A8-4500M vs Core i5 2450m

The intel is better since it has a dedicated vid card. If it didnt, then the apus are better for visual purposes.

It really depends on how much you are going to use it for gaming, but I would still go for the I5 one since the balance between CPU and GPU is better. If you are going to use the laptop more for alot of multitasking or photoshop and video editting only then would I pick the A8 since it eats alot of CPU power. The I5 one also has a screen with a better resolution so thats another reason why the I5 would be better for you to pick. (for watching movies) I hope this helps you a little in making your choice If you have any further question please feel free to ask

Trust me, the Intel will smoke that A8. My i5 2410m works wonderfully in every game. In my opinion, the A series only match up to Intel's i3 at best, unless you are counting the GPU in which they smoke Intel. Trust me, for gaming the i5 is what you want. It clocks way higher and of course Sandy's IPC is much better. It more than makes up for the lack of cores.

i5 one, Intel in laptops run cooler generally and the graphics card is alot better (which is what gaming requires). Having a quad core isn't always the best thing. The intel one will have more performance per thread and per clock. It's also clocked a fair bit higher.

Intel are generally good on power also, the first laptop I had was an AMD and it was only mid-range and it ran hot. I had a high end i7 laptop and that ran about the same as the Athlon so go figure.

The i5 will run circles around that A8.

AMD APUs in laptop are GREAT for those needing good processor performance and good graphics performance without having to pay the premium of a laptop with a dedicated graphics chip. However, the Intel Core i series of processors, processing power wise are most-all times a good bit faster strictly in the CPU performance area. The HD4000 IGP(3rd generation core i3s, i5s, and i7s only) is no slouch compared pas models, or even many low-end dedicated chips in years past. Bottom-line, without a dedicated graphics chip, the core series is inferior in 3D performance.

However, I see, suprisingly that the Intel-based 17" laptop here does have a 7670m in it. The 2nd generation Core i3, i5, and i7s, are only at worst 5-10% slower per clock vs. the 3rd gen, you have a dedicated graphics card, and it will beat the pants off the AMD APU for CPU performance. Clock for clock, between Trinity and Sandy Bridge(2nd gen intel core i-series), Sandy usually comes out on top, but not by much. If you look at the specs, the 17" laptop is clocked considerably higher than the 15.6" APU laptop. So, the overall performance, in both strict CPU-based tasks, and 3D accelerated tasks, would be considerably superior in the i5 laptop.

BTW, the A8-4500m is a "quad-core". It's a 2-module trinity chip. Technically by AMD's definition 4 cores, but has shared resources between each 2-cores, in each module. The i5 series on the mobile end, should be a dual-core WITH hyperthreading, which in my opinion sets them together very similarly in core-count regards.

You do have to consider what you need/want in the way of portability as well. The 17" will be too heavy for you to WANT to lug it around anywhere even though it is the most powerful of the 2 and the "best deal". The A8-based 15" would not be a "bad" choice, even though the performance will be less and not be the best performance for the money you will be looking at a laptop you may not feel as much apprehension about carrying around.


As a side note, I don't know how you feel about what I'm going to recommend, but I know at staples they have some very nice looking and feeling 15" Trinity-APU based laptops for similar or better prices to the Acer you're looking at. The 17" you're looking at is definitely a GOOD deal, but if you are looking at something more portable, check out Staples' selection. Even if there isn't a store near you, they usually ship very quickly from their website.
Edited by DesertRat - 8/17/12 at 9:08am

I agree with the recommendation on the intel based notebook. As for the 17" vs 15" portability. I travel with a 17" and a 15 inch for work, neither bother me, its heavy, but if you buy the right bag to carry it, it almost becomes a non issue.

DesertRat has it right, go look at similar notebooks, even if the specs arent quite the same, often times the shells of the computer are the same, so you can get a look and feel idea, not to mention the weight of it compared to the 15" model.

I recommend the A8-4500M.

I have a HP Pavillion g6-2005ax. Here are my specifications:

CPU: AMD A8-4500M
GPU:Radeon HD 7640G(integrated) and Radeon HD 7670M(dedicated graphics).
RAM: 4GB 1600Mhz RAM
15.6" screen

Here is a list of pros and cons of the A8-4500M

Pros:
*Runs extremely cool
*totally silent
*quad core laptop with way more processing power than the intel i5-2450M
*can make use of dual graphics(integrated GPU and dedicated GPU working together). The intel graphics and AMD graphics cannot work together.
*uses low power
*can support RAM @ 1600Mhz. (the intel i5-2450M can support only upto 1333Mhz)
*Its way cheaper than the intel processors.

Cons:
*no L3 cache at all(L3 cache is not required but helps in processor performance)
*cannot overclock easily(I'm still researching on that)

AMD processors have more bang for the buck than intel. For normal applications the A8-4500M is good enough. And for gaming the GPU performance is more important. Look for a laptop with AMD A8-4500M with dedicated graphics as well. Once you are capable of overclocking the A8-4500M its performance will definitely outmatch the intel i5-2450M.

I played Mass Effect 2 and 3 at highest graphics and the performance was smooth and perfect with no lag.

I played Skyrim at 1366x768 resolution at lowest graphics with no anti-aliasing and the performance was good. It can play at ultra and with anti-aliasing but the performance is terrible unless you overclock the processor. However even the lowest graphics in Skyrim is amazing so it doesn't matter much to me.

The A8 is also perfect for all your other applications as well.

However I wouldn't recommend the Acer laptop you have in mind as the one with the A8 doesn't have a dedicated GPU.
Edited by Guardian2834 - 10/1/12 at 9:38am

I recommend reading the rules about necroposting before posting. Gravedigging is against the rules. Besides do you know how old this is? The person most likely already bought a laptop by now.