How does this compare to MacBook Pro?

[galaksy]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...252&siteid=TnL5HPStwNw-tu3i0jACwyC6WufVvwBMTg

1.9GHz up to 2.8GHz AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M Accelerated Processor

AMD Radeon HD 7640G Discrete-Class graphics and up to 2029MB total graphics memory

In what ways in concrete terms would this laptop in terms of power lag behind the MBP?

I was thinking of adding 16GB to this laptop to finally get a laptop that I can multitask in. But I was thinking maybe the Processor is “so bad” at least according to someone I know, that 16GB on this laptop might not be worth it and I might as well get a new laptop with a better processor along with 16GB.

 

[SarcasticJoe]

It's one of those AMD APU machines that compensates for AMD's less than stellar performance in the CPU space over the last few years by bundling by bundling in a decent AMD GPU and a subpar CPU on the same chip at an affordable price.

If you use a lot of software that takes well advantage of the GPU it might be worth having a look at, but if what you use just runs on the CPU or maybe even runs as well optimized CPU code than you're not going to get the same kind of performance as from an Intel machine.

As for 16GB of RAM, you have to some pretty heavy multitasking for there to be any point to having THAT much. I multitask quite a lot (web browser with up to a dozen tabs, word processor, IDE, iTunes, GIT tool and maybe a VM), but I've never had any slowdowns caused by having just 4GB of RAM. Specially with how well 10.9 manages your RAM.

 

[Meister]

This doesnt compare to a rmbp at all.

 

[kelon111]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...252&siteid=TnL5HPStwNw-tu3i0jACwyC6WufVvwBMTg




In what ways in concrete terms would this laptop in terms of power lag behind the MBP?

I was thinking of adding 16GB to this laptop to finally get a laptop that I can multitask in. But I was thinking maybe the Processor is “so bad” at least according to someone I know, that 16GB on this laptop might not be worth it and I might as well get a new laptop with a better processor along with 16GB.

Don't waste time comparing them.

The Retina MacBook Pro is superior in almost every single way.

If you want something similar to the Retina MacBook Pro , check out the Dell XPS 15 or the Dell Precision M3800.


If you are dead set on getting an HP laptop , there are some decent ones but IMHO they are overpriced.
Example: Zbook 15

 

[kelon111]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...252&siteid=TnL5HPStwNw-tu3i0jACwyC6WufVvwBMTg




In what ways in concrete terms would this laptop in terms of power lag behind the MBP?

I was thinking of adding 16GB to this laptop to finally get a laptop that I can multitask in. But I was thinking maybe the Processor is “so bad” at least according to someone I know, that 16GB on this laptop might not be worth it and I might as well get a new laptop with a better processor along with 16GB.

You don't need 16 GB to do light multitasking. What exactly do you plan to do? Encode videos and process images while browsing through 100+ tabs on Firefox?

I found 4 GB of RAM to be enough to do light multitasking. You might want to look into a computer with an SSD if you want the computer to respond better and load things faster.

 

[thundersteele]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...252&siteid=TnL5HPStwNw-tu3i0jACwyC6WufVvwBMTg
In what ways in concrete terms would this laptop in terms of power lag behind the MBP?

OK, let me try to give a more precise answer here.

1. The CPU: It is a long time since AMD was competitive with Intel in CPUs. I looked up some geek bench scores, and it seems to score 1/2 to 1/4 as fast as the current 15'' rMBPs. To be clear here: The 15'' rMBP is up to four times faster! Also it seems to me that the A8-4500 is a last generation CPU, since an A8-5500 is available.

2. The GPU: Notebookcheck says that it is "a bit faster than the Intel HD 4000." That means it is a bit faster than the integrated GPU in 2012 Macbook Airs...

3. Display: 1600x900 on a 17'' seems a bit low. I wouldn't dare to compare this to a retina display...

4. HDD: Again outdated technology. You might be able to put an SSD in there, not sure. It will still be slower than a rMBP's SSD since those use PCIe connectors instead of the SATA III that probably will limit the transfer rates in the HP machine.

Then there are two extra pounds of weight, a battery that seems half the size of that in the rMBP, outdated WiFi standard, and so on.

On the pro side HP seems to include a free Mahjong game...


