AMD E2-9000e or Intel Celeron N3350

[RejZoR]

Looking at laptops again, low end ones and I'm wondering something...

Which of these CPU's is more powerful as whole. The dilemma is with quite few things...

E2-9000e is old 28nm, but has a higher base clock and supports more instructions, including both AVX and FMA. It's also from Stoney Ridge range which has single core performance quite optimized compared to old Bulldozers. N3350 is newer 14nm with lower base clock and no support for AVX or FMA. In PassMark, E2 scores significantly higher too despite being older fab and having lower boost clock (rougly 300 points more which is quite significant). E2 is about 100% faster than my current E-450, N3350 is at around 80% faster.

The lack of AVX and FMA instructions is a bit worrying. It's not going to be an encoding factory, but apps use this stuff more and more in general. Lack of support for this on Celeron seems like a big problem and probably reason why it scores so much lower.

Both are passively cooled which is nice (no noise). Price wise they are about the same too, Intel being slightly more expensive. Prices are a bit ridiculous where I live, but I don't want to order laptop from abroad because of keyboards and OS that comes with it (especially Germany). Not in the mood to fiddle with that.

And no, Core i3's are not an option because it's just too expensive for what it'll be used...

 

[silentbogo]

There are trade-offs on both sides.
AMD E1 and E2 APUs die very-very often and have slower I/O (also heat is their biggest problem, even though they are LP), and Celeron N3350 suffers from the same problem as previous dual-core Celeron N models - stuttering on media-rich web pages.

Just last week my cousin bought an ASUS X541NA with N3350 on board (basically an overpriced 15.6" netbook for his father-in-law), and it was OK, but not at all faster than its predecessor N3050.
Windows 10 runs fine, but as soon as you start Chrome w/ 4+ pages, or watch a stream in 1080p, it starts to get annoying.

If I were you, I'd look for laptops with an embedded quad-core Carrizo APU or any quad Pentium N (or Q).
Pricewise they are in the same ballpark, but the performance overall is better and user experience is much smoother.

 

[5DVX0130]

Try to get a N3540 system.
They cost about the same as a N3350, but perform much, much better.

I've got one, and I wouldn't pick anything less than that. While browsing it's occasionally hitting 100% CPU use...
Visit your local Hofer store. Sometimes they have "old" stock Medion laptops for dirt cheap. You might even score an i3, for the same price as a Pentium system.

 

[silentbogo]

BTW, I just looked at my retailer's website, and that stupid ASUS that my cousin bought is $100 more expensive than entry-level Ideapad w/ FHD display, N4200 on board, and even a 128GB SSD....'

 

[IceScreamer]

I currently have a laptop with the N3350, and it's OK, nothing more nothing less. In windows its pretty smooth, but anything more than a couple of Chrome tabs gets a little stuttery.

Also, is there a need for AVX or FMA on such a low end device, do you have a specific need for it?

 

[RejZoR]

I have an option of going "mad" and picking Quad core Pentium N4200, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD and GeForce 810 for 480€. But still, that's 100€ more than what this N3350 is and it's just too much imo. Besides, I'm wasting cash on 256GB SSD which I don't need (128GB is plenty enough). And while that standalone GeForce will most likely last longer with better driver support, I'm not sure I really need it. Sometimes I play basic games on it like Bejeweled 3, Plants vs Zombies, Plague Inc and the likes which should run fine even on Intel IGP.

Got the chance to actually test N3350 one right now. Seems reasonably snappy, in Windows at least. At full load it seems to be running at 2,3GHz which is quite alright considering base is just 1.1GHz and Burst at 2.4GHz. It's basically running at peak clock when both cores are at 100% load for extended periods of time which is pretty nice. Windows is just upgrading and even with that, other things open smoothly which is alright.

 

[5DVX0130]

That would mean the N3350 is 380€. Thought you were in the 200€ range.
You've got some interesting prices.

300-400€ should be able to get you an i3-6006U/4GB/128GB.

