AMD Brazos E-350 Processor For Heavy Surfing

[Tushaar]

I'm planning to buy the Lenovo x120e (E-350) and I was wondering if anyone here can answer a few questions?

The primary use I put my laptops to is heavy surfing (10-15 tabs open) and maybe a couple of Word docs open alongside. Maximum, I'll have both Firefox and Chrome running alongside with Chrome having around 10-15 tabs and Firefox with 1-2 tabs. Maybe a few PDFs open in the browser too.

Will the E-350 processor be able to handle this with 4 GB RAM? My Core 2 Duo T7200 manages it just fine (though it runs quite hot) with 3GB RAM. Any thoughts/experience with this would be greatly appreciated since I plan to buy it in a day or two.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

In my opinion I have my doubts. Isn't the E-350 a netbook CPU?

 

[NTMBK]

In my opinion I have my doubts. Isn't the E-350 a netbook CPU?

Sort of. It's the highest end of their Brazos line, so it's more like a budget laptop chip.

Engadget reviewed it fairly well: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/07/lenovo-thinkpad-x120e-review/

 

[Tushaar]

Kind of, but it's a significant step up from Atom processors. I've tried it in a store, but without WiFi, I couldn't really put the system under any kind of real life testing/load. Anyone who has one can describe their experience?

 

[ShintaiDK]

The E-350 is even to weak for Netflix. Not to mention several times slower than an old T7200.

But again, you tend to get what you pay for.

 

[Tushaar]

Netflix isn't my aim. A little help on the scenario I laid out in my first post would be great i.e. lots of tabs, a few PDFs and Word docs.

Benchmark wise, I know the stats, I was just looking for someone who's actually used the processor for a while to tell me if it'll suffice for my needs.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Netflix isn't my aim. A little help on the scenario I laid out in my first post would be great i.e. lots of tabs, a few PDFs and Word docs.

Benchmark wise, I know the stats, I was just looking for someone who's actually used the processor for a while to tell me if it'll suffice for my needs.

Shintai was probably just trying to point out that in case you wanted to do other things at some point the laptop would be underpowered.

I personally have not used an E350 but think it is ok for a netbook, but if getting a full size laptop, I would not limit myself so much, and would get either a pentium or a low end Llano, which can be had for cheap now that Trinity is coming out. If you watch carefully, you should be able to get these for 300 to 350 dollars.

 

[Zorander]

Personally I would go for at least an i3 CPU. They are generally a lot more powerful for only a little more money. I own a C50-powered netbook (1GHz Brazos with HD6250), which is ok for web-surfing but not for any sort of heavy loads.

The only reason to get a Brazos is when you want a smaller/lighter form factor (10-13in) and cannot afford an Ultrabook.

 

[Zstream]

Sort of. It's the highest end of their Brazos line, so it's more like a budget laptop chip.

Engadget reviewed it fairly well: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/07/lenovo-thinkpad-x120e-review/

The E-450 is the highest.

 

[Tushaar]

Point accepted!

Would this be a good place to ask for recommendations? I really need a bit of portability and battery life. 5-6 hours at the minimum. I had considered the Samsung Series 3 NP300E4Z (B960 processor) as well as the Asus U32U (E-450) but gave up on them as I wanted Lenovo's reliability.

I've had a terrible experience with a Compaq CQ60 a couple of years ago which had a burnt motherboard within 15 months of purchase. I tend to have my laptop on all day, so I need something durable.

If anyone else has thoughts on the viability of the E-350 or any other recommendations for great battery life in a decent form factor (14 inch or below) which can be had for around $400-500. I'm talking MRP because I live in India and laptops are kind of overpriced here.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[NTMBK]

Would this be a good place to ask for recommendations? I really need a bit of portability and battery life. 5-6 hours at the minimum. I had considered the Samsung Series 3 NP300E4Z (B960 processor) as well as the Asus U32U (E-450) but gave up on them as I wanted Lenovo's reliability.

Is the Lenovo X131E available in India? You can get that with either an E2-1800 or a Core-i3 in it.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

are you kidding. go try an e350 at bb. it is VERY slow and yet priced like a pentium laptop. there is no way it will comfortably do what you want to do. in fact there will be a noticeable delay when you even switch tabs. a pentium laptop on the other hand could easily do what you want to do and would be the same price.

 

[dma0991]

As I am typing this on my AMD E-350 secondary PC, I would suggest against it since it does lack quite a bit of CPU power even compared against my old C2D laptop. Depending on what each tab would contain, it could probably do just fine with some intermittent lag. If it is a simple web page loaded in each tab, it would be hitting more on the memory without affecting CPU that much.

It multitasks better than my much older Athlon64 3800+ but even simple tasks would hit the E-350 pretty hard. It would be near 50% or higher CPU utilization at any given time, even with a simple file transfer. A 1080P clip without DXVA would be about >70% utilization. It lacks CPU performance but it is bearable as a low power machine.

 

[Tushaar]

Is the Lenovo X131E available in India? You can get that with either an E2-1800 or a Core-i3 in it.

Unfortunately, no. Lenovo has actually discontinued the X120E but I'm was thinking of getting it from a retail store which has stock left. No idea when either the X130E or X131E will be available, and nobody has any idea.

@OBLAMA2009 - I did try two E350/450 laptops in the store (Samsung NP305U1A and HP DM1), and they seemed responsive enough. But these were on stock machines with nothing on them, so I don't know how they'd behave with a dozen tabs open. I gather you've had a bit more experience than I have with this processor?

