AMD Trinity (Mobile) performance analysis

Test is done to check if APU gaming is possible. What is APU gaming? Playing games on the integrated graphics as this way you can run games on battery for hours and at the same time keep the laptop's temperate down. Also if lowering the clockspeed have a big effect on games (in other words how processor clockspeed affects gaming performance). This is just for a reference and don't think all games will act the same way. Most modern games are unplayable on APU graphics.

PREPARATION:

My friend bought the HP G6 2005AX a few weeks ago and i borrowed it from him to test and clear the cloud of confusions surrounding the performance and dual graphics. I mainly tested 3 games with multiple combinations of processing power (clock) and GPUs. The clock was set to the lowest possible value from AMD CCC (Catalyst Control Center) and tested with both fGPU (HD 7640G) and dGPU (HD 7670M). On the next run, clock was set to max and same procedure was repeated.

PS: When the processor is stretched under games its clock doesn't stay at 1.9Ghz, rather fluctuates between 2.3 and 2.6Ghz as turbo kicks in. So when 1.9Ghz is used, think it as 2.5Ghz dual core (other 2 cores are turned off / power gated).

*i.imgur.com/Jh9Ic.jpg
forcing game to run on APU graphics
*i.imgur.com/mNsqe.jpg
setting the APU to run at 1.4Ghz

Remember that there is no clear way to select 7670M directly. So all i did was turn dual GPU off and set the game to high performance mode. Looking at the performance i am sure 7670M was being used turning off the integrated HD 7640G.

*i.imgur.com/qd2UN.jpg
dual or single graphics

PICS:


PS: all are actual game pics as time of benchmark hence quality is set to high.

TESTING:

First in the chart is my all time favorite racing game, Burnout Paradise by Criterion Games. One may ask why i picked this old a game. First of all i wanted to test if integrated graphics can run this game as even if its old by today's standard it has nice graphics and is physics heavy so challenging for any kind of GPU. Secondly what kind of improvement does the discrete GPU show over the slow fGPU.

BURNOUT PARADISE Ultimate Box(2009):

So whats the outcome? As expected, the fGPU handled the game easily and there was not even a single lag. Switching to discrete GPU doubled the FPS and increased smoothness. Also the game takes advantage of higher clockspeed.

Next in line is a slightly new game, Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor (2010):

As i said at the beginning, most new games will not work on the APU graphics and unless the processor is clocked at 1.9Ghz, it is not smooth. When the number of enemies increase or explosions going on, the frames dip below 20 and game start to lag a lot. Switch to discrete GPU and problem solved. Games run fine with minimum FPS being 23 which is very much acceptable.

Lastly it is the kicker, Bulletstorm. This one got picked cause i wanted to stretch the system to its limit.

Bulletstorm (2011):

APU gaming? Forget it. Unless you turn on discrete GPU, game is unplayable. Also clockspeed increase doesn't have a drastic effect in the framerates though minimum FPS does goes up quite a bit. Remember the game was played at mid-high settings, so at lowest setting APU alone should be able to handle it but won't be fun.

Conclusion:

AMD has done it but only partially. You can game on the laptop, modern games but only at lowest of settings. To play demanding games like Battlefield or Batman, better grab one with a discrete GPU. However if you are of the more casual player, you'll be more than content with how the APU and its inbuilt graphics behaves. Dual GPU only works in DX11 games and as i had no DX11 games at my hand at that point of time, can't do any testing. Flip to page 2 if you want to check DX11 results (tests done by other members, not me).

*i.imgur.com/kfKsr.jpg*i.imgur.com/3aDEB.jpg
temp at start. after 1hr of burnout paradise at low.

Another important point is the heat generated when gaming. If you turn on dual GPU (or just switch to the discrete GPU) the laptop's left side vent area runs really hot. But if you switch to APU's graphics (or further underclock the APU), the temperature drops to ~50-55degree. Under load (or gaming with discrete GPU on) the laptop's processor touches 90degree but remember this is not a gaming laptop and moreover 90 is normal temperature for laptop when it is stretched like this.