i5 3230m vs i3 3120m vs AMD A8-5550M ?

akhil17kr

Junior Member
Jul 4, 2013
2
0
0
Okay !
so i am in tight budget of INR. 38,000/($645) for a Laptop for myself.
I am 3rd year Computer Science engineering student so wanted a laptop which satisfy my needs in this budget.
All i gonna do is basic stuffs like Listening music , Watching Full hd videos or movies , Internet surfing like opening 2 different browsers with 10-15 opened tabs in each with one of them streaming videos from youtube , Good Gaming which includes Good Graphics games such as
csm_cover1_03_973cf44f9c.jpg

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2



Need for Speed: Most Wanted
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Max Payne 3



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Dirt Showdown



csm_logo2_03_24f6814700.jpg

Diablo III



csm_Bf3-pc-cover_664aef0204.jpg

Battlefield 3



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Batman: Arkham City



csm_Crysis-2-Box-Shot-GTX580-KitGuru_07cb6b824c.jpg

Crysis 2



etc.
and also programming stuff such as C , C++ , ASP.net , JAVA etc. Making applications for platforms like iOS , Android etc. considering i am software engineering student i may do other stuff likewise on the laptop.

I am confused between these three types of CPU's to choose..
core i5 3230m is just overclocked version of i3 3120m
but i am unaware of new
AMD A8-5550M..

Being on tighter budget i am considering AMD powered laptop but doubt on this performance and long term usage (about 3 years).

i have shortlisted these three LAPTOPS and i am confused between these 3 :

1) http://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-esse...NWAM&ref=5f2d66fa-b86a-4fdd-a393-99c367274223

2) http://www.flipkart.com/hp-pavilion...acker=from-search&query=HP Pavilion G6-2320TX

3) http://www.flipkart.com/samsung-np3...KDSW&ref=27625b59-8458-4523-9466-4e25ad335a95

All i want Big Storage space , biggger RAM , Fast Processing Speed

1) which one is better amongst all ??
As
Core i3 3120m + 2GB AMD Radeon HD 8750M Combination Costs
INR 35845(597.321 US Dollar)

Core i5 3230m + 1 GB AMD Radeon HD 7670M Combination Costs
INR 40,000(666.56 US Dollar)

APU Quad Core A8 5550m + 512 MB AMD Radeon HD 8550G (Integrated) and 2 GB ATI Sunpro HD 8570 Graphics costs
INR 33990(566.41 US DOLLAR)

I may find them locally cheap so these are just online prices .


2)If 1GB Graphics are enough for my gaming and software application developing needs or i should worth considering 2GB graphics ?

3) i can get more 2 years warranty in HP by paying INR 1000(16.66 US DOLLAR) more and 1 Year more warranty in Samsung one for INR 700(11.66 US DOLLAR).

4) If i3 3120m is enough to Process these things or i should consider i5 3230m ?

I am more intersted in AMD's one considering it has 8GB worth of RAM expandable upto 16GB + 1 TB HDD + 2.5 GB AMD GRAPHICS but i am not sure of its Processing Power
don't know if it will be able to satisfy my needs or not...

Thanks
Hope will get valuable suggestions from you
(Please forgive me for Bad English :p)
 

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,065
418
126
I don't think 1 or 2GB for this level of GPU is such a big deal, but considering gaming I probably would go with the first option,
the second uses an older GPU,
the third uses a 64bit memory bus GPU (and for DG it looks unbalanced, and I never heard any good comments about DG on laptops anyway), also keep in mind there is no "2.5GB", the integrated graphics uses system memory, and working in DG each GPU have it's own memory and most of the stuff is duplicated anyway.

as for CPUs, 3120M is ivy bridge at 2.5GHz, it should be good enough, the A8 can work at a lower or higher clock, but since it's probably only going to hit 3.1GHz for single thread software (when the ivy bridge i3 is at its best), I think the 3120m is probably better overall.
 

AtenRa

Lifer
Feb 2, 2009
14,003
3,362
136
I will say number three(3) Samsung laptop with Core i3 and HD8750M is the best.

the third uses a 64bit memory bus GPU

AMD HD8750M has 128bit memory bus.

