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    AMD Phenom II P940 - anyone play games with this cpu?

    Discussion in 'HP' started by adamps35, Jan 26, 2011.

  1. adamps35

    adamps35 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi. I'm considering buying an HP DV7 system with AMD Phenom II P940 quad core cpu, along with ATI 5650 switchable graphics. Reason I'm considering this system is I can get a very good price, and I'm hoping the battery life and heat will be much better than an i7 DV7 I tried and returned recently.

    I know the AMD cpu won't give the same level of performance as an Intel i7, but I'm wondering how it is for games such as Fallout New Vegas, Mass Effect 2, etc at native resolution 1600x900?

    Please, only those with first-hand experience with this CPU or similar AMD cpu need reply. I'm aware that the i5 / i7 / sandy bridge are faster, I am only interested in the Phenom 2 quad core (P940 or similar) cpus right now in relation to gaming performance.

    Thanks in advance!
     
    adamps35, Jan 26, 2011
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  2. Prydeless

    Prydeless Stupid is

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    This review should give you an idea. It has the weaker P920 from the initial Phenom II release.
    Toshiba Satellite A660D-ST2G01: AMD's Quad-Core Phenom II P920 Joins the Mobile Party - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

    I have the more powerful N930 and I run games like BC2, ME2, Fo3 at 1080p on an external monitor with a mix of medium and high settings; no AA, AF, and any shadow setting on lowest. The P940 should be decent enough until you start playing strategy games which are CPU intensive and not that many make use of 4 cores.

    As for the heat, the left palm rest will get hot when gaming same as the Intel version so you might want to consider an external keyboard. Running on the integrated GPU will lower the temperature. When I have the Radeon 5650 activated my idle temp is around 52C, but when I switch to the 4250 it's around 42C. Also, battery life for mine is around 2.5 hours on integrated GPU and moderate use.

    Hope some of this helps.
     
    Prydeless, Jan 27, 2011
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  3. adamps35

    adamps35 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks! The information you provided was very helpful.
     
    adamps35, Jan 27, 2011
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  4. hexxor93

    hexxor93 Notebook Consultant

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    For me my DV7 AMD N920 plays all of my games well enough. I can run Sims 3 and 2 on high settings at native or full HD via my TV without any problems. It runs COD4 on high at native great. In my house when I play any games for more then a hour the laptop temp is normally around 66c with the ATI 5650 and around 62/63c which is good enough. And around 50c idle similar temps to Prydeless.
     
    hexxor93, Jan 27, 2011
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