[FFmpeg-devel] Hardware purchase request: AVX512-capable laptop

[Lynne]

Jan 3, 2024, 02:22 by jamrial at gmail.com:

> On 1/2/2024 9:56 PM, Lynne wrote:
>
>> As some of you know, my laptop died nearly 2 years ago, and
>> I've been working on a desktop machine, which is currently a Zen 3.
>> AVX512 has become more popular in the meantime, with Zen 4
>> and future AMD CPUs shipping with it, but currently, we have very
>> little AVX512.
>> In short, I'd like a machine which runs an AVX512-capable
>> AMD CPU, and as the world is opening up more and more, I'd
>> like for it to be portable.
>>
>> I've looked around a lot, but as Intel still has a firm monopoly,
>> the options are limited (7940H(S), 7945HX, 7845HX, 8945HS).
>> What I think I've settled for is an ASUS Vivobook Pro 15, with a
>> 7940HS CPU (the second least powerful Zen 4 mobile CPU),
>>
>
> 7940HS is the highest Ryzen 9 model from the 7040 series. Not sure where you got second least powerful from.
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Ryzen_processors#Phoenix_(7040_series,_Zen_4/RDNA3_based)
>

Was reading Wikipedia, and thought it was a Zen 3, my mistake
(and AMD's mistake for making 4 versioning formats):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Ryzen_processors


>> currently trading for 1999.0 EUR on amazon.de.
>>
>> https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Vivobook-Display-R9-7940HS-Windows-Keyboard/dp/B0BRYTS8MR
>>
>> The other alternative I've found is a Lenovo Legion 7 Pro, but
>> it's more expensive at 2399 EUR (currently seems temporarily
>> discounted due to the holidays).
>>
>
> I see a Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 available for 1099 EUR. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Lenovo-Display-Graphics-Blue-Green-Premium/dp/B0CGLPVQHK/
>
> Same amount of RAM, screen resolution and storage, and a Ryzen 7.
>

It's a good suggestion, but I have a better one, that's somewhat more expensive,
but has a better screen, better build quality, and is cheaper than the Vivobook:

A Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 with the following options:
 - Windows 14 Home (if you don't pick Windows, the OLED display is not available for no reason)
 - 32Gb of RAM
 - 1Tb "performance" SSD (it's 70 EUR more, but twice the size)
 - 2880x1800 OLED monitor
 - 4-cell battery (only 10 EUR more)
 - English (EU) keyboard, without backlighting

https://www.lenovo.com/de/de/configurator/cto/index.html?bundleId=21K9CTO1WWDE2

For 1.700,11 EUR. It's made of metal, unlike the Yoga, it's possible to repair,
targeted at business users, has way more ports (including a full-sized RJ-45!),
bigger battery, 3-year warranty instead of a 3-month limited warranty,
and a better keyboard.

We have the budget, as we were looking for ways to spend it anyway,
and it's definitely going to last, so I don't think it's out of an acceptable price range.


>> The Lenovo IdeaPad still hasn't been refreshed and uses a Zen 3 CPU,
>> so it doesn't fit the requirements. I'd take other options, but after
>> all the looking I did, the only other laptops to feature Zen 4 CPUs are
>> rather pricy gaming laptops with high-end NVIDIA GPUs, starting at 2500 EUR
>> and going up.
>>
>
> The Vivobook has a discrete Nvidia GTX 4060, which makes it a gaming focused laptop too.
>

Actually, the Yoga Pro 7 also comes with an NVIDIA GPU, a 4050:
https://www.lenovo.com/de/de/p/laptops/yoga/yoga-pro-series/Yoga-Pro-7-Gen-8-(14-inch-AMD)/LEN101Y0032
(also mentioned it has an NVIDIA GPU on the amazon link, but they seem to be
ashamed of the fact it's a 4050 so they don't mention a model).
The ThinkPad P14s does not have an NVIDIA GPU, which is much less of a plus than
before, but it does save from having a near-constant constant power hog and Optimus display setup.