AMD Is Crushing Intel in Laptops Too

[AlexTheGreatish]

We take a look at the first Ryzen mobile processor to hit our office... and spoilers... it's damn good.

 

Buy the Zephyrus GA502: 
At BestBuy: https://geni.us/ZCBBbkz

 

 

[SupaKomputa]

More AMD laptops please.

[SkyHound0202]

Is AMD for Poor People?

Why is AMD the Budget Option for Gamers?

[GoldenLag]

in other words. 

 

the r7 1700 laptop with Ryzen 3rd gen would be reaaaaaally interesting. if they give an Bios update to allow such an upgrade. 

[crosstiger]

But compared to the ASUS ROG Strix G G531GU with an i7-9750H for only ~50€ more? Wouldn't it fall really flat due to that cpu performance different? The Strix also has a bigger battery (same usage time?) and a 2x2 wifi.

[RejZoR]

I recently grabbed a cheap HP laptop with Ryzen 5 2500U, 8GB RAM (2666MHz in actual dual channel which is really neat) and 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD for under 480€. It might not be king of the hill, but it's way better than any Core i3 Intel can offer. At lower price.

[Stryke]

Initially I was pleased as punch that you guys reviewed a laptop with this CPU. Finding good real-world benchmarks of mobile Ryzen CPUs isn't the easiest task - especially since thermal design is so important which makes comparing laptops with the same specs a bit more challenging.

 

I'm disappointed that in your first review covering a mobile Ryzen chip you guys didn't take a deeper dive.

 

This is a budget-friendly gaming laptop. I don't care if i7's and i9's beat it on Cinebench. I care about real-world benchmarks against Intel CPUs this thing is actually competing against. You folks mentioned similar performance to the 8300H but that's it. No hard numbers and no conversation about what a similarly priced Intel laptop would be equipped with. Is the 3750H competing against the 8300H? Is the tradeoff of a weaker CPU (if that's the case) made up for with the GPU? How about productivity?

 

As always, I'm impressed with your coverage of the I/O, build quality, and other things that affect day to day use. However, I really think you missed the mark in covering what is most important to someone who would buy this laptop - value. After finishing your review I still have no idea how this laptop stacks up against team blue's offerings.

 

Edit: Not to rag on your title too much cause they've definitely improved but the content of video doesn't really back up the title. They found a good price point that works for them but you didn't provide any evidence that AMD is crushing Intel at that price point. No value per dollar, no comparisons against competing CPUs, and more importantly... against competing laptops. You say Intel isn't matching their CPU's with the proper GPU but it's not as convincing without examples. Also, I'm surprised it was never mentioned this isn't Zen 2 which is how AMD is crushing (probably, I'll wait till you benchmark it) Intel on desktop.

 

I hope I don't off too strong, it's perfectly possible that my expectations for this video aren't shared by others. Regardless, I hope you guys do a proper comparison so we know what value mobile Ryzen has to offer. I wanted to recommend a Ryzen-equipped ASUS TUF to a friend but it's hard to do when real-world performance isn't compared to the competitors.

[AlexTheGreatish]

2 hours ago, Stryke said:

~snip~

Ideally we would have done a lot of testing against an i5-8300H or the i5-9300H, but we simply don't have any laptops in the office with that spec and it was going to take too long to get them in.  I do plan on making a video in the future where the Dell G3, GA502 and Helios 300 go head to head to find out the true king of slightly above $1000.

[Tristerin]

5 hours ago, SkyHound0202 said:

Is AMD for Poor People?

Why is AMD the Budget Option for Gamers?

 

Where you perhaps looking for this, good sir?

 

 

[poochyena]

Linus, no one cares about a laptop webcam in 2019. If we need a camera, we use our phone. I'd rather the thinner bezel and lower cost.

[schwellmo92]

Thanks for explaining why I sometimes see imbalanced laptop configurations. I’ve seen gaming laptops with 8750H and GTX 1050’s before and was wondering who in their right mind would commission such a configuration. Turns out it’s just typical Intel shenanigans, 7 is more than 5 after all!

