Lenovo announces new laptops with AMD GPUs.... and there's a twist

[DocSwag]

Sources: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3035263/hardware/with-the-flex-4-lenovo-unites-intel-core-i7-and-amd-graphics-in-a-360-degree-laptop.html and http://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-400-series-gpus-start-selling-april/

Many of you may have seen the new laptops Lenovo announced at MWC.

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CPUs start with a Pentium for the 14-inch model and go up to a core i7 on the 15-inch model. The bigger chip news, however, is the AMD discrete graphics option: You can get up to a Radeon M5 430 on the 14-inch model, and a Radeon R7 M460 on the 15-inch model.

However, if you were careful you may have noticed that the GPUs are the m5 430 and the r7 m460.

Wait, those are the 400 series! Not the 300 series. And those aren't out yet!

Yup, it seems like Polaris GPUs are gonna be in these laptops. But Polaris isn't even released yet!

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Sadly we don’t have detailed specifications for these 400 series graphics cards just yet, except that they will feature 2GB of video memory. These could very well be the Radeon 400 series GPUs code named “Weston” and “Banks” that we’ve recently discovered in the Zauba shipping database. Right now we’re stuck with these code names and really don’t know much beyond in terms of specifications or performance. However, if these GPUs are indeed going to ship beginning this April it shouldn’t be too long before all of that information is made available to us.

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-400-series-gpus-start-selling-april/#ixzz40ufG9M9a

Unfortunately more details about the upcoming GPUs in the laptops aren't available.

These laptops will be shipping in July though.

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Available starting in July, the Flex 4’s 11-inch models will start at $599. Bigger models with 14-inch displays will start at $699.

Chances are Polaris will be unveiled before then. Perhaps it will be out as early as April!

It seems AMD is quite a bit ahead of Nvidia if laptops with em are already coming!

[ShadowCaptain]

a 430 still sounds low end

[Starelementpoke]

10 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

a 430 still sounds low end

Still new though.

[ShadowCaptain]

Just now, Starelementpoke said:

Still new though.

still not exciting though 

[Starelementpoke]

Just now, ShadowCaptain said:

still not exciting though 

Fair enough.

[Maslofski]

11 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

a 430 still sounds low end

the lowest newest of the low

[UnknownEngineer]

Could be re-brands IMO.

[DocSwag]

25 minutes ago, UnknownEngineer said:

Could be re-brands IMO.

I really doubt it....

[UnknownEngineer]

Just now, DocSwag said:

I really doubt it....

Wouldn't be the first time laptop cards have been given the same names as newer cards. Nvidia did this with the 800 series IIRC.

 

[N3v3r3nding_Newb]

1 hour ago, ShadowCaptain said:

a 430 still sounds low end

It doesn't matter.  It still shows that Polaris is coming... soon!  I also doubt that they'd release a low-end product without releasing a high-end either beforehand or following very, very closely on the low-end's heels.

[Trixanity]

2 minutes ago, UnknownEngineer said:

Wouldn't be the first time laptop cards have been given the same names as newer cards. Nvidia did this with the 800 series IIRC.

 

Yup and AMD did it with the 8000 series. 

 

These are bound to be rebrands to satisfy OEM release cycles. It's the name of the game. OEMs want to sell something "new" to market to consumers that this year's release is better. 

 

Polaris is aimed squarely at late summer. 

[ShadowCaptain]

Just now, N3v3r3nding_Newb said:

It doesn't matter.  It still shows that Polaris is coming... soon!  I also doubt that they'd release a low-end product without releasing a high-end either beforehand or following very, very closely on the low-end's heels.

Sure but if they are putting a 430 in a cheapo lenovo flex I am not holding my breath for the high end ones being any good either

 

But we shall see I guess

[Matu20]

What if 400 series for notebooks are 300 series rebrands, and Polaris will be the 500 series. Wouldn't be the first time this practise is used.