Thin and Light Llano laptops

Are there any?

Any thoughts on a HP DM4T or DV6Z/T? HP usually has coupons so that helps, but are there other vendors like Dell or Lenovo that also use AMD APUs?

 

I was looking into this the other day.

Toshiba has a 14 inch laptop with an A8 + 6620G. Kind of interesting if you need a portable machine with a bit of a gaming kick.

http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/satellite/L740/L745D-S4230

I cant find the configuration link, but the one I had allowed you to go up to an A8 right on the site

 

It's unfortunate that there isn't much selection. And at $600 or so it's a bit pricey.

 

A DM4T would be thin and light, but that's Intel. The DV6 in whatever config is neither thin or light. Neither is that Toshiba.

ATM, you have Llano that powers standard notebooks, with Zacate powering semi-Netbook/Ultraportables.

I think you'll have to wait on the next refresh for a good AMD thin-n-light.

 

I think your're right. There's not much to choose from right now so I do have to wait.

 

Well there's no reason to not fit a 35W CPU in a 13 or 14 inch notebook. The i5's and i7's in the DM4 are 35W. I don't care as much about thin and light, well as long as it's reasonably thin and light, as I do about cost. With DV6z's with dedicated GPU's to be had new (granted with coupons) for ~ $700 there's no reason for a 14" with an A6 to cost over $600. I mean I got my DV6z with 1080p and Blu-Ray for < $750.

 

The performance:TDP just isn't there yet for a thin and light AMD notebook. It's close, but not quite. An i5 2450m, being within the same 35w TDP, would smoke the A6. And for a bit more money you can get that i5 with an AMD 7470m GDDR5. I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, that would smoke the A6. All of this I just configured on HP's DM4t, i5 2450, AMD 7470m, 6GB DDR3, Backlit KB... $754.99. For a thin and light, that's a lot of power in a tiny package. And if you think about it, even if the A6 systems weren't over $600, my i5 config would be a MUCH better price-to-performance ratio.

This is just my opinion, but Llano just wasn't made for thin and light profiles. BUT that's where they're aiming at with Trinity.

 

Thanks for bringing that up. The DM4T got my attention. 4.4lbs not too bad, and if you actually use it there's also a cd/dvd rom on-board. Also its offered with a backlit keyboard, a 14" 1600x900 matte display, for Skype users a 720p webcam, and an Intel CPU. The I5 would be a perfect CPU, my main concern would be the 7470m GPU. From what I hear it isn't that powerful. It's has a 64bit bus, but DDR5 memory. Currently Im using HD3000 iGPU and even AMD's integrated would be better. This is entry-level but still much better than the HD3000. How would the 7470m compare to the integrated 6620g?

35W quad? A8 with 6620g igpu (128bit bus width) would suffice.

Trinity should be awesome!

 

According to the all-powerful Notebookcheck, the 6620g is actually faster than the 7470m.

Personally, I'm hoping for a decent-looking maxi-ultrabook with Trinity and a wicked screen before the summer rolls around. Something like the Envy 14 Spectre with Trinity and a reasonable price tag (or just a nice coupon like HP tends to offer regularly). I don't use my dedicated GPU much anymore, but I'd like to have the option open to play some last-gen games at decent settings. Not to mention dropping the dGPU would allow for a much smaller AC adapter. A thin-and-light 13-14" with Trinity, a good 900p+ screen, and at least six real-life hours of battery would be real slick. Ivy Bridge sounds great, but I don't actually need that much processing power so a lower pricetag and much better GPU power and drivers would make me a very happy boy.

 

I couldnt agree more! A sleek Trinity laptop will be awesome...

I even thought about the HP g6z with A8-3520M 35W TDP TOTAL, 6620m igpu but its only offered with a 1366x768 glossy display. i cud probably swap a 1080p mattte panel too.

 

Not sure where you get that from?

The A8-3500m or A8-3520m with slight OC (which can be done at same as stock voltage) is as powerful as the i5-2450m, and in some respects better for multi-threaded apps with the dedicated cores. The iGPU 6620G is more powerful than the 7470m (just a rebranded 6490m). All this in a single 35W package without need for a dedicated GPU with additional TDP.

