Best bet for cheap, thin AMD laptop?

[Kledgie]

I usually just buy an old laptop and slap some new memory and an ssd in it. Is there a certain older processor or laptop model you guys recommend? I'll just be using it for work. Doesn't have to be that powerful but streaming video is a must.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Newegg had a Lenovo 130 the other day, with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, and an A9-9425 APU, for under $300. Didn't look horrible, and decent RAM/SSD amount.

 

[JWade]

as of earlier today, dell had in delloutlet the 3180 with the following specs for $218 before 13% off coupon code on their site. upgrade the ram and its pretty good. I got one for my daughter for college and put in 16gb of ram for her with the solid state and it was more than enough for her

AMD A9-9420e Processor (Dual Core, 2.6GHz, 1M cache,6W)
Windows 10 Home S
128GB eMMC Hard Drive
4GB (1x4GB) 2400MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
11.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display
AMD Integrated
Gray - LCD Back Cover (Non-Touch)
Dell Outlet Inspiron 11 - 3180

 

[Shamrock]

I don't know if Amazon links are allowed, but look for Acer Aspire 5. It has an AMD 3200u cpu with Vega 3 graphics. 128gb nvme drive. And IPS 1080p display. Only 4gb or Ram, which you CAN upgrade for about $30.

Said laptop is $314.99

 

[Scarpozzi]

I got in on a Dell 1575 from Rakuten around July for $280+tax. AMD Ryzen 5 2500U with 4gb ram 1TB SATA, Bluetooth 5, wifi...15". I put $100 into a 512GB M.2 SSD addition and upgraded ram to 12GB and added a backlit keyboard. Runs warm, but has been solid. I wouldn't get an A9...Ryzen 5 or higher. Be patient...lots of deals coming between now and New Year's.

 

[ElFenix]

set an alert on slickdeals for ryzen and you get stuff like this:

Secret Walmart Promo Codes: Save 60% Off With July Promo Codes | 2021 Deals & Discounts

Use this valid 65% off Walmart promo code now. See all 25 Walmart promo codes, coupons, discounts & free delivery codes for Jul 2021.

slickdeals.net

$279, current gen mobile ryzen (zen+ cores, not zen2), FHD screen, (small) SSD. add some more ram and you're gtg.

 

[andrew.will]

Could someone attach here a link from some online store, where I can choose laptop, because actuslly I don't believe amazon and etc. online stores about their prices. Maybe the stores where you bought your laptops. Thank you.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Could someone attach here a link from some online store, where I can choose laptop, because actuslly I don't believe amazon and etc. online stores about their prices. Maybe the stores where you bought your laptops. Thank you.

If you want a decent little entry-level laptop that's good for browsing and basic homework for school, consider one of the ones in this thread (my Hot Deals thread):

Some Walmart.com laptops under $300 (on sale, MSRP may be higher), w/128GB or larger SSDs, no Chromebooks

https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&facet=retailer:Walmart.com||special_offers:Clearance||special_offers:New||special_offers:Rollback||special_offers:Only+at+Walmart&query=laptop+128GB&sort=price_low#searchProductResult I hope that link comes out OK. If not, I can post individual laptop...

forums.anandtech.com

I can't help you though, if you don't believe that the listed price on the site is the price that you'll pay (*not inclusive of shipping and tax).

 

[cytg111]

Surface Laptop 3, 15" looks amazing .
The surface line is the only microsoft hardware product I have ever liked!

 

[Thunder 57]

I don't think you ever mentioned a price range, but my sister just ordered one of these. That's a lot of laptop for the money. 1080p, 256GB NVMe SSD, 8GB RAM, Ryzen 5 3500U. Mid $400's. She did spend a bit more for the touch screen though since that screen is IPS vs TN, and colors seemed to be a good bit better on the IPS. Worth it for $40 I think.

 

[fire400]

eBay- if you decide to go with Intel: dell latitude 7470

As of 2019, up to date laptop with stellar performance and extra clean chassis, would be the dell latitude 7480, excellent battery life.