Now, this machine sells on Amazon for under $500 apparently. So at least the price is somewhat fair. However I wouldn't spend another $150-$200 to add 16 GB of RAM... I'd rather look for something with a more balanced setup in the $800 - $1k range... decent CPU, SSD, 8 GB RAM... should be possible if you include refurbished and/or used machines in your search.

 

[Meister]

Now, this machine sells on Amazon for under $500 apparently. So at least the price is somewhat fair.

For 500,- you can already get an iPad Air.
i would buy an iPad anytime over this junk.

 

[Essenar]

At a quarter of the price of the MacBook, you're getting a quarter of the performance or less if you really think about it.

If you can't afford a 15" Pro, I would consider a used 11" Air 2012 or a used 2011 MacBook Pro 13". They offer more performance, better battery life, consistent proven reliability, similar resolution of screen, better keyboard and similar GPU performance.

Anywhere the AMD is better than Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge ULV, there's another way that the Intel based older Macs are better. You'd have slightly faster GPU performance, only to get killed on CPU clock performance or memory performance.

Do you need such a large machine?

You can find a 2010 17" for a little more and that machine is a proven winner with Sandy Bridge i7 on it. It won't be quad core but it'll be powerful and upgradeable.

 

[galaksy]

You'd have slightly faster GPU performance, only to get killed on CPU clock performance or memory performance.

What can you do with a slightly faster GPU?
What does it mean to be killed on CPU clock performance or memory performance in concrete examples?

By the way, I forgot to mention that I already own this laptop. I was wondering if I should improve upon this laptop or get a new computer. But I would need concrete examples where it would be cumbersome to use.

 

[kelon111]

What can you do with a slightly faster GPU?
What does it mean to be killed on CPU clock performance or memory performance in concrete examples?

By the way, I forgot to mention that I already own this laptop. I was wondering if I should improve upon this laptop or get a new computer. But I would need concrete examples where it would be cumbersome to use.

A slightly faster GPU implies you get slightly better frame rate in games.

Most programs aren't optimized for AMD CPUs and the architecture present in the A8 isn't advanced enough to keep up with a modern (and of course equivalent) Intel CPU.

The only decent upgrade you might want to look into is getting an SSD.

Do yourself a favor and go to the nearest Apple store (if possible) and try out the machines there.

 

[Meister]

The OP already has a 2009 mbp so he knows the differnce.
An ssd and ram could make his machine faster. It might be a waste of money though.

 

[leman]

By the way, I forgot to mention that I already own this laptop. I was wondering if I should improve upon this laptop or get a new computer. But I would need concrete examples where it would be cumbersome to use.

Any of the laptops Apple currently sells will be a massive upgrade. Still, if you are content with your laptop's performance, there is no reason to upgrade. I doubt that anyone here will find the reasons for you. If you are just looking for a more mobile machine, I recommend you a MacBook Air, which is still around two times faster than your HP (in practice, more like 20x faster), at 1/3 the weight and triple the battery duration.

 

[simonsi]

For balance you should pose this question on an HP forum, they probably love it...

 

[walkie]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...252&siteid=TnL5HPStwNw-tu3i0jACwyC6WufVvwBMTg




In what ways in concrete terms would this laptop in terms of power lag behind the MBP?

I was thinking of adding 16GB to this laptop to finally get a laptop that I can multitask in. But I was thinking maybe the Processor is “so bad” at least according to someone I know, that 16GB on this laptop might not be worth it and I might as well get a new laptop with a better processor along with 16GB.

Seriously if you want to take advantage of 16GB of RAM memory you should rather use a Linux/UNIX based OS such as Ubuntu/MacOSX/Debian, from my experience I can tell Windows is pretty bad on RAM memory management, maybe some apps/game running on Windows will benefit from it, but no matter how much RAM you put in on Windows it will tend to use the virtual memory and won't use the whole RAM memory.

 

[galaksy]

What is a virtual memory and why does windows only use that?

 

[saturnotaku]

from my experience I can tell Windows is pretty bad on RAM memory management, maybe some apps/game running on Windows will benefit from it, but no matter how much RAM you put in on Windows it will tend to use the virtual memory and won't use the whole RAM memory.

Maybe if the last version of Windows you used was 98. Windows 7 and 8 are plenty efficient. The only reason I even have one at all is for legacy applications that don't operate correctly unless there's one present, which I have set to 1 GB.