Who Controls the User Experience? AMD’s Carrizo Thoroughly Tested
by Ian Cutress on February 4, 2016 8:00 AM EST#3 The Toshiba Satellite E45DW-C4210 (Carrizo, FX-8800P)
If E45DW-C4210 comes in as a mouthful relevant to very few people, you are probably right, so we’ll just refer to it as the Toshiba Satellite from here on in. Having a Satellite for testing this piece was somewhat amusing, given I had recently bought one for my grandparents and upgraded it (there’s a separate mini-review of that coming later), and wasn’t sure if what I had found on my grandparents' model would also be found here.
| Toshiba Satellite E45DW-C4210 (Carrizo) Specifications | |
| Size and Resolution | 14-inch, 1366x768 TN with Touch |
| Processor | AMD FX-8800P Dual module, 4 threads 2.1 GHz Base Frequency 3.4 GHz Turbo Frequency |
| Graphics | Integrated R7 512 Shader Cores 800 MHz maximum frequency GCN 1.2 |
| TDP | 15W |
| Memory | 8 GB in Single Channel Operation 1 x 8GB at DDR3L-1600 C11 1 SO-DIMM Slot Only |
| Storage | 750GB Toshiba HDD |
| Battery Size | 45.298 Wh 3 cell Li-Ion design |
| WiFi | Realtek 8821AE 802.11ac 1x1 |
| Optical Drive | No |
| Dimensions | 13.3 x 9.3 x 0.83-inch 337.4 x 235.0 x 21.05 mm |
| Weight | From 4.5 lbs (2.05 kg) |
| Webcam | 1280x720 |
| Other Features | Memory Card Reader HDMI 2 x USB 3.0 + 1 x USB 2.0 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
This model of Satellite gets the top-end FX Carrizo processor, the FX-8800P, which is a dual module/quad core design with a 2.1 GHz base frequency but a 3.4 GHz turbo frequency. Because the FX line still exists in AMD’s mobile processors, it means it gets top tier graphics as well, which for integrated graphics means 512 streaming processors running at 800 MHz. This is pretty much the top end AMD integrated graphics configuration that anyone can buy, save a pre-overclocked system. To continue with the plus points in the hardware, the Toshiba was also fitted with a Realtek 8821AE Wi-Fi card which also follows the 802.11ac M.2 standard as described in the 745 G3 but this is a single stream version, which limits 802.11ac benefits such as beam forming.
Then, the downsides begin, or where Toshiba saved some money. The display is a pretty bad 1366x768 TN panel that didn’t want to play ball with our display testing equipment, but was surprisingly touch enabled which made things better when you used the ‘Devil’s Trackpad’. With no offence intended towards Toshiba, I seriously wrote that in my notes while I was testing, and that isn’t a good thing. The nearest thing to this trackpad would be the ‘off’ position. I’m not sure if it was a bad sensor, a poor sensor, something with the coating or what, but one of the worst things a laptop can do when being tested is when the tester wants to throw it across the room. The solution would be to insert a mouse, forget about it, and then 'remember how much you saved'. Unfortunately that race to the bottom on trackpads ends up a negative feedback loop for all concerned.
On the storage side, a combination 8GB of memory (single channel DDR3L-1600, naturally) and a 750 GB mechanical hard disk left the model with few plus points aside from the top end processor.
The Design
So firstly, the design of this Satellite one is more towards brushed metal for a sleeker look.
Functionally, there are a number of good and bad points to list. Despite the brushed metal finish on the top, the design is actually mostly plastic, with two vents at the rear for airflow. The hinge is also a 360º hinge as part of the Radius range.
One of these is an intake and the other is the exhaust, which at least keeps all the warm air out of the back of the laptop, although anyone using the laptop on their lap might be able to feel it depending on the workload. If the warning sticker is anything to go by:
CAUTION!
PC BASE CAN BECOME HOT!
AVOID PROLONGED CONTACT
TO PREVENT HEAT INJURY TO SKIN
You have to wonder – is that an AMD problem due to heat generation, or a Toshiba problem due to bad heat soak of plastic design? Either way, there are other 15W devices that don’t have these warnings.
The sides have two USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI port, the Kensington lock port, a USB 2.0 port, audio ports, a volume rocker, a power connector and a specific button to enter Tile Mode in windows.
