i3-2350M vs A6-3400M + HD6520g?

Hey guys, looking to buy a new laptop.

So my dellima is deciding between either a:

• $450 HP Pavilion G6 - i3-2350M + Intel HD Graphics 3000, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 720p 15.6"
  
• $450 REFURBRISHED HP Pavilion DV6 - AMD A6-3400M + Radeon HD 6520g, 4GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 720p 15.6"
  
• $490 Acer Aspire AS5560 - AMD A6-3400M + Radeon HD 6520g, 6GB RAM, 640GB HDD, 720p 15.6"

So clearly the main problem here is the choice between AMD and Intel. What is my best course of action here? I will using this laptop for mainly school purposes and student activities, such as typing, some Photoshop and video editing, web browsing, etc. I consider gaming a luxury as I have a personally-built $800 machine at home, but I want this laptop for the next 3-5 years so gaming isn't totally out of the picture.

So point is, what is the better deal here in terms of the processor, seeing as the price is all the same?

 

The i3-2350M for sure is superior.

Source: Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist - Notebookcheck.net Tech

I would not consider it future proof for 5 years though; certainly not for gaming.

 

Which one would you recommend, considering my uses? Gaming is an afterthought but doesn't hurt.

 

The A6-3400m is overclockable, under/overvoltable, fully configurable. It can compete with an i5-2520M in multi-threaded apps. The group of us in the NBR DV6z thread have proven this time and again.

But 5 years is a long time. For basic internet and office apps, sure, should be fine. But for gaming, no. That being said, the 6520G is significantly faster than the HD 3000, and is definitely gaming capable with today's AAA title games at 720p, low detail.

 

So if I overclock it to ~2.3Ghz, let's say, will it automatically outperform the i3? If so, which laptop should I consider between the refurb HP DV6 (popular laptop, it seems, but it's a refurb), and the Acer Aspire? I can't find reviews on either so I don't know which one has better battery life/build.

 

I would say without overclock it will perform on par with the i3. I highly recommend tuning for undervolt more than anything to reduce temperatures, power consumption, and extend battery life.

While I can't vouch for a refurb, I can say the DV6 laptops are actually nice machines. Also if you're ok at fixing or turning a screwdriver in desktops or laptops, I highly recommend swapping out the thermal paste. However on the DV6 models, you have to basically disassemble the whole darn laptop to get to the CPU.

I've never heard of the Acer you've listed either. But I can't imagine it to be much different than the HP.

For general productivity use, and for least amount of tuning, the i3 will more than suffice. But if you're not afraid to overclock and tune your machine the AMD is the way to go.

 

So in the end, AMD is the bigger bang-for-buck? I'm fine with adjusting voltages and clocks. I'm not sure I'd want to risk screwing something up disassembling the laptop, though. It's REALLY tempting going for the refurb DV6, but I don't know if I can trust the refurb enough, I've heard of horror stories right after the laptop passes the 90-day warranty period. I'm leaning towards Acer because it's new and only $40 higher, but I'm still looking.

 

Here is a new G6 with A6 processor for only $380. Trust me for overall performance much better than Intel, little slower for CPU part, but you won't feel nowhere.
Or another good idea is to buy a G4 with A4 processor for $350, than manually upgrade the CPU with A8-3550MX. Than you can play games crazy...

 

I'm not too interested in the gaming aspect so I don't think I will customize. But wow, that A6 deal is amazing. Only problem is, I'm in Canada. Are there any similar deals around? The most I have found is this:
HP Pavilion g6-1d00 g6-1d60ca A7H17UA 15.6 LED Notebook - Fusion A6-3420M 1.5GHz - Charcoal Gray - 1366 x 768 WXGA Display - 6 GB RAM - 640 GB HDD - AMD Radeon HD 6520G Graphics Card - Bluetooth - Webcam - Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium - HDMI - A7H1

Is it good for the price? Can I get anything better?

 

I'm not sure about good deals in Canada, but still ok price. Do you have Dell's outlet in Canada? If not maybe the USA one ship to Canada and you could take an A6-3400M Vostro 3555 around $350. For overall Vostro is better than G6, better build quality, backlit keyboard, 4 USB 3.0 ports, quiet cooling system, works stable to me after 10 months.

 

I'm finding used Vostro 3555s here for $500 so I guess that's out of the picture. I guess that's out of the picture. I don't there is a Dell outlet in Canada but I'll keep looking for possibilities. Currently I'm typing on a G6 on sale with an i3 that I bought from a Costco sale. I'll probably return it once I find a decent A6-3400M laptop. Thanks a lot!