 

[RejZoR]

Dream on. This N3350, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD and Windows 10 is 340€ after rebates I can get. Include the Windows to the price, without it, they do come a lot cheaper... And yeah, like I've said, we have some funky prices. Germany has i3's for 350€ with Windows, but I don't want German keyboard and Windows (although that can be changed) coz it's not gonna be just me using it.

Testing Youtube, CPU is pegged at 100% load and 1080p60 video plays perfectly smoothly. 1440p and 4K do lag terribly. But I don't need more than 1080p anyway.

 

[Nokiron]

Dream on. This N3350, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD and Windows 10 is 340€ after rebates I can get. Include the Windows to the price, without it, they do come a lot cheaper... And yeah, like I've said, we have some funky prices. Germany has i3's for 350€ with Windows, but I don't want German keyboard and Windows (although that can be changed) coz it's not gonna be just me using it.

Testing Youtube, CPU is pegged at 100% load and 1080p60 video plays perfectly smoothly. 1440p and 4K do lag terribly. But I don't need more than 1080p anyway.

Have you tried using Edge for Youtube-videos? It handles hardware acceleration much, much better than anything else. 4K ran with no issues when I tested on a N3050.

 

[RejZoR]

I know that. I was testing in Opera. Just not sure why Windows updating to Fall Creators is taking so freaking long. 3 freaking hours! WTF!? Even my crappy E-450 updated it in no time at all. Must be all the stock crap on the laptop...

 

[silentbogo]

That would mean the N3350 is 380€. Thought you were in the 200€ range.
You've got some interesting prices.

300-400€ should be able to get you an i3-6006U/4GB/128GB.

That's nothing. That ASUS X541 I was talking about was nearly 350 Euro. My whole family is bad at asking before spending.

I have an option of going "mad" and picking Quad core Pentium N4200, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD and GeForce 810 for 480€. But still, that's 100€ more than what this N3350 is and it's just too much imo. Besides, I'm wasting cash on 256GB SSD

Look for Lenovo Ideapad 320-15, or Acer Aspire 3. Those are a lot cheaper. Locally I can get one on holiday sale for around €200 w/ normal screen and 500GB HDD, or €250 for a FHD version w/ 128GB SSD (no discrete GPU, though).

 

[RejZoR]

I'm allergic to Lenovo. Had one and don't want to own one ever again. Also, SSD is a must. From the looks of it, E2-9000e is actually more powerful than N3350, despite having lower clock and being made on older 28nm node. Laptop case is a bit more plasticky, but also has more USB ports and having them in better places. Was thinking of pulling on one today, but decided to wait and research it a bit more. So hard to decide when it comes to low end stuff...

 

[silentbogo]

I'm allergic to Lenovo.

Don't worry, the rest are not too far off when it comes to the low-end stuff.
But if you have a choice between Lenovo, ASUS and Acer, go with Acer.
Lenovo is crap, ASUS is even worse crap today, Acer is also crap but at least their keyboards and LCD hinges don't break a week after your warranty expires

 

[cdawall]

A cellphone is faster than both of them.

 

[silentbogo]

A cellphone is faster than both of them.

But it does not run Crysis!

 

[RejZoR]

Sister had ACER with Athlon X2. It's around 9 years old now. Optical drive is dead and rotating volume button too. I had to bake the GeForce 8400M GS in it too. But it still works. I have HP laptop with E-450. Apart from battery which is totally flat now, everything about it still works. And it's like 6 years old. Had Lenovo netbook (S205 I think) which had shit WiFi module, screen died while it was in RMA service which they had to replace while they were fixing the WiFi and later HDD died. All in 1 year timeframe. That's when I decided to never again buy Lenovo. HP, ASUS and ACER are brands I have trust in and had good experience with them.

I've decided to poke foreign stores too and found a gem. A9-9420 (a 3.6GHz boost Stoney Ridge!), 4GB RAM and 256GB SSD and Windows 10 for 380€. Stoney Ridge at such insane clocks should pack more punch than Core i3's. Might look away regarding German keyboard and take it anyway.

 

[newtekie1]

I'm pretty sure the E2-9000e scores higher than the N3350 because of the better iGPU, or at least that is a big part of it.