[xoftware]

Well, it's definitely interesting... AMD is "budget" (decently better than 2700U), 1660 Ti is "budget" (about as good as 1070), and seems to check all the boxes: 0.8" 4.65lbs, 15.6" 120Hz, 5 hours, no throttling.

 

Okay, so you run into all kinds of funny configurations searching for a budget laptop, and really expensive ones for gaming. (I mean why do they even make half this stuff? Bulky laptops in this day? Seriously...) If you want the best gaming laptop you're looking at $2000+ for the MSI Stealth with RTX 2080/2070. Realistically, if you don't want to break that price point for RTX, then something like this "budget" gaming is targeting you. Interestingly, AMD has commissioned everybody except MSI to use mobile Ryzen with mobile Nvidia. So, it seems like with "only" 4 cores, if they really wanted to push these like crazy, they should price it sub-$1000 and compete with all the laptops still using 1050Ti's and Intel. Of course that would be too easy.

 

A lot of people would probably buy a gaming laptop if it wasn't a premium for being a "gaming laptop." Especially one that just looks like a regular laptop. I have a $350 Lenovo with Ryzen 2500U (Vega GPU.) Is it worth 3x more to get a GPU and better display? Twice as much, sure. hmm laptops are... interesting. Still looks like a great laptop otherwise.

[kaiju_wars]

I've been thinking of selling my 2012 MacBook Pro and getting a Ryzen laptop.  I like macOS on the laptop side of things, but I really would like a Ryzen laptop also.

[Draxidroid]

I've sen another review of this laptop and they were saying the color accuracy is really poor and overall screen quality, yet LTT says its not bad? Not sure who to believe.

[Blze001]

Not having a webcam is a big vote in this thing's favor, personally.

[ahuckphin]

just like the Dell Inspiron Gaming 7559. comprismises on wifi. 

 

6:21 Dell G5. Was there a review unit sent by Dell that never made it to a video? 

[greenhorn]

To be honest, I never used a Laptop's webcam before (I guess I'm not a big fan of selfies or video chats). Not having an integrated webcam would save people from covering it up with some type of paper/cardboard (many people around here are actually doing that due to privacy concerns).

[pApA^LeGBa]

People who need a webcam will propably use an external anyways can´t imagine they can put in a decent one without getting more expensive or saving elsewhere hurting the perfomance.

 

And no matter if in RL or online, most people i know never use it anyways. Nearly everyone has it covered.

 

[KurioHonoo]

I bought the Best Buy version a bit over a month ago and have been waiting for a good review and this one was pretty lack luster. I've enjoyed it while I've owned it. There battery life if phenomenal for doing everyday tasks. My biggest complaint has been fan control, more specifically ASUS's terrible Armour Crate that comes pre installed. You get 4 options that control the CPU, GPU, and Fans and they are "Windows", "Silent", "Balance", "Turbo", and "Manual".

 

But Kurio, you said 4 options and then listed 5! Well that's because "Manual" does absolutely nothing but pester you with and overclock warranty prompt for the GPU every time you change a setting and hit apply. The only way to make it run quietly is to put it in "Silent" which drops your clock speeds to 1.4Ghz. This mode is completely acceptable for everyday tasks and then some, but Balanced mode which gives you the majority of your horsepower back also let's the fans do whatever they want, where Turbo just cranks them. Choosing the "Windows" mode allows you to just adjust your regular power options through Windows, but still no fan Control.

 

Linus said it games quietly, but unless I have a defective product, that isn't true at all. The thin fans in here get loud because they spin at something like 6000-7000 RPM. On top of that, he didn't even mention the exhaust solution on her. What looks like a speaker grill between the keyboard and screen is actually air vents that pull air in. There is another on the underside, then one exhaust out the back in the WSAD side of the laptop and then one OUT OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAPTOP. Yup! You know that spot that you're going to out your mouse? Yeah, that spot becomes pretty freaking toasty.

