# Wrong laptop specs or something with GPU-Z?



## P4-630 (Jul 22, 2015)

My mom received her new asus laptop yesterday: Asus R557LD-XX886H
The system specs in the webshops here say it has a Geforce 820M *2*GB GDDR 3.

I've checked it with GPU-Z today and I see that it only has 1GB GDDR3 
Is it a mistake from the webshops here or GPU-Z?


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## Caring1 (Jul 22, 2015)

The webshop must have the wrong spec listed for the GPU.
Most sites list it as an 820.
http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/276182/asus-r557ld-xx886h/specificaties


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## dorsetknob (Jul 22, 2015)

as above
*Features of the Asus Laptop R557LD-XX886H *



15.6 inch 1600 x 900 HD display

Intel Core i5-4210U 1.7GHz processor

4 GB RAM

500 GB hard drive

Nvidia GeForce GT820M 1024 mb graphics card

Including Windows 8.1 64-bit
recheck the Specs from where it was ordred / supplied from to confirm you got what was ordered and supplied   Specs may vary from country to country


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## animal007uk (Jul 22, 2015)

It depends where you look, i see different configs depending on what site i visit.


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## P4-630 (Jul 22, 2015)

We bought it from here:

https://www.4launch.nl/shop/product...557LD-XX886H-15-6---4210U--500GB/hardwareinfo

Ok the 920M was my fault, I meant 820M but on the webshop they say 2GB GDDR3 and it is actually 1GB GDDR3

Edit: I have contacted the webshop sent them the screenshot and waiting for a reply.


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## dorsetknob (Jul 22, 2015)

confirmed web page says
NVIDIA GeForce 820M 2 GB GDDR3 

check with other diagnostic software if other software confirms GPUz then contact customer support


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## P4-630 (Jul 22, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> confirmed web page says
> NVIDIA GeForce 820M 2 GB GDDR3
> 
> check with other diagnostic software if other software confirms GPUz then contact customer support



I checked it with speccy and it also reports 1024MB, not 2GB.
I already have contacted the webshop, so I'll have to wait for reply now.


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## dorsetknob (Jul 22, 2015)

If other software and the supplier confirm it was supplied with 1024m Mem and the web site says what it does ie 2048 m  then you can ask for a refund or re negotiate the price based on their error
as you ordered it based on their published Spec ( and presumably paid   hope it was via Credit card for extra consumer protection ).


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## dorsetknob (Jul 22, 2015)

Heeft u een fout in de productspecificaties gevonden? Meld deze dan aan ons

found that on the web page 
Translate as 
Did you notice an error in the product specifications found? Please report this to us 

should not effect your consumer rights


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## P4-630 (Jul 22, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> Heeft u een fout in de productspecificaties gevonden? Meld deze dan aan ons
> 
> found that on the web page
> Translate as
> ...



First I saw this laptop on http://www.mediamarkt.nl/mcs/product/_ASUS-R557LD-XX886H,10259,512030,2167191.html?langId=-11 
I was too late to order there (it was cheaper at this shop)  but as you can see they also advertised it with 2GB GDDR3


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## P4-630 (Jul 23, 2015)

So I received a reply today, they contacted Asus about the videocard specs and it was indeed a 820M *1*GB, they gave us 2 choices:
We could RMA the laptop and pick another model from their webshop (unfortunately there is not much choice in this price category, they all have about the same specs or even a lower end i3 processor while we now have an i5U), or we could send the laptop so they also could "repair" the optimus problem which it had, it won't run games with the dedicated card. I talked with my mom about this and she said she does not want to send the laptop to them, because she's afraid how it will return (dirty/slightly damaged/scratches), or is she over worried? We don't have experience with repair at this company. Now instead we asked them for a small financial compensation. Waiting their next reply now....


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## dorsetknob (Jul 23, 2015)

Not sure of consumer law in your location but you should also have the option of


P4-630 said:


> 2 choices:
> We could RMA the laptop and pick another model from their webshop (unfortunately there is not much choice in this price category, they all have about the same specs or even a lower end i3 processor while we now have an i5U), or we could send the laptop so they also could "repair" the optimus problem which it had, it won't run games with the dedicated card.



You Can ask( INSIST ) for a Full Refund as the goods supplied do not match the description of the goods ordered and there is also the proviso that they also are Defective
re 


P4-630 said:


> "repair" the optimus problem which it had, it won't run games with the dedicated card.