Oh, and, I read some overclocking guides that were for the DV6's A6/A8 processors. Do those guides generally apply to any laptop with an AMD Llano?

 

Yes, overclocking, undervolting works same way on all Llano, so the guides are good for you.

 

So right now I guess I'll have to decide between an HP Pavilion G6 that just popped up on sale at Best Buy and an Acer Aspire at Best Buy, for the same price and specs. Do you have any between the two that you'd recommend? Thanks a lot for all your help.

 

I'll give you my personal experience and opinion.

I recently bought my gf an HP Pavilion g4 with the A6-3420M for $327 and it has been one of the best entry-level laptops I've encountered. The quality is good and the AMD APU has been flawless for her needs (actually more powerful than her previous Intel based laptop). My past experiences with an HP laptop left me with mixed feelings about the quality of their products but the g4 has won me back. It has been praised by many as one of the best entry-level laptops and has strong integrated graphics. We don't mind the plastic feel because it feels solid. The display is bright and the colors are satisfactory. The exhaust vent is large and it never gets as hot as her old laptop, even with the added cores. The keyboard is ok and the touchpad is decent although not really pleasant to use. We use a USB mouse. The absolute best thing is its 5-6 hour battery life!

Her previous computer was a $400 Best Buy Gateway NV55C (shares case with many Acers) which I also bought for her. At first it seemed like a decent laptop for her basic needs. She needed a computer to do work and school tasks. Now I considered it of poor quality. The keyboard was below average with its flat keys and its dual core Pentium P6100 cpu was ok for internet and office productivity but it struggled to play HD content in some cases. The plastics did feel cheap but it in the end we got rid of it because of several issues. It just felt flimsy. The cooling system (heat pipe and heatsink) were in my opinion VERY skimpy. It got so bad that it was shutting off due to overheating. I did manage to fix this by cleaning and removing dust, lint, dirt from inside and that helped tremendously. I have heard of other Acers experiencing throttling issues due to poorly designed cooling systems. To me, Acers are synonymous with cheap, low quality designs (entry-level, ~$400).

My opinion, Go with the G6.

 

The HP. 100MHz more and 250GB bigger HDD

 

Right now I am using a G6 on trial from Costco that I plan to return (since it has an i3 in it, not AMD) and it's actually pretty awesome once I've gotten used to it. It seems the G4 is almost the same as the G6, especially in terms of the build (what I get from pictures anyways) and what you've said goes along pretty well with what I've experienced in the past 5-6 hours with this.About 20% battery gone in one hour on medium brightness while browsing, youtubing, and installing programs. Keyboard and mousepad are pretty decent once I got used to it (took about an hour). Isn't getting hot, the webcam is pretty decent, nice design and the plastic build is pretty solid. Only thing that bothers me is that the speaker setup seems really weak, especially compared to my old Presario F700. Sounds like the echo inside a tin can.


What I'm planning on doing is buying both the Acer Aspire and the AMD HP G6 (because the G6 sale ends in 3 days). Since I already have this one open, I'll open up the Acer and start comparing this and the Acer one side-by-side. In the end I'll be returning two out of the three once I make my decision. Do you think this is a good idea? I'm pretty happy with this laptop so far though. Thanks for your input, it'll really help my decision.

 

Dude, buy this one. Costed $699 earlier
Samsung NP305V5A-A04US Series 3 Notebook PC - AMD Quad-Core A8-3510MX 1.8GHz, 6GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit at TigerDirect.com

Much better IGP for better gaming performance, a lot faster CPU and its a Samsung. They are known for good notebooks

You can thank me later

 

I'm Canadian But thanks a lot for the recommendation! Seems like a crazy deal.

 

I`m from Norway and have bought notebooks from them before

 

I see your a Costco member [as am I], and using a laptop you bought from them but plan on returning.

You may want to consider sticking with Costco, as all the laptops they sell come with 2 year standard warranties, 90 day product return window, and free Costco tech support for the lifetime of the product. The above reasons are exactly why I buy all my electronics from them.


Good luck

 

Tigerdirect has it's own Canadian website, sadly.

 

I see, so you have to order from there instead? That sucks

 

Yeah, oh well!

Also, does it make a difference if I get an A6-3400M processor or an A6-3420M processor in terms of overclocking capability?

 

Not really considering every chip will overclock a little bit differently (even if its the same A6-3400M or A6-3420M). Some will OC a little higher than others, some also can reach higher voltages than others so it varies from chip to chip.

I had the same dilemma as you, A8-3500M or A8-3520M. It would've cost me an extra $200 for 100MHz difference which definitely WASN'T worth it. I just wanted the 6620G iGPU. You could always upgrade later to an A8 if you wanted and if it works... just saying.