 

[Tushaar]

As I am typing this on my AMD E-350 secondary PC, I would suggest against it since it does lack quite a bit of CPU power even compared against my old C2D laptop. Depending on what each tab would contain, it could probably do just fine with some intermittent lag. If it is a simple web page loaded in each tab, it would be hitting more on the memory without affecting CPU that much.

It multitasks better than my much older Athlon64 3800+ but even simple tasks would hit the E-350 pretty hard. It would be near 50% or higher CPU utilization at any given time, even with a simple file transfer. A 1080P clip without DXVA would be about >70% utilization. It lacks CPU performance but it is bearable as a low power machine.

Thank you for that assessment!

I currently have an HP NX7300 with 3GB of RAM and T7200 C2D processor, and truth be told, it runs beautifully. However, I need portability sometimes and the 5+ pounds in weight and 10 minute battery life don't really go well with that. Not to mention it runs quite hot unless you've got a book under it. Therefore, I'm looking for something as a little more portable and with a little more battery life.

However, reliability is a big concern. As I said, my CQ60 tanked after just 15 months (burnt motherboard, with smoke!) and I'm really put off consumer-centric shitty laptops since then. My NX7300 is a laptop my dad's office phased out and sold at 10% of its value (I got it for approx $100) and it's a 2006 model....and runs like a champ.

So, my present dilemma.

 

[AtenRa]

I'm planning to buy the Lenovo x120e (E-350) and I was wondering if anyone here can answer a few questions?

The primary use I put my laptops to is heavy surfing (10-15 tabs open) and maybe a couple of Word docs open alongside. Maximum, I'll have both Firefox and Chrome running alongside with Chrome having around 10-15 tabs and Firefox with 1-2 tabs. Maybe a few PDFs open in the browser too.

Will the E-350 processor be able to handle this with 4 GB RAM? My Core 2 Duo T7200 manages it just fine (though it runs quite hot) with 3GB RAM. Any thoughts/experience with this would be greatly appreciated since I plan to buy it in a day or two.

Ill tell you this,

Im currently writing from a dual core Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 2GB ram and Win 7 32bit.

I have opened 14 Firefox tabs and 3-4 tabs in IE-8 plus a small word doc and excel.

No problems at all, system is fine and very responsive.I believe a dual core Brazos E-350 will not have any problems with the same apps.

 

[dma0991]

So, my present dilemma.

I don't own a Compaq laptop but friends of mine do. All they tell me is that it tends to overheat. If you could afford a SSD for it in the future, get one. It doesn't have to be the fastest since it would be CPU bottlenecked, capacity is of higher priority here. Improved responsiveness from the SSD should make up for what the CPU lacks.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Ill tell you this,

Im currently writing from a dual core Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 2GB ram and Win 7 32bit.

I have opened 14 Firefox tabs and 3-4 tabs in IE-8 plus a small word doc and excel.

No problems at all, system is fine and very responsive.I believe a dual core Brazos E-350 will not have any problems with the same apps.

My conroe Pentium with 1.25gigs of ram has trouble with word and ff open

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

I have the x120e with an E350. It is too slow for what you want to do.

 

[Tushaar]

Ill tell you this,

Im currently writing from a dual core Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 2GB ram and Win 7 32bit.

I have opened 14 Firefox tabs and 3-4 tabs in IE-8 plus a small word doc and excel.

No problems at all, system is fine and very responsive.I believe a dual core Brazos E-350 will not have any problems with the same apps.

First up, I'm mighty impressed with the helpfulness of members here. Been on some Indian forums and all they want to do is discuss the top end machines!

Secondly, AtenRa, I think the same, but dma0991 (see above) seems to have a bit of experience with the E-350 itself and doesn't rate it very highly. My tabs are mostly a mix of a lot of tech blogs like Engadget, Phonearena, Arstechnica along with Gmail. Sometimes, when I have to write a research paper (once a month generally), I'll have a ton of PDFs open as well. Simultaneously, maybe a Word doc and some music.

I was very impressed with my nx7300's build quality, and would prefer to get something in the class of business notebooks. Hence I had settled on the Lenovo X120E.

Any more real life experiences with the E-350 and or recommendations would be great. Really need to get this right since I can garner enough money for a laptop only once every 3-4 years.

 

[Tushaar]

I have the x120e with an E350. It is too slow for what you want to do.

I guess that settles it

Anyone know anything about reliability of HP Probooks?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Ill tell you this,

Im currently writing from a dual core Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 2GB ram and Win 7 32bit.

I have opened 14 Firefox tabs and 3-4 tabs in IE-8 plus a small word doc and excel.

No problems at all, system is fine and very responsive.I believe a dual core Brazos E-350 will not have any problems with the same apps.

The 100$ question. Whats faster, your P4 or an E-350? Should be quite obvious. A hint might be that an X2 255 is around 3 times faster.

 

[AtenRa]

The 100$ question. Whats faster, your P4 or an E-350? Should be quite obvious. A hint might be that an X2 255 is around 3 times faster.

In AT's E-350 review, Brazos is faster than P4 2.66GHz, so i guess it should be close with the 3GHz P4.

But i would spend a little more and go with a Dual Core Llano Laptop because you also want to do work and not only Web surfing.

 

[Fox5]

The E-450 is the highest.

The fastest is the E2-1800, AMD did a Brazos 2.0 platform.

To the OP: Windows 7 will be a bit slow on Brazos. You'd be better off with Windows 8 or a Linux platform.

 

[NTMBK]

But i would spend a little more and go with a Dual Core Llano Laptop because you also want to do work and not only Web surfing.

He doesn't mention gaming at all in his post, so tbh I think Ivy Bridge would be a better option than Llano for him.