HP ProBook :: What's Your Opinion?

[TopHatProductions115]

Hello there! I don't like to waste time, so I'll cut to the chase (no introductions). I'm currently using a laptop of the following specifications:

 

Model :: HP ProBook 6475b

_CPU :: AMD A4-4300M

_GPU :: AMD Radeon HD 7420G

_RAM :: 8GB DDR3 (dual-channel config - 2x4GB)

_HDD :: WDC WD50 2.5 inch HDD (SATA 3, 500GB)

_SSD :: N/a

_Othr :: Expresscard expansion bay; Optical drive; Fingerprint reader; Windows 10 Pro; Socket FS1r2 (not BGA)

 

This laptop is a bit dated, but I've actually managed to run some games at above 30 FPS. As of recent, I have been thinking of doing two things in particular:
 

• Upgrading the APU to an AMD A10 model
• Utilizing the expansion bay (which I have tested with eGPU) with a screen capture card (ex., El Gato)

 

However, I want your opinion on this system as a whole before making a decision. What are this laptop's strengths, its weaknesses, its pros and cons, etc. I want to know what you would use this system for, and why. I've been using it for school and lightweight video-gaming (no screen recording, no live-streaming). 

[Droidbot]

How much would you spend upgrading it?

[dragoon20005]

even if you can upgrade the APU to the A10 chip

 

the price of the APU on the market will cost as much as the laptop by itself

 

it prob not worth the money to upgrade the laptop

 

if you need a mid range laptop

 

look at the Acer 15 inch laptop running Intel CPU and the GTX1050 GPU

[TopHatProductions115]

9 hours ago, Droidbot said:

How much would you spend upgrading it?

I got the laptop itself for a reduced price of 65 USD (on eBay). Usually, this laptop would cost over 100 USD, and come with less RAM/HDD than what I got (and Windows 10 Home Edition). The CPU upgrade will cost around 40-50 USD at most.

[TopHatProductions115]

9 hours ago, dragoon20005 said:

even if you can upgrade the APU to the A10 chip

 

the price of the APU on the market will cost as much as the laptop by itself

 

it prob not worth the money to upgrade the laptop

 

if you need a mid range laptop

 

look at the Acer 15 inch laptop running Intel CPU and the GTX1050 GPU

The laptop itself came to me at a reduced (sale) cost, so you're right in this case. But not for the normal case. I rechecked the prices on a regular basis, and its minimum asking price (with reduced RAM/HDD/OS Edition and missing components) is usually around 110 USD. If you try looking for what I have specifically, It will cost around 150 USD on average (even with some components missing). Mine came with all components, so I was fortunate.

[TopHatProductions115]

During my recent free-time, I decided to compare the fastest CPU available for my current laptop with other A10 APUs (up to Zen - not including). This was to give me an idea of what I would be dealing with if I did choose to upgrade sooner, rather than later (waiting for Ryzen Mobile). It looks like I'm deciding between a new APU (FS1r2) and a new laptop (BGA) at this point. Here is a rough idea of the timeline for my research:

 

• The best (for my current laptop) vs one from the next core generation.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/158/AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_A10-5750M_vs_AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_A10-7400P.html

 

vs.

 

• A top-tier A10 from each generation and/or year leading into 2016 (excluding Ryzen Mobile)

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare_CPUs/AMD_A10-9620P,AMD_AM735BECH44JA,AMD_AM870BAAY43KA,AMD_AM973BAEY44AB/

 

• next, an elimination round, for core clocks and GPU technologies

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare_CPUs/AMD_A10-9620P,AMD_AM870BAAY43KA,AMD_AM973BAEY44AB/?

 

• then came the memory bandwidth elimination round;

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare_CPUs/AMD_AM870BAAY43KA,AMD_AM973BAEY44AB/?

 

• switching POV on the previous comparison,

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/685/AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_PRO_A10-8700B_vs_AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_PRO_A10-9730B.html

 

• now, I've arrived at this set of two comparisons;

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/158/AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_A10-5750M_vs_AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_A10-7400P.html

 

vs.

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/685/AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_PRO_A10-8700B_vs_AMD_A10-Series_for_Notebooks_PRO_A10-9730B.html

 

 

Should I go any further? I'm thinking that if money wasn't an issue, I would go for Ryzen Mobile (AM4) next year. But, tight budget holds me to the previous gen(s). What should I go for? All generations after my laptop went BGA, which means no possible upgrade upon purchase  On top of all that, Intel+AMD partnership will result in newer chips as well (Intel CPU cores with AMD GPU cores). Should I be looking forward to that instead?

