A8-3520M -> A8-3550MX worth upgrade?

Title says it all. I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Z575 and I just upgraded the ram to 8GB ADATA DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800). The 3520M only clocks the ram to 667mhz instead of 800mhz that my ram can run at. The 3550mx can clock it up to 800mhz. So my question is, would I really notice a difference in speed if i was to upgrade the processor? or would it be so negligible it wouldn't be worth the money?

3520M 1.6GHz (2.5GHz turbo) 667mhz ram speed
3550MX 2.0GHz (2.7GHz turbo) 800mhz ram speed

Thanks

BTW the cost of the 3550mx processor is looking to be about $130 if anyone was wondering... I do have the extra cash and i've already installed a 180GB intel series 330 ssd.

 

Not too sure on AMD setups, but here goes (on things I do know):

I would be worried that the 45W TDP of the 3550MX might be too much for your notebook's 35W TDP cooling setup with the current processor.

I would be worried that the Motherboard and/or BIOS won't allow either the new chip to work, or allow the RAM to work at the 800Mhz speed.

For $130 it is tempting to get about 15% better performance (not from the RAM - from the better chip) - if the chip was a simple drop in replacement - but for simply trying to optimize the speed the RAM is running at, I think it is not worth the bother at all (especially if your cooling system isn't designed for the added power the MX will put out. Which, even if the MB/BIOS played nice; would probably result in throttling your 'new' setup to below your current systems performance levels when at full load).

Hope someone can prove me wrong though!

Good luck.

 

Given that both can be overclocked to the same speed the only real difference would be the 1600 vs 1333 RAM used by the IGP and, according to HT's wonderful thread ( link), that is going to be negligible

 

Graphics you will see a big improvement using the 1600mhz over the 1333mhz

 

Thanks all for the replies.

Also I should mention im looking more towards gaming performance than anything. I know how the ram can greatly affect the iGPU which is why I wanted to know if upgrading the processor so that the ram can run faster would actually show in-game. I run games just fine at the moment but if I could upgrade to get more performance i'll do it.

 

When I purchased my Lenovo E425 it came with the A4-3000M. While honestly sufficient for me, I simply wanted more out of my notebook. According to Lenovo, it is also capable of utilizing:

AMD E2-3000M APU Dual-core Processor (1.80 GHz, 512KB L2)
AMD A4-3300M APU Dual-core Processor (1.90 GHz, 1MB L2)
AMD A6-3400M APU Quad-core Processor (1.40 GHz, 4MB L2)
AMD A8-3500M APU Quad-core Processor (1.50 GHz, 4MB L2)​

1. I bought, tried & sold an A8-3500M. It worked and was an easy swap. Being a 35W quad, I'm sure heat and energy consumption increased to some point. I can't remember testing it but it wasn't really noticeable. Reason for swap; I wanted the 6620G and the two extra cores.

2. I also bought, tried and currently use an A8-3510MX. It works, memory runs at 800Mhz (CV 1600), and BIOS/mobo accepted it without issue. I regret not going straight to this one first saving cash money and skipping the A8-3500M altogether. The MX chip being a 45W APU does consume more energy and generates more heat. It was noticeable right of the bat. I remedied this by under-clocking/volting while on battery (or plugged in too when I want to run cool and quiet) and not doing anything intensive like browser, flash, streaming video, office productivity and so on. Currently, idle is in the 45-55 degrees Celcius but it depends on room temperature & Power Plan of course. I also use TPFanControl (version 0.62e) for that extra control over my system. Max temps at stock range from 70-80 degrees Celcius. Reason for swap; I wanted to use my CV 1600 RAM to its fullest potential and increase gaming/igpu performance (as well as system performance).

I have been testing these settings for Maximum Battery Life. It slows my system down quite a lot but its still fine for me for those light tasks I mentioned.

P-State	Multi	VID	CLK (can't be set)	CPU Freq (Mhz)
P0	20	1.1750	100	2000
P1	16	0.9375	100	1600
P2	14	0.9000	100	1400
P3	12	0.8750	100	1200
P4	10	0.8375	100	1000
P5	08	0.8125	100	800
P6	06	0.7750	100	600
P7	04	0.7500	100	400
NB P0	6	1.0125	100	666
NB P1	10	0.8250	100	400

Edit: Tapatalk doesn't display my table correctly.

