A FAST Budget Laptop! Ryzen 7520U Hands-On Gaming/EMU Testing

[@Burbanana]

*Correction: This is a Ryzen 5 processor* (intro), as denoted by the second digit in its model number (7_5_20U). Not a Ryzen 7 folks! Also, to clear up the naming mess AMD has created this gen: The third digit denotes which Zen generation this model is using. This one is using a Zen 2 architecture. That's right, a very old architecture, as denoted by the '2' in 75_2_0. The last digit can be either 0 or 5; 5 being a 'higher segment' of that model; usually the rebrands of zen 3+ have that such as the 7735U. Side note: lately I can't help but think that the channel is only posting positive reviews about nearly any product without properly informing the viewrs about what's realy going on around the product..

[@itwill-change]

Meanwhile mine i3 1115g4 Minecraft 250+fps😂😂

[@flameelectromidis]

i have this cpu myself, it performs like an i5 1135g7 or so i hate that this cpu has 4mb l3 while its zen 3 counterpart(7530u) has 16mb

[@1.N.Decent]

No RAM upgrade option is such a big turnoff for me

[@Tiger9194]

Same here

[@BurgerParty]

ikr auto pass for this

[@rws91942]

If it had 16gb and it wasn't upgradable, I would still recomend it. But 8gb of non upgradable RAM is a deal breaker for me as well.

[@nojuanatall3281]

Totally agree.

[@MrQuay03]

It's $249.

[@enthused7591]

Would be super interested to see a review of the refurbished Aspire 3 with 7520u, 16GB DDR5, and 512GB SSD on Amazon or Target for $289. Seems like a steal.

[@ghostfreckle]

I have one and the performance in gaming is the same. the 610m GPU is weak AF. Ram amount doesn't matter. The system will run more apps better, but these apus are Zen 2 with a weak igpu. Old Vega igpus from 2-3 gens back smoke these "new 7000" series. If you're buying a "7000" series Ryzen, make sure the 3rd digit in the name is a 3 (Zen3/3+) or better yet, a 4 for Zen 4. Oh, I forgot to mention that these Ryzen 5 7520u are the same exact processor/igpu as a Ryzen 3 7320u. It just can boost 200mhz higher. Thats it. Used to be a bigger gap 🤦‍♂

[@patrickvernae]

A great value, I just picked up a refurbished 16gb one from Acer for that same $289 price

[@SikSlayer]

Finally laptops based on this chip! Oh wait... it's not the same as what's been in handhelds lately. And ugh, only 8GB of RAM.

[@brunorosa5256]

There's a version that has 16gb

[@asmrnaturecat984]

This is similar chip on steam deck

[@sihamhamda47]

​@@miha493Unfortunately Ryzen 7020 only supports LPDDR5/X, so all the laptops using it would be using soldered RAM

[@pepito69]

​@@sihamhamda47nooooooooooo

[@SkybornSlayer]

​@@asmrnaturecat984better than steam deck

[@brandonfarfan1978]

Nice review. Thanks for telling and showing us, that the RAM is soldered. Not a huge fan of the soldered RAM, but I definitely like the design of this laptop.👍

[@scubaspi]

I built my new system recently and purchased the Win11 key using the ETA code. No problem and the system is running great.

[@JohnHendricks-w7l]

For this price, this is a blessing. I wouldn't use this for gaming but for programming in VS Code. In 2014, an i7 processor alone cost around $400 for the same amount of cores and threads. This laptop is truly a blessing.

[@baderalfaydi9865]

Acer always nailed it with price vs specs.

[@madmod]

Honestly, as someone who gamed for years on less than ideal specs, this laptop would have been an amazing upgrade over my old i3 laptop.

[@agrisimfarming]

Typing this reply on my mom's Acer Aspire 5 from 2020, even though it only has 4GB of RAM, it performs SHOCKINGLY well. (she doesn't game on this laptop though) It handles multiple programs open with 10-15 Firefox tabs quite well. I have had moments where I switched to this from my M1 Mac Air 16gb RAM and I forget I am using a different laptop!

[@deyeatdapoopoo7582]

Only 8GB of RAM that is soldered and unable to be upgraded is a complete deal-breaker considering how massively it handicaps the performance of the APU for anything that's not light tasks.

