aug 7, 2012)

AMD APU stands no where near i5 3rd gen


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## Naxal (Aug 7, 2012)

I have seen this similar config model in display at HP world, but it has two major difference with the link posted here about the AMD configuration.

Please see the model sold by Flipcart is having 2 x 2 GB RAM config leaving no free RAM slot where as the local HP world was selling along with single slog 4GB and free upgrade to 8GB (though the second RAM installed by them is non HP branded).

Please check for that, also it seems Flip Cart price is higher than what I saw in local dealer including that free RAM upgrade !!


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## iChaitanya (Aug 7, 2012)

aroraanant said:


> AMD APU stands no where near i5 3rd gen


Yes, I get it. But the question is - will it matter in general laptop usage like web browsing, office work, playing HD movies, etc. ?



Naxal said:


> I have seen this similar config model in display at HP world, but it has two major difference with the link posted here about the AMD configuration.
> 
> Please see the model sold by Flipcart is having 2 x 2 GB RAM config leaving no free RAM slot where as the local HP world was selling along with single slog 4GB and free upgrade to 8GB (though the second RAM installed by them is non HP branded).
> 
> Please check for that, also it seems Flip Cart price is higher than what I saw in local dealer including that free RAM upgrade !!


Flipkart listing has errors. The RAM is not 2x2 GB. It's just a single 4GB stick. Reviewers have confirmed it. For how much was the local HP World selling this laptop?


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## Naxal (Aug 7, 2012)

> For how much was the local HP World selling this laptop?



32k after little bargain, listed was 32+ 4% VAT along with free gift, chose any,


4 GB RAM upgrade (non HP, PNY or such brand RAM)
Cooler PAD (local brand), Optical Mouse (local brand), Head Phone (local brand), 4 GB Pen drive (local brand)
Swap the default HP bag with more expensive trolly type carry options to chose from.

I guess little more bargaining was possible but since my friend was choosing intel model, so we concentrated more on that 



> Yes, I get it. But the question is - will it matter in general laptop usage like web browsing, office work, playing HD movies, etc. ?



I really liked the AMD Model, really good performance too, Intel counter part with 3rd gen Core i5 in similar config was like 48k compare to this 32k model.

It has same screen and similar rest of the config, just the motherboard and processor is in AMD platform, I would chosen this one but my friend had more brand pref hence went with Intel.

But in Demo, it did everything what HP showed us, just like Intel, like playing HD, then gaming and stuff like that !!

It was a Value for Money deal but we went ahead with Intel because of my friends personal brand value attraction 



> Flipkart listing has errors.



Warranty is not also shown right, HP world offered 2 year extra warranty @ Rs. 1133/- paid to HP India by sending a courier containing Cheque of the amount along with A sticker from Laptop package and the copy the purchase memo.

Note that too, compare to Dell or Lenovo's 6500, the 2 year extra warranty came @ 1133 from HP World. Not sure if that applicable with Flipkart also or not.


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## ssk_the_gr8 (Aug 8, 2012)

iChaitanya said:


> Yes, I get it. But the question is - will it matter in general laptop usage like web browsing, office work, playing HD movies, etc. ?



No...


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## Theodre (Aug 8, 2012)

Amd is still far behind comparing to intel, so i too will suggest to stay away from it!!  Even if you are going below i5 versions, the chances are the trinity will be still far behind comparing to intel chips......


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## rider (Aug 8, 2012)

No need to compare a 32k laptop with 38k core-i5 In terms of graphic performance of trinity, AMD wins. But for high processing work core-i5 is more effective but Intel HD 4000 stands nothing in comparison to trinity dual GPU.


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## vkl (Aug 9, 2012)

@iChaitanya

For your purpose HP G6-2005ax would be good.
For the things like  web browsing, office work, playing HD movies amd a8 is more than sufficient.
AMD apu uses OpenCL acceleration in applications like photoshop which would be significantly faster than i5 3rd gen with hd4000 although hd4000 also supports OpenCL.

And for games the HP model with its graphics would blow away the hd4000.
If raw processing is needed and gaming is not a priority then lenovo g580 is a good option.Otherwise it is  HP G6-2005ax all the way.
I own a lenovo g580.


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## iChaitanya (Aug 9, 2012)

^ Alright, one last question: How's Lenovo's after sales service and is it on-site?


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## Naxal (Aug 9, 2012)

iChaitanya said:


> ^ Alright, one last question: How's Lenovo's after sales service and is it on-site?



We all have our own horror and success story for Onsite support with Dell / Lenovo or HP..

In general, compare three, they are neck and neck, OK. One should not worry with support for these 3 giants. Over all they will be satisfactory


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