P-State Multi VID
P0 20 1.1750
P1 16 0.9375
P2 14 0.9000
P3 12 0.8750
P4 10 0.8375
P5 08 0.8125
P6 06 0.7750
P7 04 0.7500
NB P0 06 1.0125
NB P1 10 0.8250


My E425's A8-3510MX energy consumption according to CPUID Hardware Monitor looks like this after under-clocking/volting:
19.25W -> 15.50W = 3.75W difference

My gf's g4 A6-3420M like this:
15.25W -> 12.50W = 2.75W difference (roughly this, I'll double check next time)


Since none of this information existed for my model and I'm pretty much the only one on the entire forum that owns it, I took the risk of being the guinea pig. You're probably going to have to do the same. Was it worth it for me? Yes. My only regret being not buying the $75 A8-3510MX first.

 

Thank you VERY much for this post! I just bought a A8 3510MX off ebay for $73. I'm pretty sure I can actually sell the A8 3520M for maybe more than that. I also just ordered a CM notepal U2 to help with the cooling. Thank you so much for this post, this is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I decided to just go with the 3510MX because it will allow the ram to run faster and increased cpu speed from 1.6ghz to 1.8 (both turbo 2.5ghz) and a reasonable price. thanks again!

 

I forgot to say that the above temperatures are for factory clocks and voltages of the A8-3510MX. It runs surprisingly cool for a 45W APU. Right now TPFanControl says 44-48*C while typing this; on Balanced power plan, no cooler, stock clocks/voltages and at least 6 tabs in Chrome open. It's when you start overclock and overvolting around 2.4-2.7GHz & gaming or doing a lot more work that you start seeing temperatures climb into the 80s and up. When at my desk, I use a NotePal U2 cooler with the U3 cooling fans. My U2's fan were broken by someone so I replaced it with the U3's from Cooler Master's Store. When I'm on battery or I know I'll be doing light stuff, I use the clocks and voltages from the table above.

 

I've surprised to see 3510MX's low prices, In this case I might buy one and sell the 3550MX to gain some money, while I keep enjoy the same high performance.

 

Ik was wondering, i have an HP DV6 6B75ED with a A6 3410MX cpu, is it possible to swap to the trinity architechture.
Like an A10-4600M?
They both share the same socket.

 

Same pinout, different generation of socket though IIRC, so no.

 

My guess is because of Trinity's release, everybody wants Trinity now. I've notice a decent drop in prices of "M" Llano APUs, even "MX" APUs can be bought at much lower prices than even just a few months ago. The 3550MX being the top-end mobile Llano APU is still highly sought after and the most expensive. I couldn't find one at the price I could afford so I just went for the 3510MX. What's funny is that the seller wanted about $100 for it, but I offered them $75 and they took it! So, i'm pretty happy with my purchase. I've yet to try and see if I can overclock the iGPU like you did though... maybe I'll try that soon.

Short answer, no. Even though they are the same socket, it is believed that the pin configurations are different not to mention architectural difference in the silicon. See here:

Trinity APUs are not working with existing Llano laptops --> Tested with Dell Vostro 3555, thanks to Atom_Anti

 

Certainly a good deal for $75. Go ahead and try, so far I do not know anyone else who could overclock Llano Integrated graphics in laptops...

 

I did a quick test right now and it seems I can overclock the igpu core clock to 457.1MHz from 444MHz, that's a 13.1MHz igpu overclock. In MSI Afterburner, if I set the clock speed to say 580MHz, then close MSI AB, and then open it again I can raise the clock even higher. I was using GPU-Z to monitor in game (Minecraft) core clock and the highest the sensor was reading was 457.1MHz, it never went higher than that. So I kept repeating this process, opening the app, raising the core clock, closing the app, a bunch of times and GPU-Z's Graphics Card tab was showing the GPU clock can go as high as 2000MHz!!! lol I don't think that's correct though. I'm going to go back and run a few more test, take some screenshots and report back.

I'd like to see the old thread in which you discovered you can overclock the igpu. Is there anyway you can dig that up for me?

 

Yes 457 MHz was my maximum too. It is in the HP DV6z A8-3530MX processor upgrade topic, page 10.

 

Hello guys, long time no one posted on this forum, hope you can help me out:
I'm really interested on upgrading my laptop from an AMD a6-3400m APU to a a8-3510mx APU, I'm really concerned about getting a defective a8-3510mx, I found this vedor from china, "osstore 001", does anybody know if they sell perfectly working a8 APUs? or do you guys know any vendors or stores so I can get a not defective a8-3510mx?

thanks a lot in advance

 

It's hard to say. Whoever you buy from make sure they have a good long return policy or warranty. Once you receive it test it. If its not tp your liking return it. Its easier if they're in your country too.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

 

No you can't.

I have A6 3410mx OC'd to 2.3Ghz (2.6Ghz turbo) and works great under 80C. It push same performance as any A8 CPU.