If you’re looking to buy a new laptop, there are a lot of options on the table. Indeed, as you’ve likely discovered if you have already started your search for the perfect notebook, there’s a bewildering array of portables out there.
Naturally, the laptop that fits your precise requirements is a subjective thing – different people will demand different things from their notebook, and needs will vary considerably. Maybe you’re a typical user who just wants to surf the web, check emails, and do a bit of gaming on the go. Or perhaps you’re more of a hardware enthusiast who desires cutting-edge tech to really drive performance, or indeed you might be a creative type wanting to engage in content creation with your device.
Whatever type of user you happen to be, there’s a good case to be made for buying an AMD-powered laptop, as machines with Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics in combination offer some serious cumulative performance benefits, and technologies which will really help to improve your computing experience – across the board.
What’s more, if you want to grab an all-AMD laptop, the tempting price tags which Currys pins on these devices – complete with discounts at times – make for an even more compelling case to pull the trigger on a purchase.
In this article, we’re going to explore the precise advantages that AMD’s processors and graphics solutions give you, courtesy of their excellent performance levels augmented by the aforementioned nifty technologies, before moving on to highlight a small selection of laptops which are great buys at Currys right now.
AMD smarts
So, why should you purchase an AMD laptop? As we’ve already said, there are a number of tech innovations on both the software and hardware fronts that make notebooks with AMD CPUs and GPUs – which are already highly performant components to begin with – even stronger.
The first clever tech we’ll look at in AMD’s box-of-tricks is Smart Access Memory (or SAM). This allows for the AMD Ryzen processor to have full access to GPU memory, pepping up things considerably as a result (SAM can allow games to run up to around 15% faster, going by AMD’s own testing).
Another notable feature for AMD hardware is SmartShift, which dynamically adjusts the power allocated to the processor and graphics card. This means you’re getting the maximum ‘oomph’ for whatever task you are undertaking, thanks to the automatic and intelligent fine-tuning of the balance between the CPU and GPU as required for optimal functioning. So, whether you’re video editing, streaming, working in Microsoft Office, watching a movie, or playing a game, you’ll get the best performance out of your laptop.
Speaking of gaming, there’s also FidelityFX Super Resolution (or FSR) which is a crucial tech for gamers. This is AMD’s equivalent to Nvidia’s DLSS, which boosts frame rates considerably in supported games. What this feature does is to allow the laptop to run a game at a lower resolution, upscaling it to the desired resolution to give what’s essentially a very similar quality compared to the native res, just running faster – and the gains that can be witnessed are impressive. To pick a quick example, God of War on PC in 4K runs up to 1.6 times faster thanks to FSR (compared to native 4K), and some games perform more than twice as fast in certain resolutions or settings.
While FSR requires game developers to support it in their code, AMD hasn’t left other non-FSR supporting games out in the cold. That’s where Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) steps in, with the ability to provide the same kind of frame rate boosting experience across a wide selection of games; there’s no need for developers to bake support in.
In essence, with notebooks that have AMD components under the hood, all these synergistic technologies help to further boost performance to new levels for portable machines – and gamers shouldn’t forget that AMD also has its Advantage laptops.
AMD Advantage products are gaming laptops specifically made with certain standards in mind, meaning they benefit from all the above-mentioned tech, plus there are requirements for the quality of the screen, too. These portables must offer a bright, premium quality high-res (and low-latency) display, with AMD FreeSync tech on-board to combat stuttering and tearing which can be really off-putting – meaning your gaming is seriously smooth (and the stipulation for a refresh rate of at least 144Hz helps in that regard too).
What about those laptops from Currys, then?
Now you’ve seen the benefits of AMD’s various technological innovations, you might want to check out some of the laptops which run with AMD hardware on the market right now. As we mentioned at the outset, there are some seriously nicely priced notebooks on offer from Currys right now, so let’s dive in and take a closer look at three models.
First up is the Lenovo Yoga 7 14-inch Laptop with a £100 discount currently, so it’s been knocked down to £699 at the time of writing – quite the bargain. This is a convertible notebook with a 360-degree hinge, so you can fold the keyboard deck right back against the display, to effectively use the device as a tablet if needed.
This Yoga 7 hybrid is powered by a nippy AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor (6-cores, capable of boost to 4.2GHz), backed with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. It has a 14-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen, along with a backlit keyboard, fingerprint sensor, and a long battery life – with a claimed longevity of up to 15 hours. That’s a lot of laptop for your money, particularly considering its convertible nature.
Or maybe you’ll be tempted by a larger convertible, again with a 360-degree hinge, namely the HP Envy x360 2-in-1 Laptop. This has more display real-estate, benefiting from a 15.6-inch Full HD touchscreen which is a high-quality panel made from Gorilla Glass (with very slim bezels). The Envy x360 is built around an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U CPU (8-cores, with boost to 4.3GHz), and you also get 16GB of system RAM plus a 512GB SSD. Trimmings include a backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, and a webcam with privacy shutter.
Finally, those after a traditional laptop form-factor, and one capable of gaming courtesy of a discrete GPU, should consider the Asus VivoBook Pro M3500QC 15.6-inch Laptop. This notebook has an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor (with 8-cores, boosting up to 4.6GHz), and pairs that with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, backed with 16GB of system RAM, plus there’s a 1TB M.2 SSD on-board.
A further highlight with the VivoBook is a 15.6-inch Full HD resolution OLED screen providing a vibrant and stunning image quality, coupled with Harman Kardon-certified audio for excellent results while gaming or watching a film. Oh, and keeping the Ryzen 9 plus RTX 3050 combo in check temperature-wise is Asus IceCool, a smart cooling system which is designed to reduce those internal temps very effectively, letting these components run to their fullest extent without throttling back speeds (which is what happens in the case of overheating).
So, whether you’re a content creator, gamer, or just an everyday Windows user who wants a machine that you can also kick back with on the sofa and use it as a tablet, there are AMD-powered laptops out there which are an ideal match for your individual needs – and some great deals on these notebooks at Currys.
