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  • Ok, computer hardware people...

    Ok...hardware people...

    In short order, I'm going to be purchasing a laptop. I already know what OS (Win 10 Pro, 64 bit), how much HDD space, RAM, etc.

    Where I'm vacillating is the processor. AMD vs Intel.

    If I go Intel, I'm probably going with the i5. AMD I have no idea.

    To help out, I'll be using this mainly as a programming laptop. I'm going to have things on it like Visual Studio, SQL Server, Android Development Toolkit, Eclipse, PHP, Perl, MySQL, R, and some graphics programs like InkScape and GimpShop. I'll also have Android device emulators on it.

    I'll probably be ordering it online through the place that rhymes with "Well". And I still don't know the difference between "personal" or "home" and "business" laptops.

    I will be putting Adobe Acrobat (full version) on it, and in lieu of Microsoft Office, I'm going to run OpenOffice on it.

    So pros and cons of each processor?
    Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

  • #2
    Pros & Cons? Just ask the guys who make them. To each, the competitor is: using outdated tech, overpriced, absolute garbage, slooooow as hell (meaning, 0.01 GHz slower), using deceptive advertising to make them seem faster than they really are, etc etc etc ^__^

    The primary reason I know of to use one over the other is if you have a large number of programs that have been optimized for use on one or the other -- and I don't think the ones you mentioned are. The practice is much more common with graphics cards being optimized for specific games, anyway.

    The main thing -- especially if you're gonna do any graphics (and, to a lesser extent, programming), is to have plenty of RAM (16 GB+ in this case) and a good graphics card; integrated graphics chips are often quite pathetic on anything short of a high-end gaming laptop (and "Well" doesn't do those). Your options on these may be quite limited on a laptop; you may need to get a more recent i7 for better graphics/overall performance. Do some research on those first, as well as on the "personal vs business" question, as that just reeks of marketing-speak to me. Just keep in mind that you'll want as much RAM crammed in there as they offer -- upgrading laptop RAM is intentionally very expensive, and sometimes difficult (typical scenario: one existing chip is accessible via the underside of the unit, while getting to the other requires removing the keyboard).

    On a side note -- If you were doing graphics as your main thing, I'd say to get a Mac designed for them. For programming, either those or Windows are fine.
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    • #3
      The big difference in the architectures is the memory bus. Unless you are pushing around large amounts of data (databases) or dealing with a large number of processors, you probably won't see the difference.

      You will probably be happy with either processor given the same approximate clock speed. I would look to buy the one that gives me the best clock speed within my budget.

      Just for the record, my desktop has an AMD 8350.
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      • #4
        I've always gone AMD, initially due to price, and just stuck with it cuz....dunno. IME AMDs don't run as hot. AMds also seem to be a bit more receptive to overclocking if you're into that...

        My current rig is running an AMD FX-6300 (Vishera) and I like it a lot. I'm very tempted by the new chips that are out, but that would require a whole new motherboard and I just rebuilt this thing last year.
        "I am quite confident that I do exist."
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        • #5
          Have a look at what instruction sets each CPU supports, and what your programs need (i.e. SSE4, AVX etc.) May be important for your emulation programs.

          A decent GPU can help for programs that can be assisted by tech like Cuda or OpenCL (nVidia has better OpenGL performance if that helps)

          The more ram the better, especially for larger projects.

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          • #6
            I've been using both AMD and Intel for a number of years; just completed a new AMD Ryzen 1700 desktop at home, and I deal with Intel Core i3/i5 at where I work.

            Pros: AMD will have the price advantage and perform almost as well as Intel on a lot of applications.

            Cons: AMD hasn't as far as I know gone to the new Ryzen architecture in laptops, so you'd be dealing with slight differences such as 3rd party USB 3.0 support and DDR3 memory instead of DDR4.

            You're right to choose at least i5 if you go Intel; for AMD, I would stick with the A series, at least A6. Computer-name-that-rhymes-with-Well is what we mainly use where I work, and they have been great to deal with.

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            • #7
              Ok, I've been doing some research (because I want to order this laptop soon), and I'm more confused than ever.

              Ok, "Well" has a laptop with an AMD processor, 16GB RAM, and a 1 TB HDD. They also have the same machine with an Intel i7 for about $200 more. The AMD it has is a FX 9830P Quad-Core Processor with Radeon™ R7 Graphics (it's a gaming machine, for some reason).

              The Intel is a i7-7500U Processor.

              The Intel model has a touch display (that might be handy for mobile development).

              It doesn't appear that the AMD has an optical drive, but the Intel does. That's strange. They both have Win10 Home 64 bit. Since I will be using the laptop for Programming, I would get the Pro edition.

              I haven't really narrowed it down, this just made it more confusing for me.
              Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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