 

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/6/16612048/intel-amd-partnership-nvidia-laptop-chip

 

 

[Droidbot]

why are you only considering AMD? Just a question. You could probably pick up a T420 and a quad or a T430 and a quad for around $200US 

[TopHatProductions115]

41 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

why are you only considering AMD? Just a question. You could probably pick up a T420 and a quad or a T430 and a quad for around $200US 

I understand some of the reasons for bringing up the Lenovo ThinkPad (T420/T430) series. The build quality is superb at the mentioned price point. The specs also look pretty well-balanced at a glance. However, there are a few nitpicks that could be had with both models. Starting with the T420:

• No USB 3.0 Type A ports
• Strange (not standard web cam)
• includes VGA, at the expense of better port option (ie., DVI)

I'm willing to overlook the web cam, since I don't use web cams much on laptops (I have a tablet for that purpose). I'm also quite happy with the inclusion of DisplayPort  But, the inclusion of a VGA port is simply out-of-place on a business-class machine of this caliber, and should have been replaced with a more modern alternative (legacy port either way). But, I'll consider this with a grain of salt, seeing that my laptop's manufacturer pulled that same move - bleh   Now for the T430:

• the screen is considered to be a bit dark, and the resolution is lower than its predecessor 
• I've dealt with this type of keyboard before on my mother's laptop. It kills me when attempting to type.

In terms of the good, both the T420 and T430 have I/O (ports) that seems decent overall (aside from the T420's lack of USB 3.0). They meet and (in some cases) exceed what I'm used to having in a laptop. However, the applause ends when I consider graphical performance. Intel integrated graphics were something I always disliked (especially on MacBooks and high-end business laptops). Whether it's GMA or HD, Intel's integrated options are not something I'm willing to use on a regular basis. If there's an nVidia option available, I'll consider it - although it will most likely be an m-Series NVS GPU. In contrast, the ProBook I currently have has a slightly better GPU offering at that, so no clear winner in this category. The ThinkPad also has battery life in its corner.

 

The age an price point are also things that make me second-guess this option. Still, I'll consider them.

Edited November 23, 2017 by TopHatProductions115

[Droidbot]

1 hour ago, TopHatProductions115 said:

I understand some of the reasons for bringing up the Lenovo ThinkPad (T420/T430) series. The build quality is superb at the mentioned price point. The specs also look pretty well-balanced at a glance. However, there are a few nitpicks that could be had with both models. Starting with the T420:

• No USB 3.0 Type A ports
• Strange (not standard web cam)
• includes VGA, at the expense of better port option (ie., DVI)

I'm willing to overlook the web cam, since I don't use web cams much on laptops (I have a tablet for that purpose). I'm also quite happy with the inclusion of DisplayPort  But, the inclusion of a VGA port is simply out-of-place on a business-class machine of this caliber, and should have been replaced with a more modern alternative (legacy port either way). But, I'll consider this with a grain of salt, seeing that my laptop's manufacturer pulled that same move - bleh   Now for the T430:

• the screen is considered to be a bit dark, and the resolution is lower than its predecessor 
• I've dealt with this type of keyboard before on my mother's laptop. It kills me when attempting to type.

In terms of the good, both the T420 and T430 have I/O (ports) that seems decent overall (aside from the T420's lack of USB 3.0). They meet and (in some cases) exceed what I'm used to having in a laptop. However, the applause ends when I consider graphical performance. Intel integrated graphics were something I always disliked (especially on MacBooks and high-end business laptops). Whether it's GMA or HD, Intel's integrated options are not something I'm willing to use on a regular basis. If there's an nVidia option available, I'll consider it - although it will most likely be an m-Series NVS GPU. In contrast, the ProBook I currently have has a slightly better GPU offering at that, so no clear winner in this category. The ThinkPad also has battery life in its corner.

 

The age an price point are also things that make me second-guess this option. Still, I'll consider them.

VGA is on most business laptops, because projectors. It makes sense for the target audience to include one. 

 

You can mod the T430 with the T420 keyboard, and it's quite easy. The HD4000 in the T430 is quite fast (all things considered) and I've even ran GTAV on mine at 20-30FPS on the lowest settings. The Nvidia card that you can get includes a beefier heatsink and it's an NVS chip yeah. Fermi. 