[@abckilly]

Budget is more interesting than overpriced. It is true art to make this things

[@alexbong898]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 01:09 💻 *Affordable Windows 10 Pro OEM keys available at Ur CD Keys with a discount code "ETA" for 25% off, making it a cost-effective option for activation.* 02:19 🖥️ *The laptop, featuring an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U APU, offers a good budget option with a 14-inch IPS display, backlit keyboard, and a price of $249 (Black Friday deal).* 03:13 💽 *Limited RAM upgradeability: The laptop comes with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM soldered to the board, restricting future upgrades, but the SSD is replaceable.* 04:51 🎮 *Gaming limitations: With only 8GB of RAM, some newer games like Doom Eternal face low memory allocation issues, but older games like Minecraft and Source engine titles perform well.* 08:59 🕹️ *Emulation performance: The laptop exhibits impressive emulation capabilities, handling Dolphin (GameCube/Wii) and PS2 emulators smoothly, but struggles with demanding PS3 titles like Skate 3.* Made with HARPA AI

[@waiata216]

Great review. Huge work in this review. Brilliant. March 2024

[@BrianThomas]

I'd like to see this CPU in a mini-pc. Perhaps they can give some additional clock cycles since battery management won't be an issue. With some additional cooling this would be a formidable device.

[@radeksparowski7174]

yup, still waiting for one with two M.2 2280 and support for 4 monitors whereas still have at least one /rather two/ usb4 or thunderbolt ports to connect fast flash based drives externally and all with current gen cpu power /passive cooling would be too much, maybe if industry switches to arm or risc-v/, will probably build a small form factor one with 8000G cpu if there is a reasonable motherboard aroud, the I/O ports combinations on current ones are rising my blood pressure....

[@BrianThomas]

@@radeksparowski7174 that's a pretty good wishlist. I'm with you. That sounds pretty sweet.

[@chriswright8074]

It's zen two

[@MrQuay03]

We already have it. It's called Steam Deck or Ally

[@beholdr87]

Amazon is now claiming the "list price" is $449.99 and the "Sale" price for Cyber Monday is $349.99. Which is $20 higher than the "list price" yesterday...

[@stephenxs8354]

Typical amazon fake pricing.

[@cael_1303]

And I bought this as part of a Cyber Monday deal. I have a gaming PC that I had to build last year so I don't plan to do much on this. The laptop I am replacing is a 2014 Asus with only 4GBs of Ram that was literally freezing in Opera when I just bit the bullet and decided to check out some Cyber Monday deals (I wish I would have known about the Black Friday deal for $249) to buy it because everything else either would probably have put me in the position that I was already in minus storage space. I guess at the least I didn't overpay for it considering $350 is apparently the normal price. Yeah the whole fake Amazon pricing thing sucks because I even checked the price history which apparently was at least a little misleading.

[@markvandesande8855]

Zero upgrade path = zero interest for me I'm afraid. I'm totally out. A few year landfill laptop.😢

[@ilnabboditurno1433]

Nice review as always, but this notebook has only 8gb of ram and not even upgradable, it's a big no for me even if the price is ok.

[@Enfim2000]

Great performance for the price. This would do ps2 and gamecube/wii at 1080p no problem if you could add an extra stick of ram

[@wernerdreyer9355]

These apu’s are really shot in the foot by the non-upgradeable RAM.

[@Randomness662]

Unfortunately soldering the ram is the only way to squeeze out every drop of performance out of them, because removeable sticks would mean longer paths and slower ram, which we all know AMD hates

[@hariharasudhan907]

I recently got an MSI with Ryzen 5 7530U. It does the day to day job perfectly with good boot time and I am yet to test out emulation

[@neverendinchaos4800]

Yeah, I've been impressed with this generation's performance from AMD too. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out for AMD's 8000 series CPUs, seeing as Intel seem to be adding decent iGPUs built into their CPUs for their next generation too.

[@mikek92]

For once, I would love to see the real world price to be the same as in the video! I checked it yesterday, and it was already marked up over $100.00 ....😢

[@zerocal76]

Mmhmm no idea how he got that crazy price of $250 🤨

[@t.c.2776]

the current selling price on Amazon, as of 4/12/2024 is $421 dollars U.S. sold by some third party vendor

[@AdkinsGamer]

7:27 "title"

[@tranquility6789]

😭

[@Crustenscharbap]

By the way. Its an umlabeled Ryzen 3 4300U.

[@OsascogamingBrSP]

Thank you I was planning to buy one but I'm reconsidering after this. I didn't know it was a zen 2 based 😢

[@notfunny3397]

For 249 it's decent actually. Unless you can score a 11th gen i5 or 5th gen ryzen chip for a similar price

[@doohof1016]

its like R3-3250H 😅😅😅 jokiing...