Old laptop models with a lot of modular component modifications, T420s or T430s.
i5m-gen2 / i5m-gen3 with up to 16GB RAM and 3 levels of SSD options, 2.5 x2, and mSata.
Optimized for wXP - w10 OS generations, and Linux.
Terrible battery life though.

Agreed with other post, A9 is horrendous in performance.

Ryz-3 could get you decent performance on SSD, but Ryz5 is probably where competition is at.

AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Processor 2.6GHz; 8GB DDR4-2400 RAM; 256GB Solid State Drive; AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics
In-store Micro Center price: $350

The term, 'cheap' may imply really entry level parts and low quality, or unacceptable performance.
How about the term, inexpensive, low-cost or discount?

In terms of video performance/streaming, 1080p videos streaming from websites? On Chromebooks, they're smoother on a good and up to date, dual/quad core.
On Windows 10? It's a resource hog, Ryz5 or i5-gen is recommended, but Ryz3 or i3 would suffice with 4GB RAM.
Would it need to do 4K?

Seen a Win10 AMD-A6 with HDD do the job on a laptop, but after a few months, the performance was not great.

I'd stick with Intel for what you could be purchasing for a few hundred dollars.

 

[LikeLinus]

Surface Laptop 3, 15" looks amazing .
The surface line is the only microsoft hardware product I have ever liked!

I've got one of both the AMD and Intel on order. Unfortunately it appears in a recent benchmark that the AMD version is around 13% slower than the Intel counterpart. Not to mention the faster ram and wifi the Intel version has. But I wouldn't call the Surface "cheap", lol.

 

[cytg111]

I've got one of both the AMD and Intel on order. Unfortunately it appears in a recent benchmark that the AMD version is around 13% slower than the Intel counterpart. Not to mention the faster ram and wifi the Intel version has. But I wouldn't call the Surface "cheap", lol.

For me they have been the perfect travel companions, the form factor that also packs a real x86/64 punch. Thank you mam.

 

[LikeLinus]

For me they have been the perfect travel companions, the form factor that also packs a real x86/64 punch. Thank you mam.

I'm actually replacing my Surface Pro 4 with the Surface Laptop 3 (black). I also carry around a MacBook Pro 15" for work, but this is for personal usage. I will say that MS has been doing a great job with their designs lately. Really looking forward to getting it!

 

[nakedfrog]

set an alert on slickdeals for ryzen and you get stuff like this:

Secret Walmart Promo Codes: Save 60% Off With July Promo Codes | 2021 Deals & Discounts

Use this valid 65% off Walmart promo code now. See all 25 Walmart promo codes, coupons, discounts & free delivery codes for Jul 2021.

slickdeals.net

$279, current gen mobile ryzen (zen+ cores, not zen2), FHD screen, (small) SSD. add some more ram and you're gtg.

The caveat is to make sure the RAM can be upgraded, seems relatively common on these lower end models to not have the option.

 

[Thunder 57]

I don't think you ever mentioned a price range, but my sister just ordered one of these. That's a lot of laptop for the money. 1080p, 256GB NVMe SSD, 8GB RAM, Ryzen 5 3500U. Mid $400's. She did spend a bit more for the touch screen though since that screen is IPS vs TN, and colors seemed to be a good bit better on the IPS. Worth it for $40 I think.

...and now it's $750. Glad she got it when she did for ~$300 less.

 

[Asterox]

14/1080p matte screen, here is example of Acer Swift 3 powered by AMD Athlon 300U.In Germany the lowest price is 400euro.

Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R80D

This page provides reviews and other infos about the Acer Swift 3 SF314-41-R80D of the series Swift 3 laptop.

www.notebookcheck.net

https://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/OffersOfProduct/6783211_-swift-3-sf314-41-r80d-acer.html

 

[VirtualLarry]

The mobile Athlon 300U sounds much like the desktop Athlon 200GE, in a manner of speaking. Not really sure how it differs from the Ryzen 3 3200U either.