Low Cost Mobile Processor Comparison

For the past year and a half our favorite low cost mobile processor has been the AMD E-350 and E-450. New low processors have come out in the past few weeks, namely the AMD E2-1800, Intel Celeron 877 and AMD A6-4455M. These new processors power some recently released laptops, and you can expect to see them appearing in more sub-30K laptops over the next few months.

PassMark Benchmarks Scores (Higher is better)

• AMD C-60  -  563
• Intel Atom N2600  -  592
• Intel Atom N2800  -  723
• AMD E-450  -  738   
• AMD E2-1800  -  774      
• Intel Celeron 877  -  1470       
• AMD A6-4455M  -  1931      

Source: PassMark Software

The Intel Atom N2800 found in several netbooks has decent looking scores, but is still plagued with integrated graphics chip with spotty HD playback and absence of DirectX 11 support.

The AMD E2-1800 is the replacement for the AMD E-450. With decent processing power and a excellent graphic chip this continues to be a good choice. This Accelerated Processing Unit is what is in the new 11.6-inch Sony Vaio E E11115EG. The AMD E2-1800 has a small increase in performance over the AMD E-450.

The new 11.6-inch Sony Vaio E (E11115EG). In addition to the faster processor and graphics chip, the new 11.6-inch Vaio comes with high speed USB 3.0. At Php23,900, it is hits the market at a lower price than last years Sony Vaio YB.

Another impressive new low cost processors is the Intel Celeron 877 found in the new 11.6-inch Acer Aspire One AO756-877B1. The Intel Celeron 877 outperforms the AMD E2-1800 in processing benchmarks. However, the AMD Radeon 7340M on the AMD E2-1800 should generally fare better than the the Intel HD graphics on the Intel Celeron 877. The Intel HD graphics on the the Intel Celeron 877 does not support DirectX 11.

At Php20,990 the Acer Aspire One 756 (AO756-877B1) with Windows Home Basic installed, is an excellent choice. And is mucn faster than any Atom based system. The only spoilers in the package are the absence of USB 3.0 and small 2500 mAh battery.

The most powerful of the new low cost processing units is the AMD A6-4455M. 

Essentially a Ultrabook chassis with an AMD Accelerated Processing Unit inside.  At Php29,900 it brings a low cost option for those who prefer a 13.3-inch.