[@JogBird]

it should be illegal to sell a W11 pc w 8 gb of ram

[@offspringfan89]

It's okay as long as RAM is not soldered.

[@enigmarocker]

Soldered RAM....so dumb... just a waste of otherwise nice hardware IMO. It's literally built to NOT last in terms of specs, thats a waste of resources. Companies shouldn't be allowed to do that crap these days. Call it right-to-repair and make it a law.

[@pedro4205]

This CPU was awful on release, there were no official drive at the time so it makes sense. I'm really impressed.

[@lakershotwheels]

Just picked one up for $249. pretty good deal tbh for a 7th gen Ryzen 5 chip and DDR5 memory.

[@candykid5135]

i have the same model, acer aspire 3 A314-23P-R3QA and it's great for office work and light gaming

[@huskybiscuit2702]

the cyber monday deal is $350 on sale with 449.00 crossed off lol

[@Hyde119]

I might be interested in picking this up as a dev machine for my brother-in-law, he's working on his undergrad in Comp Sci using a chrome book and cloud hosted VMs right now

[@FilippoMosconi]

I'm still waiting for "affordable" handelds bases on this Soc.... It packs all the power i need.

[@spivnenko]

In my country this model cost 580$. My 2 month salary

[@danielvlegaspi9530]

I hope you make a video about emulation on the modular Framework laptops too soon

[@TrusteftTech]

Years ago I bought a Celeron laptop with similar price. Out of the box it was not as powerful, all things considered. You do get more bang for your buck with this one. Of course this one is normally 100 more, but yes.

[@Aiden07_YT]

You can get this exact laptop with a Ryzen 7 5700u and 16gb of ram. I only know this because it was on that prime sale the other day £200 off going from £650 to £450.

[@mraltoid19]

May I recommend testing: KOF XV Samurai Shodown TEKKEN 7 Soul Caliber 6 Fortnite Doom Eternal A Plague Tale Requiem Sonic Origins Plus (Believe it or not I CAN'T get it to run smoothly on my i5-8500 using Integrated Graphics) Sonic Frontiers Sonic SuperStars Mario Wonder (you know how) .

[@AntiGrieferGames]

Sonic mania

[@mraltoid19]

@@AntiGrieferGames Sonic Mania runs fine on my Intel Compute Stick, and is no problem for the Intel HD630, but for SOME reason Sonic Origins runs like crap, meanwhile Soul Calibur 6 and Tekken 7 run decently on the HD630.

[@AntiGrieferGames]

@@mraltoid19 then sonic origins is broken for optimizisation due for denuvo drm.

[@RuffRides]

Just picked up.the Chromebook version with this chip, lovely size and better resolution with WiFi 6 and an extra usb c. Will run for 10 hours which for me makes it actually useable as a portable device.. will I be able to run and upscale PS2 via the Linux app without DX11 ?? That remains to be seen. But certainly hope it will be a great low energy device for working away and also emulation.

[@RuffRides]

Gutted I can run pcsx2 but cannot connect a controller ...😢 (Die to no usb in cristini) Having similar problems with ppsspp android app.

[@PG-gs5vb]

These specs would actually be nice for a budget Windows handheld. Perhaps with upgradable RAM.

[@LMarcusJ]

I really want to see this chip or Ryzen 3 7320u run with 16GB RAM, and see how well it is in terms of gaming performance. Unfortunately this kind of laptop with 16GB are pretty rare, and I can't find any videos reviewing 16GB RAM device with Ryzen 5 7520u or Ryzen 3 7320u. I own Ryzen 3 7320u laptop from Lenovo. With 8GB RAM is pretty tight now days, but for the price it is a pretty decent budget laptop for work and light gaming. Just lower your expectation and you will not disappointed.

[@jvm-tv]

This is a far better deal than all those mini PCs

[@kuronoch.1441]

It is better than N100, but there are better mini PCs.

[@mason96575]

eBay has a refurbished one for $264 right now from Acer- It has 16gb ram and 1tb SDD

[@KneelDabin]

Can you test this in more games

[@Lach94]

Me watching from the same laptop.

[@CeeMeeJ234]

What's your honest review of your Laptop so far? Battery, screen display, fan noise and heat, did it come with Microsoft office trial?

[@trmp1919]

great vid pls try to do a r5 7530u if possible

[@JasonStewartsStreak]

What would I expect to see playing World of Warcraft with the 16GB version of this laptop? A315-24PT-R4U2

[@MarcosCodas]

Is the ram running in dual channel at least?