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## CJCerny (Jul 23, 2015)

If the laptop won't run games on the 820M for some reason, seems like you would want to repair or replace it. It's probably just a driver issue, but games should run on the 820M on the laptop's factory image if you configure Optimus to do so.

Personally, I think the whole Optimus switching graphics thing is asking too much of your mother. I would have bought a laptop with only IGP, either AMD or Intel.


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## P4-630 (Jul 23, 2015)

CJCerny said:


> If the laptop won't run games on the 820M for some reason, seems like you would want to repair or replace it. It's probably just a driver issue, but games should run on the 820M on the laptop's factory image if you configure Optimus to do so.
> 
> Personally, I think the whole Optimus switching graphics thing is asking too much of your mother. I would have bought a laptop with only IGP, either AMD or Intel.



I got the card working on the desktop when I installed the gta v driver, so I know it's not defective, but for some reason it would not run with games.
I tried youtube but the videos would not play for some reason, so I did a system restore to revert back to the previous drivers and youtube videos would play again, just the card won't work with games. The IGP does run almost all her games except for 2 popcap flash(!) games (venice de luxe and another "hammering" game), lag and not smooth. (weird, because even my low spec old netbook can play these 2 games smooth!)
She said she likes the laptop, and she's happy with it , she wants me to leave it as is.
As you said, it's probably a driver issue, and my mom may upgrade to windows 10 this year, hope it works after the w10 upgrade with the right drivers.

Edit: At 549 Euro the choices are mostly with only igp, so I thought it's nice that this one comes with dedicated graphics as well.


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## P4-630 (Aug 1, 2015)

The laptop was advertised as 820M 2GB, they tested the GPU/Optimus and it seemed to work fine they said, the 820M just does not work for the games my mom plays.
Now we have the choice to keep this laptop or we could pick another laptop from their shop.

Our current laptop comes with:
i5-4210U Dual-Core (2.70 GHz turbo) processor
GeForce 820M 1GB
4GB ram
500GB HDD 5400rpm
15.6" WXGA LED, resolution 1366 x 768
802.11 b/g/n.

Now I found another laptop at their shop for just 60 Euros more:
Asus R557LD-XX886H which comes with:
i3-4030U Dual-Core (1.90 GHz)
Intel HD 4400
4GB ram
128GB SSD
15.6" WUXGA LED resolution 1920 x 1080
802.11 b/g/n/ac.
Now this laptop comes with a slower CPU than our current laptop(specs above), 
I think the SSD will make up for this and think it would be faster/snappier then the one we have now, even though it comes with a slower processor?
My mom does not need a lot of harddisk space, we can use external drives. Your thoughts please, thanks!


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## R-T-B (Aug 1, 2015)

The 820M will probably outperform that HD 4400 integrated GPU in games...


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## P4-630 (Aug 1, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> The 820M will probably outperform that HD 4400 integrated GPU in games...



The HD 4400 scores 545 in passmark: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4400
And the GeForce 820M scores 572 in passmark: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+820M

So there is not a big of a diffence in this test

But my question was actually, does this SSD compensate for the slower processor?


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 1, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> The 820M will probably outperform that HD 4400 integrated GPU in games...


it will


P4-630 said:


> The HD 4400 scores 545 in passmark: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4400
> And the GeForce 820M scores 572 in passmark: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+820M
> 
> So there is not a big of a diffence in this test


Passmark is passmark ... a game is a game

*"Performance*

In our gaming benchmarks, the 3D performance of the GeForce 820M is similar to the former GT 720M and the Intel Iris Graphics 5100. This places the card in the entry level segment. Current games (as of 2013/2014) will run fluently only in low settings and resolutions."

they talk about a Iris Graphics 5100 (which is already higher than a HD Graphics 4400 ) i have a laptop with a i5-5200U and HD Graphics 5500 gaming performance wise it's above the second you did find (436chf ) tho even a GT720/820M would outperfom it. the i3 speed is 1.9 and a SSD will likely not make up for a slower processor ... i tried 3 different storage on my laptop, the stock 500gb 5.4K, a 500gb 7.2K and a 60gb SSD the only thing that is faster with a SSD is boot and load time.

and paying 60$ more (or just paying more) for a i3 with HDG over a i5 with dedicated Gpu is nonsense

also

3DMark Ice Storm GPU 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

3. Low-Midrange Graphics Cards
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

Intel Iris Graphics 6100 Broadwell 48 300 1100 64/128 11.2 errata, wrong IG6100 over 5100 xD
IS:89341
CG:7894
Intel HD Graphics 5500 Broadwell 24 300 950 64/128 11.2
IS:59263
CG:5532
Intel HD Graphics 4400 Haswell 20 200 1100 64/128 11.1
IS:37082
CG:4912

Iris Graphics 5100:
Intel Iris Graphics 5100 Haswell 40 200 1200 64/128 11.1 (the GT820 is here, mea culpa)
IS:71489
CG:6943.5


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## R-T-B (Aug 1, 2015)

He's likely paying for the upped screen res, which'll only hurt performance more, ironically...