The brushed metal finish is also on the cover, and again this was an AMD shelf model featuring a few scrapes but nothing too noticeable at a quick glance.
The audio arrangement is provided by Harman/Kardon, and the keyboard uses equal sized separate buttons for the arrow keys as well as the regular delete/home/end set. There are no quick buttons for mute or airplane mode however.
The trackpad on the specific device we tested was absolutely terrible. The only practical way to use this laptop was to use a mouse.
On the display side of things, as noted above for some reason this unit would not get along with our colorimeter, crashing each time we tried to take a reading. The 45.298 Wh battery gave the following charge profile:
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Ian Cutress - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
It is. It was correct in the table :P fixed!Intel999 - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
So what I had originally thought would be an advantage for Carrizo, the same motherboard for both Carizzo and Carizzo-L, turned out to screw AMD since OEMs refuse to provide any semblance of sufficient memory on the Carizzo non L chipsets.As for Zen, I can promise you that it will be a failure in laptop configurations if OEMs continue to reign it in with poor configurations such as single channel memory, HDDs and low quality screens.
The only way to get a quality AMD system in this day and age is to go to a custom PC builder and give him the specs you require. Unfortunately, 90% of PC consumers wouldn't know what specs to give the builder and I'm sure Intel has coerced a lot of custom builders to push their CPUs through kickbacks.
reepca - Saturday, February 13, 2016 - link
Could you name a custom PC builder that can build a laptop with Carrizo for me...? Or when you say "PC" do you mean "Desktop" (already gottaone)?junky77 - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
My Y700 has 4GB of vRAM and GPU-Z show M385XAlso, no talk about DX12?
Bateluer - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
Any idea when we'll see the X4 845 arrive for desktops?mrdude - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
Amazing article, Ian! Took the better part of an hour to read it between chores and emails, but it was time well spent :)That said, I feel like one aspect regarding AMD's race-to-the-bottom has been ignored: AMD's own role in it. For decades, and with only a couple of notable exceptions, AMD has marketed itself as the cheaper alternative with 'good enough' performance. Well, unfortunately they've succeeded and this is the result. Carrizo processors on lagging nodes being sold, if only to decrease OEM investments, for dirt cheap and can only just compete with Intel's low end/mid-tier chips. If their engineers are proud of their efforts, then perhaps they need a reality check and take a look at those benchmarks. The APU is so lopsided and bandwidth starved that it should have never made it past the initial stages of design. (Why on earth are they selling 512SPs if they can't feed them? Is the company more worried about chewing up GloFo wafer commitments than designing a balanced design?)
For AMD to command more volume, higher profit margins, and dictate minimum design/spec requirements, AMD also has to start making class-leading products. 'Good enough' should never be uttered within corporate offices else risk being fired. Unfortunately, mediocrity has been the staple of AMD's CPU side for as long as I can remember. CEOs and chief architects have come and gone, and things still haven't changed. After the X2 derivatives of the A64/K8 the company admitted defeat, if not outwardly than certainly tacitly.
I'm not hopeful. Those days are long gone. It's been far too long since AMD has made something that has piqued my, or consumers', interest. They've got nothing but recent failures to point to. Unless Zen comes out and actually beats out Intel's comparable chips in cost, single-threaded, multi-threaded, and power consumption, every person within AMD should admit defeat. The goal is perfection, and personally it seems they still don't understand that.
wow&wow - Monday, February 8, 2016 - link
"they still don't understand that."Because the paychecks are automatically deposited, no feeling about whether having paychecks or not since having them is a given : )
Lolimaster - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
AMD PLEASE, start selling mobiles devices under your brand.4 of 5 "design wins" shown here are complete sh*t, the Lenovo supposed to be at least decent got serious problems of throttling because they designed the cooling for a 15w TDP.
You're screwing yourself AMD letting OEM's troll you time and time again.
wow&wow - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
A must read for AMD employees, particularly those who define, approve, or market products, tests needed for those : )thatthing - Friday, February 5, 2016 - link
my Lenovo y700 came with 8gb ram in two 4gb sticks. Sandra and cou z show duel channel. memory test is very similar to my desktop kaveri system with ddr1600. also my r9m385x has 4gb memory. amd's specs list it as 896 shader, which I would agree with as it performs like my 7790 in firestrike