I know that. I was testing in Opera. Just not sure why Windows updating to Fall Creators is taking so freaking long. 3 freaking hours! WTF!? Even my crappy E-450 updated it in no time at all. Must be all the stock crap on the laptop...

Or they just put a stupidly slow SSD in it. Which wouldn't be surprising since most 128GB class SSDs run noticeably slower these days than the bigger drives because all the NAND channels on the controller aren't being used. Or they could have but an eMMC drive in it and just called it an SSD, I've caught a few laptops coming through my shop labeled as an SSD and it was really eMMC storage, which is really just a SD Card soldered to the motherboard. The write speeds are absolute shit on eMMC drives because they only have a single NAND flash chip.

 

[RejZoR]

No, it's proper 2,5 inch SATA SSD, from Sandisk. Probably not some top end model, but certainly not eMMC. Also, I don't think PassMark cares about GPU part. It's CPU test afaik.

 

[newtekie1]

No, it's proper 2,5 inch SATA SSD, from Sandisk. Probably not some top end model, but certainly not eMMC. Also, I don't think PassMark cares about GPU part. It's CPU test afaik.

Probably one of their DRAM-less pieces of crap that only populate 2 NAND channels, resulting in write speeds barely above HDD speeds.

And Passmark is a "comprehensive" test, it has a 2D and 3D Graphics test, a memory test, and a storage test all roled into the final Passmark score.

 

[cdawall]

Probably one of their DRAM-less pieces of crap that only populate 2 NAND channels, resulting in write speeds barely above HDD speeds.

And Passmark is a "comprehensive" test, it has a 2D and 3D Graphics test, a memory test, and a storage test all roled into the final Passmark score.

It is I can give you the model number for them if curiosity exists. I use them in my mining rigs. Write is like 120mb/s garbage.

 

[newtekie1]

It is I can give you the model number for them if curiosity exists. I use them in my mining rigs. Write is like 120mb/s garbage.

Z400?

 

[cdawall]

Z400?

Z400s everyone always misses that s. The CM871 is the samsung version of the garbage, I have a liteon one as well. The liteon I think was the fastest when I tested them oddly enough.

 

[RejZoR]

Probably one of their DRAM-less pieces of crap that only populate 2 NAND channels, resulting in write speeds barely above HDD speeds.

And Passmark is a "comprehensive" test, it has a 2D and 3D Graphics test, a memory test, and a storage test all roled into the final Passmark score.

Not the single thread score which is a rough indication of where CPU falls with its raw performance.

I think I'm gonna opt for that Stoney Ridge A9 APU after all. It may be older 28nm node, but that doesn't mean it's bad by any means. It's clocked really high, has raw IPC performance comparable to Intel's recent budget 14nm offerings, has all the instructions available at hand and sports a far superior GPU. In Passmark it has double the single thread performance of N3350 yet costs just a bit more. I just screwed up with purchases with my credit card, meaning it won't fit into my monthly credit card limit for it ugh. I guess in January then... XD

 

[silentbogo]

I think I'm gonna opt for that Stoney Ridge A9 APU after all. It may be older 28nm node, but that doesn't mean it's bad by any means.

It's not bad, it's just expensive. Have you looked at older 35W models yet? Something like HP Envy M6 or Envy x360 costs about the same. I had one w/ A10-4600M in my workshop and that thing could run heavy WebGL demos like it's minesweeper, and even played Fallout 4 on low. 1080p@60Hz playback was also flawless. You could probably get one for under $200 now in a mint condition.

 

[RejZoR]

Gonna stick with higher performance, lower core count options. I think they'll gonna last for longer than slower but more cores. AMD really changed the game in this regard with Stoney Ridge, tweaking old Bulldozer architecture in a whole different way, making them totally comparable with Intel offerings. Even so much that despite 28nm node, they seem to use same TDP as Intel while actually even performing better sometimes. Which is quite an achievement. It's just hard to dismiss the "14nm" is smaller and newer, it must be better "mind trick".