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## P4-630 (Aug 2, 2015)

R-T-B said:


> He's likely paying for the upped screen res, which'll only hurt performance more, ironically...



My mom plays Popcap games, Toki Tori and Toki Tori 2 ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/38700/ ), 
the laptop with the i5 had optimus but the dedicated card was not used for these games she plays.
The laptop with i5 processor has the same HD 4400 graphics as the i3.


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 2, 2015)

P4-630 said:


> My mom plays Popcap games, Toki Tori and Toki Tori 2 ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/38700/ ),
> the laptop with the i5 had optimus but the dedicated card was not used for these games she plays.
> The laptop with i5 processor has the same HD 4400 graphics as the i3.


you can find nowaday some cheap i5 laptop with Broadwell-U instead of Haswell ( the main advantage is : lower tdp and beefed up igp)

the Dell Vostro 15 3549 i use is a good example: the only competitor in his price range were craptop with i3/atom/Celeron/pentium and did only cost 451.14$ where i am (actual currency conversion)

also if the have the same igp and you pay 60$ more for the i3 over the i5 then it's lkely like R-T-B said : you pay for a 1080p screen and it make you igp even weaker (in the end the HD4400 in the i5 will be stronger due to the 768p res despite being the same igp )

ie: my Vostro HD5500 does fine for light gaming, on the 15" in 768p but on my 32" TV on 1080p the performance take a huge hit.


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## P4-630 (Aug 2, 2015)

GreiverBlade said:


> you can find nowaday some cheap i5 laptop with Broadwell-U instead of Haswell ( the main advantage is : lower tdp and beefed up igp)
> 
> the Dell Vostro 15 3549 i use is a good example: the only competitor in his price range were craptop with i3/atom/Celeron/pentium and did only cost 451.14$ where i am (actual currency conversion)
> 
> ...



Would you think that the Popcap games (Zuma, Frenzy, the Zombies and such) be unplayable then on 1080p with HD 4400?
You can't even select a resolution with these games I think.


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 2, 2015)

P4-630 said:


> Would you think that the Popcap games (Zuma, Frenzy, the Zombies and such) be unplayable then on 1080p with HD 4400?
> You can't even select a resolution with these games I think.


well ... maybe they would be fine (since i can play FFXIV HW on my Vostro all to minimum ofc and 1080p is slower than windowed 768p indeed, tho i didn't bought that laptop toplay on a 32"TV even if it helps for DVD or youtube  since i have no ODD on my main rig ) but i always get the optimal resolution is 1366x768 on my HD5500 when i use 1080p on my TV  
if the HD4400 can play them at 1080p then no point to pay 60$ more (again), just keep the current one even if it run on the igp @ 768p instead of dGPU


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## P4-630 (Aug 2, 2015)

GreiverBlade said:


> well ... maybe they would be fine (since i can play FFXIV HW on my Vostro all to minimum ofc and 1080p is slower than windowed 768p indeed, tho i didn't bought that laptop toplay on a 32"TV even if it helps for DVD or youtube  since i have no ODD on my main rig ) but i always get the optimal resolution is 1366x768 on my HD5500 when i use 1080p on my TV
> if the HD4400 can play them at 1080p then no point to pay 60$ more (again), just keep the current one even if it run on the igp @ 768p instead of dGPU



The one we have now with Geforce 820M comes with 768p screen,
the one for +60 Euros has 1080p screen, SSD, ac wifi and aluminium palm rest, just without dedicated graphics, and the CPU is a bit slower.
My mom uses it mostly for email/ web browsing/ watching youtube videos, sometimes playing games, so I thought 1080p is nice and SSD.


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## Naki (Aug 3, 2015)

An SSD will make a great difference, so go with a laptop with one.