 

With the T420 KB on the T430 there is some caveats, and you need to flash the firmware for the board and do some basic modding to it (read here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Classic_Keyboard_on_xx30_Series_ThinkPads) 

 

You can also mod it with the 1600x900 Alienware/X1Carbon v1 screen which is quite comfy all things considered, it's a bright TN which is leagues above anything found on the T430/20 usually.

 

[TopHatProductions115]

5 hours ago, Droidbot said:

VGA is on most business laptops, because projectors. It makes sense for the target audience to include one. 

 

You can mod the T430 with the T420 keyboard, and it's quite easy. The HD4000 in the T430 is quite fast (all things considered) and I've even ran GTAV on mine at 20-30FPS on the lowest settings. The Nvidia card that you can get includes a beefier heatsink and it's an NVS chip yeah. Fermi. 

 

With the T420 KB on the T430 there is some caveats, and you need to flash the firmware for the board and do some basic modding to it (read here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Classic_Keyboard_on_xx30_Series_ThinkPads) 

 

You can also mod it with the 1600x900 Alienware/X1Carbon v1 screen which is quite comfy all things considered, it's a bright TN which is leagues above anything found on the T430/20 usually.

 

So, I should get a ThinkPad T430 laptop (with nVidia NVS config), a T420 keyboard, a 1600x900 Alienware/X1Carbon v1 panel, and mod it all together to make a better budget business laptop? This would be a ThinkPad project, which does sound appealing, but may end up costing around the same as a newer, similarly-spec'd laptop with all things considered. But, I'll still keep this in mind.

[TopHatProductions115]

Okay, I apologize for coming back after such a hiatus from this particular thread. But, from what I left on the OP (and subsequent posts), it was apparent that this is intended to be a long-term discussion. I also don't think that you the watchers would be too flattered if I left you without an update on the current situation - so here it is...

 

I've come back after a bit of fundraising effort (primarily through eBay and Amazon). With almost 100 USD expected in the PayPal (by the end of the week - still have to ship an item), I'm still tight in terms of budget. Due to a generous Christmas donation (grandparents are a Godsend), Amazon had 100 USD allotted to it as well (through a gift card). While it was nice to have something to work with, nothing I was looking for could be gotten for under 100 (or even 200) USD. 

• AMD A10-5750M (same as it was when I checked last summer)
• Lenovo Thinkpad T420 (starting at ~175 USD by itself, with 4GB RAM)
• Lenovo Thinkpad T430 (starting at ~200 USD, with 4GB RAM)

And at the low end, it's pretty likely that the laptops are shipping with Intel GPUs instead of nVIDIA based.

 

With this, it is easy to see that going anywhere near Amazon (for just a base-config laptop) would quickly drain my current budget - which is a problem. Because, everything I've shown at the starting price is in need of at least one upgrade or another (faster system drive, more RAM, Windows 10 Pro instead of Home, etc.). In addition to that, I haven't even accounted for shipping yet. My budget has to account for all parts - including any upgrades I buy (and shipping). At this point, I also know that it looks like I could have simply spent (almost) the entirety of the gift card on the AMD APU and then went at the Lenovo modding project with my eBay funds. Firstly, good listening - people like you are good  But, not quite good enough - I mentioned that the funds would be there "by the end of the week". They were acquired after the turn of the New Year. Also, that could have been a thing if some jerk at my college hadn't stolen my smartphone right before Christmas break  

 

So, I gave up on Amazon, and the 100 USD gift card went into getting me a smartphone replacement instead (the budget grows ever smaller). Le me sobbing over spent funds...

 

But, with almost 100 USD not being nearly as tight as I was before then (with next to nothing ~50 USD). I wanted to wait on the decision, because I also knew that, on eBay (more forgiving on my wallet), prices could change on a dime for some parts. And with that, I can say for certain, they have. Here are where prices stand currently for all parts we've considered.

• The price of the AMD A10-5750M has dropped recently from ~75 USD to just around 50 USD (on average)
• The base price of the Lenovo Thinkpad T420 (and its variants) has remained below 150 USD
• The base price of the Lenovo Thinkpad T430 (and its variants) has remained at ~150 USD

However, I think you can see the issue. My budget is around 100 USD, and any substantial purchases (ie., for a completely different laptop) would go over 100 USD unless I enlist myself in the eBay army and go to bidding war. As such, at looks as though I will be simply purchasing the CPU upgrade for now. but, that doesn't mean that I won't go for the Lenovo modding project in the future. I just need to sell more items on eBay to get the funds. And that's not a huge stretch by any means  

 

Decision (for now) :: Buy the AMD A10-5750M