Are the new line of AMD notebook cpus good?

[slackerinabox]

I've made the mistake of getting low cost AMD laptops a bit too often recently - I've been looking for a light weight, powerful enough (for office, web, file maker pro, photo management not editing) and got a thinkpad x100e and an hp, both based on the AMD Neo platform based on positive reviews.

I hate them both - the thinkpad would be the perfect laptop (11.6" form factor is perfect for every day carrying and the keyboard/track pad are exceptional) except the damn thing devours battery life and it gets so hot that it roasts my .. nevermind.. Nevermind the fact that programs crash constantly because just having too many tabs open in firefox pushes 100% cpu utilization. AWFUL! My old atom netbook felt snappier. The HP stays cooler but performance is mediocre as well and the battery life sucks as well.

I want to sell both and get one laptop that doesn't suck. The new line of AMD mobile processors are getting positive reviews and I always like to support the underdog (and spend less in the process), but will I be making the same mistake a third time? Should I just go with an Intel chip and be done with it?

 

[Chiropteran]

They are better than the old ones, but really if battery life and heat are your highest priorities I'd just get a cheap Intel CPU. Main advantage of the AMD based laptops is superior onboard video at the low end, but for your uses it sounds like graphics are not a factor.

Llano based laptops will be another story, hopefully, but they are 6 months+ away.

 

[Zap]

Programs crashing is not inherent to AMD mobile CPUs, so that's a fluke of your particular unit.

What kind of battery life are you expecting? If you want thin/light and expect the battery to last well over 5 hours all the time, then you probably need something like the Acer Timeline X. Crappy keyboard, but it has the battery life.

 

[universeis42]

You can use K10Stat to try to undervolt your CPU. That should increase battery life.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I found an Turion II 2.3GHz, 4GB with 5650m Acer laptop for just $770 locally, whereas a comparable i3/i5 will set me back about $300 more. I'll say that's heck of a good value from AMD if you don't care about the worser battery life and a slightly slower CPU.

I would have totally bought one, but with AMD Zacate just around the corner I'll adopt a wait-and-see approach.

 

[Zap]

You can use K10Stat to try to undervolt your CPU. That should increase battery life.

Hey, thanks for the tip. I have already tried a few other programs (CrystalCPU, RMClock) but this sounds most promising for the latest AMD CPUs. I'll check it out.

 

[Seferio]

As far as I know, none of the programs work for the AMD Neo chips. I could be wrong though, so if you get K10Stat to work let us know.

 

[Zap]

As far as I know, none of the programs work for the AMD Neo chips. I could be wrong though, so if you get K10Stat to work let us know.

DOH! I would be using it on a Nile platform with a Turion II K625 or something like that. I'll try it anyways... I'm positive MUCH better battery life could be had if I can get manual control of the voltage and multiplier.

 

[NitrouseXpress60]

Ugh, I had a Neo in a HP thin and light and it was slooooow and HOT. I had that before the dual core version of it came out. The graphics were the best part, but to be honest, I'd rather have a quick and cool running laptop. :hugs core i5 Thinkpad:

 

[maniac5999]

As far as I know, none of the programs work for the AMD Neo chips. I could be wrong though, so if you get K10Stat to work let us know.

the Athlon Neo x2 in my Wind U230 works just fine with RMclock as a point of reference. (but unfortunately doesn't undervolt very well at idle.-- if only i could figure out a way to Oc it, i bet it'd be a great Ocer)

 

[Zap]

Ugh, I had a Neo in a HP thin and light and it was slooooow and HOT. I had that before the dual core version of it came out.

Hot sounds like a design problem with the notebook, but slow would be from it being a low MHz single core.

the Athlon Neo x2 in my Wind U230 works just fine with RMclock as a point of reference.

Are you using the Pro version of RMclock?

 

[maniac5999]

Are you using the Pro version of RMclock?

Nope, just the free download. I had to mess with it a bit (the instructions aren't great) but I do have voltage control for both CPU speeds (800mhz and 1.6ghz) as well as control of when it switches between them. Unfortunately i haven't figured out any way at all to overclock the thing, which is unfortunate, because I think that I could probably get to 2ghz while staying inside the original thermal envelope.