AMD A6-1450 or Intel i3-3217u

[sequoia464]

Looking at a couple of 11.6" laptops - they are spec'd out pretty much the same except for the processor. Any compelling reason to get one over the other?

Leaning towards the AMD unit (Dell) as it has Bluetooth, the Intel (Asus) doesn't.

Just using this in the field for small 1-2 page reports, most of my use will be in Word, Excel, or editing PDF's.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=1908&cmp[]=764

The i3 will be faster, in both single- and multi-threaded workloads.

It could use more power, but only if you're running heavy workloads on it. With the CPUs idle for office tasks, I'd expect similar battery life.

Which one is cheaper?

I'd be okay with either one, probably, although I'd definitely want an SSD. *hubba*

 

[sequoia464]

Which one is cheaper?

I'd be okay with either one, probably, although I'd definitely want an SSD. *hubba*

They are priced the same.

I agree on the SSD, I have a 240 gig M500 ready for whichever one I wind up with.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If they're priced the same, and they have similar battery capacity (e.g. similar battery life) I'd go with the i3. Bluetooth is cheap to add if you really need it, but you probably won't.

If there's a big difference in battery life, I'd go with the one that will last longer.

 

[Bateluer]

Just using this in the field for small 1-2 page reports, most of my use will be in Word, Excel, or editing PDF's.

I have an A6 1450 based Acer V5 122p, and it will fill those purposes without a hitch. It is not a fast machine by any means.

 

[sequoia464]

I have an A6 1450 based Acer V5 122p, and it will fill those purposes without a hitch. It is not a fast machine by any means.

I had been looking at an Acer V5 at the Microsoft store - how do you like the screen?

 

[ShintaiDK]

The i3 is lightyears ahead. So if they cost the same, the i3 without a doubt.

 

[monstercameron]

I had been looking at an Acer V5 at the Microsoft store - how do you like the screen?

the v5-122 is an ips panel but what I saw on the show floor wasnt super bright. It was miles ahead of any tn panel.

 

[Bateluer]

I had been looking at an Acer V5 at the Microsoft store - how do you like the screen?

The screen is the best feature of the V5. Very clear, excellent viewing angles, bright, and IPS. Sitting next to any TN panel on a show floor, and its clearly superior to the 300 dollar Walmart special.

I have a list of gripes with the V5, but the screen isn't one of them.


- Acer's Bloat and Windows 8 make it far slower than it should be. There's 75GBs of bloat, plus a 10GB restore partition.

- There's issues with doing a clean W8 install due to the key being locked to the UEFI.

- The A6 1450 can chug along, 720p videos drop frames a lot, for example.

- I replaced the mechanical drive with an SSD. I suggest you do the same, just keep an eye on bullet #2.

- The trackpad is crap. Complete crap. You can scroll horizontal, but forgot about vertical.

 

[pw257008]

If the screen is equal, get the i3. If the a6 has a much better screen, and you'll be working outside regularly, then it will probably end up being more functional despite being noticeably slower. If everything is literally equal except the processor, then this one's a no brainer, pick the i3.

 

[Bateluer]

For those curious, I did some benches a while back. If you weren't sure, the A6 is not a gaming PC.

 

[NewYorksFinest]

i3 is MUCH better.

 

[sequoia464]

Finally wound up with an Ivy based celeron 1017u.

The PCMark score was 1487 compared to 1054 for the A6-1450. Pretty much all of the individual scores - except for graphics - were better (~20-35%) than the A6. Each machine had the same 4 GB of memory.

Uses a bit more power than the A6, but it came with a detachable 6 cell battery instead of the built in 3 cells I was finding on the A6 units; so pretty much a wash as far as battery life - except that extra batteries can be had for $30-$40.

This is in a little Acer Aspire V5-131.

 

[Bateluer]

Finally wound up with an Ivy based celeron 1017u.

The PCMark score was 1487 compared to 1054 for the A6-1450. Pretty much all of the individual scores - except for graphics - were better (~20-35%) than the A6. Each machine had the same 4 GB of memory.

Uses a bit more power than the A6, but it came with a detachable 6 cell battery instead of the built in 3 cells I was finding on the A6 units; so pretty much a wash as far as battery life - except that extra batteries can be had for $30-$40.

This is in a little Acer Aspire V5-131.

I'm showing the V5 131 with a Celeron 1007U. Did they make a 1017U version?

When you have a chance, could you run the Mozilla Kraken and Google Octane web benches? I want to see how they compare to the A6.

On a side note, as I like the 11-12in notebooks, I'd really be interested in seeing one of the newer Sempron 3850 parts in a chassis similar in size to the 122 or 131. The 3850 is a 25W sku though, while the 1450 is a 15W sku.

 

[sequoia464]

I'm showing the V5 131 with a Celeron 1007U. Did they make a 1017U version?

When you have a chance, could you run the Mozilla Kraken and Google Octane web benches? I want to see how they compare to the A6.

On a side note, as I like the 11-12in notebooks, I'd really be interested in seeing one of the newer Sempron 3850 parts in a chassis similar in size to the 122 or 131. The 3850 is a 25W sku though, while the 1450 is a 15W sku.

I'll double check the processor later tonight, I have looked at so many that I'm not certain now if it is a 1007 or a 1017.

I'll try to run those benches sometime this weekend, got my hands full right now with a couple of projects at home.

Edit; just checked and the full model number is "Acer Aspire V5-131-10174G50ass" and does have the 1017u running at 1.6.

 

[Bateluer]

I'll double check the processor later tonight, I have looked at so many that I'm not certain now if it is a 1007 or a 1017.

I'll try to run those benches sometime this weekend, got my hands full right now with a couple of projects at home.

Edit; just checked and the full model number is "Acer Aspire V5-131-10174G50ass" and does have the 1017u running at 1.6.

Alright.

For reference, here are the results of those tests on both my Celeron 2955U Chromebox and my A6 based V5 122P

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9AxVCIi9nezc0JYOXIxVDhBVlE&usp=drive_web

 

[VirtualLarry]

Finally wound up with an Ivy based celeron 1017u.

The PCMark score was 1487 compared to 1054 for the A6-1450. Pretty much all of the individual scores - except for graphics - were better (~20-35%) than the A6. Each machine had the same 4 GB of memory.

Uses a bit more power than the A6, but it came with a detachable 6 cell battery instead of the built in 3 cells I was finding on the A6 units; so pretty much a wash as far as battery life - except that extra batteries can be had for $30-$40.

This is in a little Acer Aspire V5-131.

I think my Acer might be a V5-131 (or maybe V5-121?). It came with 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Ivy Bridge Celeron 1007U CPU, decent keyboard and screen (though I don't do anything beyond web browsing and skype on it). Put in an 80GB SSD, and it runs great. With the SSD swapped in, I get 8 hours of battery life from the 6-cell (removable) battery pack. Oh yes, it came with Windows 7 64-bit installed. I did a fresh install though.