[@ivayloi736]

8GB is fine for some Linux distros. Also Apple is selling $1600 laptops with only 8GB and 512GB SSD soldered...

[@dimitriid]

Should put the Steam OS version of Linux for non-steamdecks on this: I think if compatibility is there it will be able to do quite a bit more on Linux

[@TicoDK]

this new 7000u series is the Celeron of AMD

[@UnorthodoxFellow]

No it's equivalent to Intel's core i3 n305.

[@gaming-zombie1392]

It's doing Great for an older CPU....

[@brucewaynerenegade9547]

so technically 7520U is a downgrade from 5500U despite having newer gen cores and RDNA. doesnt make sense though.

[@julioprado7676]

I think they should make cheap(er) handheld devices with those chips

[@Minecraftfreaks5]

I basically got the same Laptop as you do, trying to play Minecraft is impossible. Turning down every setting possible get's me not more than 5r fps

[@X-Rounder]

So glad you added L4D bench....

[@Acikexe]

Is it just me or does this laptop say it has 1080p full HD, but the KZbin video only shows 1600x900?

[@qui11]

7520U vs N305, which one is better at gaming? Which one is more efficient?

[@VaibhavSingh-zw5zs]

@@qui11 7520 is best

[@MarcosCodas]

Why is the KZbin viewport 1600x900?

[@IraQNid]

14-inch screen, soldered RAM I can't upgrade, no room onboard for adding a HDD makes this a dealbreaker for me.

[@Enxirrty_911]

Whats the name of the third game he tested ? Thanks!

[@shlokshah5379]

If it had a better gpu it would be so good for budget gaming!! Even the steam deck level!

[@JUEGODasanama]

Hey friend, a question, how is the performance with the Wii U emulator? Or games that are a little more demanding like far cry 4 or primal?

[@PonderSmoke860]

Why does KZbin fullscreen and Minecraft say they are running at 1600x900?

[@ScavengerFX]

Interesting that they'd use zen 2, rdna 2, and ddr 5.

[@ScavengerFX]

@@jcforbes7701 oh yeah, I had forgotten.

[@bramtyo1218]

@@jcforbes7701 not same lol, steam deck has 8cu igp while R5 7520u only has 2cu igp

[@DrinkableTrees]

will the 16gb option be good enough for like medium genshin?

[@ZaberfangX]

I think laptop can be a problem is the 8gb, ones start using it for every day use.

[@diuran1919]

8GB of RAM its not enough for me even for web-browsing. But for small server on linux looks ok.

[@JohnDoe-nh7ss]

Could to show us how to deal with the preloaded batocera drives to something practical in a thumb drive portability.😋 maybe rate mobile gamepads and a hierarchy chart😋 that's a lot to ask but it also broadens your appeal😋

[@DanielRumbacher]

it would be nice if you would could test out netflix performance too. is this laptop powerful enough for netflix 1080p or 4k through an external monitor? it would also be helpful to see how much a laptop draws from the wall. we see powerdraw from the apu in the overlay but how much is the whole laptop drawing?

[@brunomendes4093]

Yes, run 4K , most important is the speed of internet connection for streaming

[@notfunny3397]

This is zen 2 based, that's the same gen as the 3250u for example. This naming scheme is absolute bullshit. Honestly even the things intel is about to pull with the new chips are tame compared to this.

[@offspringfan89]

This naming scheme is better, because you just need to check the 3rd digit to find out the microarchitrcture: in this case it's "2", which means it's a Zen 2 CPU. In the old nomenclature, you could have two different uarchs in the same series, like Ryzen 5000: 5300U, 5500U and 5700U were Zen 2 while 5400U, 5600U and 5800U were Zen 3.

[@notfunny3397]

@@offspringfan89 very true but it's also very misleading, because AMD didn't properly convey this info. So many poor souls will be wondering why their 7735 chips aren't performing as well as it 7840 which sounds so similar. Or in my case, why the new chip that's supposed to have avx 512 support and be amazing if or PS3 emulation is so much worse than the similar named chip. This isn't even mentioning that the 7940hs is almost identical to the 7840hs. Isn't even the first time amd pulled something like this, with missing 4th and 6th gen for desktop, or how the ryzen 5500 is worse than the 3600 and also doesn't have pcie 4.0 that the older chip had.

[@numberoneappgames]

Wait, what does ETA mean?