[imcaspar]

I think the title is misrepresenting the video content.

 

There is a Laptop which is slower than intels offerings and also cheaper and has ok battery life because the chip doesn't need much power.

 

How is AMD crushing Intel in Laptops then?

[AlexTheGreatish]

4 hours ago, Ballien2 said:

I've sen another review of this laptop and they were saying the color accuracy is really poor and overall screen quality, yet LTT says its not bad? Not sure who to believe.

I think we said the colours were okay, but for gaming at this price point it's pretty good with the 120Hz refresh rate.

32 minutes ago, KurioHonoo said:

Linus said it games quietly, but unless I have a defective product, that isn't true at all. The thin fans in here get loud because they spin at something like 6000-7000 RPM. On top of that, he didn't even mention the exhaust solution on her. What looks like a speaker grill between the keyboard and screen is actually air vents that pull air in. There is another on the underside, then one exhaust out the back in the WSAD side of the laptop and then one OUT OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAPTOP. Yup! You know that spot that you're going to out your mouse? Yeah, that spot becomes pretty freaking toasty.

The exhaust on the right has some little guides so the air goes away from the laptop (towards the back) instead of to the right and I didn't have any troubles with my hand getting hot, might just be different hand positioning.

[SupaKomputa]

14 hours ago, poochyena said:

Linus, no one cares about a laptop webcam in 2019. If we need a camera, we use our phone. I'd rather the thinner bezel and lower cost.

Who still video chat with their laptop???

I'm fine really with laptop not having a camera, waste of space.

I'd rather have tiny bezel and no camera. thank you...

[DrMacintosh]

I want to see more extremely low power mobile CPUs from AMD. I want to see what AMD can do with a 15W TDP, especially because of the GPU requirements. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

20 hours ago, RejZoR said:

I recently grabbed a cheap HP laptop with Ryzen 5 2500U, 8GB RAM (2666MHz in actual dual channel which is really neat) and 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD for under 480€. It might not be king of the hill, but it's way better than any Core i3 Intel can offer. At lower price.

I got an ASUS Vivobook with the same specification for £363.99 refurb.  Apart from them completely failing to plug the WiFi antennas in properly (since upgraded to an Intel AX200 card anyway), its such a shame AMD gimped it as the GPU downclocks at 74C which is really sad when you suddenly go from smooth 60fps to judder-fest.

I don't regret buying it though, its more practical to carry around than a full gaming laptop and it least can handle Pinball Arcade or other lighter games.  Just a real shame that initially it runs games better than it does after 10 minutes or so.

Although I later picked up an ASUS ROG Strix GL703GS for £1399.99 which I can't help thinking is a better buy than the Ryzen reviewed here.  It might be quite chunky and heavy, but as it has mini DisplayPort it can run the Oculus Rift S which the Ryzen cannot.  Also due to being last-years model, I get a great CPU without the premium Linus describes.

 

It might be a touch slower on the GPU (okay more than a touch, up to 40% I think on some games) with only a GTX 1060, but I'm not sure I agree that the Ryzen won't be a bottleneck on a 1660 Ti Max-Q.  With the new consoles due soon, I can see multi-threading becoming much more important.  That could end up being half the CPU power of the new console yet more powerful on the GPU (ignoring raytracing of course), not exactly balanced then.

[AlexTheGreatish]

35 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

 It might be quite chunky and heavy, but as it has mini DisplayPort it can run the Oculus Rift S which the Ryzen cannot.  Also due to being last-years model, I get a great CPU without the premium Linus describes.

The Type C connector on the GA502 has DisplayPort 1.4 functionality so the Rift S should work fine.

 

Although the CPU will be the bottleneck when targeting higher refresh rates, in anything modern I highly doubt it would be enough of a problem to drop the 1660Ti down to 1060 performance.