4.4lbs isn't that light either. Imagine removing the cooling for the 6490m/7470m and the GPU and vRAM, that would lighten it up quite a bit! This why I'm surprised there's not more 13-14" Llano APU notebooks on the market. It's comparable if not better than an i5 config with a dedicated GPU.

For some reason people think these are weak, Atom-like CPU's. Far from it. They have very capable performance in a small TDP especially given the graphics performance.

Why not configure a DV6z with 1080p with current coupons you can get one with 1080p matte, A8-3550MX, blu-ray, 7690m, 9 cell battery shipped for ~ $750.

 

I considered the DV6z but I could not configure it to meet that price (you $750) with everything pretty much upgraded to the max (more like $1000). Plus an A8-3550MX is a 45W TDP cpu whereas the A8-3520M still retains the 6620g all in a 35W TDP window. Like you said, these CPUs are plenty powerful, so I wouldn't necessarily need to bump up to a hotter 45W TDP MX cpu. Not to mention the increased heat and energy consumption from the 7690m!!! The G6Z is the least expensive way to get there too (low-budget APU only solution). If i wanted to go all out on the GPU then the DV6 seems like the obvious choice because of the 7690m.

But all I wanted to see was what I could find with an igpu better than the HD3000 in a some-what light chassis. To me the A8-3520M seemed like a good spot to start because even with the 6620g, I'd be much better off than the HD3000 (from a GPU performance standpoint). I configured a g6z for roughly less than $550 (with A8-3520m/6620g). Its far from perfect but it is cheap.


If my 11.6" Asus U24E comes with a 35W TDP dual core I7, I don't see why there can't be an AMD A8-3520M APU equivalent?

 

Aww shucks! The coupon expired, but basically you got like $350 off any Pavilion $1000 or more. Coupons come and go, and there's typically good ones like that.

$550 is decent, too bad they don't make it in a 14" form factor though.

 

Those coupons do help a ton! I always keep an eye out for those.

Intel HD graphics 3000 vs AMD Radeon HD 6620g | Compare Processors

I just thought about this but... I found a used 14" HP Pavilion G4, with an A4-3300M on Ebay for $300, and this A8-3500M for $90 aswell. If I can put the two together then it would be the least expensive route... Of course I would be doing all the work. The only things missing would be the laptop's battery and AC adapter. I did a quick search and this seems to be a possible route if I want to go with the 6620g iGPU. The A8-3500M is listed in the G4's HP Manual as being compatible. What I don't know for sure, is whether the A4/A8 are socketed or soldered onto the G4's mobo.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02966468.pdf

For me this would be a good candidate for a Minecraft computer.

 

Here you can find some more information which related to here.

 

Wow, still not much selection, and no A8, which is surprising because it's the same TDP of 35W a the A6.

 

They could build a small laptop even with the 45W version, these APUs are run so cool. If i touch my laptop underneath the APU, I barely feel the heat...

But take a look for the DV6z reviews at HP site, than to the dv6t. DV6z has double of reviews, which means me Fusion laptops are more popular than the competition. So my guess they do not offer more Fusion laptops to prevent not sell the Intel ones...

 

Which is just silly. How is AMD supposed to gain any market share? I hope HP and other vendors rethink their strategy with Trinity.

 

Unfortunately, they don't really care. I'm sure it would be easier for them to have only one CPU manufacturer to deal with, and if things I've read in the past are still true, Intel (and probably AMD as well) plies them with gargantuan numbers of free processors to keep them dependent on their product. Perhaps the most compelling element is the Intel name, though. An "Intel Inside" sticker means high-tech, high-quality to most average consumers, even if the other word on the sticker is "Celeron". Meanwhile a great deal of those "in the know" about the viability of an AMD APU system want something more powerful anyway (see a large portion of people on this forum), and that means that their debate is not Intel vs. AMD but Nvidia vs. AMD, since an i7 is still miles ahead of AMD's processors in terms of processing power.

I'm definitely crossing my fingers for some good Trinity thin-and-lights though.

 

I think we all are. A Trinity thin-andlight brings a lot to the table.

 

The big question is WHEN is TRINITY!?