The Laptop only has a single 4GB dimm ;)
 
Feb 19, 2009
10,457
10
76
Pretty much all the software you generally use for programming and such, especially C++ or Java (I'm using Eclipse and Android SDK, it runs well enough on a E-350 netbook..) can run on any ancient CPU, it doesn't matter diddly squat how much raw CPU performance you have TBH, a core 2 duo would be enough.

So the decision comes down to the performance where it really matters: Gaming. The mobile GPUs included in your list are all pretty weak and all the games you play will end up being GPU bound, again, so it makes no difference if you have a core i7 or core 2 quad. So do yourself a favour, seeing as you are a student, save some $$ and just get a A10 or A8 laptop without a discrete GPU, it can game at 720 or 768p fine with the iGPU. The discrete GPU is just going to add to the weight of the laptop (cooling/fans) and extra heat and noise.

I have a ultrabook with a core i5 ULV, HD4000 iGPU and it games at 720p on low details at 20-30 fps in most games. An A10 or A8 would be heaps faster.
 

AtenRa

Lifer
Feb 2, 2009
14,003
3,362
136
For BF3 and Crysis, out of the three choices the third with the dGPU (HD8750M) is the best. A8-5550M (first choice) iGPU only has 256 Radeon Cores and it will not be able to play those two games.

A10-5750M with 1866MHz memory will be ok too but again for those two games i would go with the dedicated GPU. One more thing, if you can find a dGPU with GDDR-5 it will be even better.
 

wilds

Platinum Member
Oct 26, 2012
2,059
674
136
The 1st choice is a no brainer compared to everything else.
 

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,065
418
126
I will say number three(3) Samsung laptop with Core i3 and HD8750M is the best.



AMD HD8750M has 128bit memory bus.

The Laptop only has a single 4GB dimm ;)


:confused:

third = 8570 = 64bit DDR3

my choice would be the first (i3 + 8750M)

I'm talking about the order of the specs he posted, not the links.
 

akhil17kr

Junior Member
Jul 4, 2013
2
0
0
Okay !!
Thanks a lot to all of you for helping me lot :)

now coming to the point..

i am considering only laptops within my budget having 8750m GPU
and there is only 2 laptops having those GPU
one is i3 and one is i5

here both of them are
1)
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/samsung-np370r5es06in-notebook-intel-core/661921?pos=0;2

2) http://www.flipkart.com/samsung-np3...t_1&otracker=from-search&query=NP370R5E-S05IN

in 1st option
I'll add 4GB RAM 1600Mhz more(costs INR.2000) + 1 year more warranty(costs INR 600)+external DVD/CD writer(costs INR.1800)
then it'll have (Intel Core i3 processor 3120M- 8GB RAM- 750GB HDD- Win8- 2GB AMD Radeon HD Graphics)
and it'll costs almost INR.39400
is it good deal ??

what would be the wise choice ??

in 2nd option

I have to spend more INR.1800 in order to get optical drive + INR. 600 more for 1 year extra warranty which will approx costs me total INR.44,440
so Total of INR. 4550 of difference in which i am getting
more Spaced HDD 1TB vs 750 HDD
Less spaced RAM 6GB VS 8GB(4GB ADDED MORE)
CORE i5 3230M VS i3 3120M

If INR.5040 more is advisable to spend on that i5 model ????
But INR.44440 is out of my budget (for i5 model)
Hence stuck on i3 one but in that price i can get i5 laptop but with 7670m graphics which is letdown..

could you please help me.. !!
I AM READY TO SPEND INR. 39,400 ON i3 MODEL but Doubting Its performance according to my needs and may be it'll get old within 1 year cause 4th gen. i3 processor laptops will come to the market and the resale value of my laptop will go down very high which will be disadvantage

and my mind is going round and round

confusions and confusions ... o_O
 

Ratman6161

Senior member
Mar 21, 2008
616
75
91
Some advice for you:

1. Since you are a student on a tight budget, forget about gaming needs. If something has to go, make it gaming. Since you are a Computer Science/Engineering major, getting something that does what you need for your school work is important and is an investment in your future. Games are a trivial distraction.

2. Since you are not in your first year, you probably know lots of classmates using a variety of different systems. You would probably be better off talking to them. Most of the people here seem most concerned about games.