[@JohnDoe-nh7ss]

Eta?! Could you explain how emulators work CPU vs GPU , androids vs Linux vs windows. Maybe a hierarchy chart or old emulators revisited? Handhelds vs portable PC vs phones😋 its a lot cheaper than buying new hardware everytime and informs your subscribers😋 one more thing stock vs ram increase vs over clock. I understand over clock gives better fps at shorter life😋

[@toungeenaamoo]

can you include dota 2 benchmark on these budget laptop thanks :)

[@EslamNawito]

What about installing an optimized windows version instead of the OEM one? windows 8.1 xtrermelite 64bit idles around 500mb, windows 11 neon is ~800mb !! Now that you have room it should be automatically allocated. Try to locate Doom Eternal Config Files & setting graphics to low?

[@mrwoodcat]

what do you think about lenovo yoga 6 7530U ? I interested in that can I use it for 720p AAA gaming ?

[@HenryManziniReyes]

You can test a build with i3 12100f and gtx1650?

[@albertomon]

maybe install an operating system that uses less ram like a modified wiindows or linux mini os to see if you can run doom and other games

[@andyveres3982]

What would game better this laptop or a 5500u 16g duel channel laptop?

[@azraeihalim]

Man, this laptop 7520U was slower then 5300U. Surely 5500U faster

[@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955]

Horrible apu i had one the ryzen 5 5500u smokes the 7520u though for gaming i would recommend just saving and either getting a gaming laptop or a cheap laptop for basic on the go stuff and a dell optiplex with a 1650 for gaming at home

[@GD825]

lol amazon jacked up the price for cyber monday.. its "on sale" for 350 for cyber monday... so much for that thought

[@Chazza15]

Is this good for lower end gaming ?

[@maverickpincay6428]

Standar TDP Laptop or up with Ryzen Controller?

[@KneelDabin]

How come that the ryzen 3 7320u in your previous videos about Mendocino chips could play other games meanwhile this laptop can't?

[@exe9790]

This laptop only has 8gb of ram

[@JohnDoe-nh7ss]

I seen the ayyn Odin 2 selling for $299 on their website snapdragon 8 gen 2😋

[@Silent.killer_007]

this thing is running ps2 emulation at 720p and 8gen2 can do 1080p+ . I mean this runs ps3 emulation fine, so it can also be playable in sd 8gen 2 right?

[@xavijgg]

Weird decision to only put 2 CUs in the GPU. Even an older 5300U beats it with their 6 CUs on an older architecture.

[@fiffy6572]

better than my desktop pc (a part from the gpu) lmao

[@Subh8081]

Is there a version that's 16GB of RAM?

[@ksrnate]

How the hell do you make so many videos with so much detailed stuff in the videos?? You must be busy every day doing them. Much appreciated 👍🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@TrusteftTech]

I don't think he ever replies to any comments, so he probably saves time that way. But I do agree it's impressive.

[@craftymulligar]

​@TrusteftTech he replied to me once don't expect it though. Unless it's a useful comment.

[@TrusteftTech]

@@craftymulligar I have seen many useful comments in many videos. No replies. It's up to him, I am just saying what I see.

[@zerocal76]

I bet someone's doing the editing and script writing for him. He just needs to read and film his hands! 💰 🤑

[@TrusteftTech]

@@zerocal76 There is nothing wrong with that. It doesn't have to be this way, but if it works for him, it works.

[@Readesu]

7:29 Title

[@yuyuy193]

wonder how well it runs World of warcraft.

[@tomekzski]

Will this run well with photoshop?

[@savvwickk_4]

bro i have the same laptop as u and mine runs poorly. Please help me

[@irigormo]

That was a good deal too bad $100 more now for Cyber Monday. Also, now it says $449 is list price but your screen shows $329. Interesting marketing. You can pay more than the list price was a few hours ago on sale. Not a fan of those games.

[@sanadanosa]

Mendocinos are like Steam Deck APU that failed the binning process.

[@robinhood1918]

I have a doubt on pcsx2 emulator I upload it on virustotal and it's telling as trojan is this a false positive?

[@edwald4056]

Why are people complaining about the graphics specs when this thing is $250?

[@Connie_TinuityError]

Because you can find much better graphics specs for $250

[@cx3268]

Can a non Windows OS such as Ubuntu be loaded on it?

[@stevemclovin1566]

Yes.

[@UnorthodoxFellow]

Yes but wifi and Bluetooth doesn't work as there are no open source drivers available for mediatek wifi. You have to buy usb dongles.

[@nojuanatall3281]

No upgradeable ram is something I cannot accept no matter the price point.

[@neilg97]

£349 on amazon uk for 15.6" version no 14" version 😞