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 3, 2015)

Naki said:


> An SSD will make a great difference, so go with a laptop with one.


not really... at last for a i3. and it's not worth the difference to have a SSD and a i3 or a HDD and a i5, trust me i went from HDD to SSD to HDD again, on my laptop, with a i5, yes boot time and loading was faster but: that's all, it didn't make it snapier or or faster for anything else in a day to day use. (personnal experience)

and 128 versus 500gb even 5.4k rpm, not really worth it (again) ofc a external HDD is possible as the op said but ... it's always better to have one extra less if (maybe) one day you take the laptop for a trip (one mobile piece less to loose) tho i also do like that (and with some 64/32 gb USB3.0 thumbdrive)

curently writing on it with the 5.4k rpm drive (as i wrote i even tried a 7,2k rpm one ... who is in a external USB 3.0 enclosure and serve me as Steam library  until i get a slim ODD to 2.5 adapter  )


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## Naki (Aug 3, 2015)

I have a very old Intel Core i3 CPU (1st gen) and the difference is remarkable.

I do have 8 GB RAM on my laptop, however.
I removed the laptop's optical drive, which I rarely use anyway, and added a HDD caddy, so my Acer Aspire laptop has both an SSD+HDD now.
I will never again use any computer with no SSD. 

Also, Popcap games will load much faster from SSD - I know, as I have played a lot of Plants vs Zombies for PC myself.


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## P4-630 (Aug 3, 2015)

Naki said:


> I have a very old Intel Core i3 CPU (1st gen) and the difference is remarkable.
> 
> I do have 8 GB RAM on my laptop, however.
> I removed the laptop's optical drive, which I rarely use anyway, and added a HDD caddy, so my Acer Aspire laptop has both an SSD+HDD now.
> ...



Do you have a 1080p screen and using intel HD graphics on your laptop?


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 3, 2015)

Naki said:


> I have a very old Intel Core i3 CPU (1st gen) and the difference is remarkable.
> 
> I do have 8 GB RAM on my laptop, however.
> I removed the laptop's optical drive, which I rarely use anyway, and added a HDD caddy, so my Acer Aspire laptop has both an SSD+HDD now.
> ...


yes they load faster .... it's exactly what i said, but we are talking of a i3 versus i5 on HD Graphics 4400 and 768p for the i5, 1080p for the i3 
ergo you get a slower CPU fasted OS drive but the igp will be under a heavier load due to the resolution. still not a fair trade if i might say so.


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## Naki (Aug 3, 2015)

P4-630 said:


> Do you have a 1080p screen and using intel HD graphics on your laptop?


No, my laptop's screen is somewhat lower-res - 1600x900 (17.3"). And videocard is not Intel, but AMD Radeon HD5650M (quite slow for demanding or even medium-demanding games, but OK for smaller/less demanding ones).

Anyway, my Acer Aspire laptop is quite old, purchased around August 2010. 
So it does not quite compare to current (2014/2015) models.


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## GreiverBlade (Aug 3, 2015)

Naki said:


> AMD Radeon HD5650M


which is on the level of the HD Graphics 5500, and quite above the HD Graphics 4400 (just a bit lower than a Iris Graphics 5100 or GT820M)

Ice storm  and Cloud gate:
IS: min: 54809  avg: 54809 (7%) median: 54809 (7%) max: 54809 Points
CG: min: 6036  avg: 6036 (5%) median: 6036 (5%) max: 6036 Points



GreiverBlade said:


> 3DMark Ice Storm GPU 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU
> 
> 3. Low-Midrange Graphics Cards
> Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
> ...


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## P4-630 (Aug 3, 2015)

The system requirements for the games I can find are these:
https://support.humblebundle.com/hc/en-us/articles/202730970-PopCap-Games-System-Requirements

and for plants vs zombies:

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: 1.2GHz+ processor
Memory: 1GB of RAM
Graphics: 128MB of video memory, 16-bit or 32-bit color quality
DirectX: DirectX 8 or later
Hard Drive: 65+MB of free hard drive space
Sound: DirectX-compatible sound
They don't mention a graphics card

I think that PopCap games run on just about any recent system


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## P4-630 (Aug 6, 2015)

We got our previous laptop replaced for another model, a laptop with SSD, i3 1.9Ghz processor and 1080p display.
My mom is happy with the speed and the full HD screen, also her games work fine.


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## Naki (Aug 7, 2015)

P4-630 said:


> We got our previous laptop replaced for another model, a laptop with SSD, i3 1.9Ghz processor and 1080p display.
> My mom is happy with the speed and the full HD screen, also her games work fine.


Great! Thanks for the heads-up.


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