Intel Core i7 for games ?

Hi,

I have been looking around the internet regarding the new Intel Core i7 as I plan to get the ASUS G51J laptop.

The thing I came across is that the Core i7 is not optimized for most games and this may result in performance drop.

Surely this cannot be a major problem now can it ? should the new i7 perform better when gaming or should I not bother with it ?

 

The thing you came across is pure non-sense.

The Nehalem architecture has better performance/frequency than the Core architecture.
With the turbo boost, the lowest mobile Core i7 performs similarly the high end mobile C2D (T/P9500/9700) on single-dual threaded apps for a fraction of the cost.

FYI, the mobile 2.0ghz i7 beats the desktop Q9400

 

Did you read that off AMD's site? I would say older games are unoptimized for the dual core / multithreaded platform but anything recent needs all the power it can get.

 

Apparently they missed the benchmarks since its a fact that cpu's dont affect fps after a certain point. Think theres one or two threads around here with difference cpu's and clocks for crysis benchmarks.

 

Sounds a bit wrong to me.

I have a core i7 powered M15X, and it completely kicks the of every other computer I've got in games, including a Sager 5793.

As someone else pointed out, a big player in game performance tho is really graphics card power - beyond a certain point, the CPU plays a much less vital role.

 

I'm going to have to dig, but somewhere in this forum people were having minor stuttering issues because the i7s were turboboosting back and forth.

 

Not optimized for games? What the heck are you reading.. probably something about hyper-threading. Listen up man, the i7 rocks any other processor on the market out of the water so if you want the best go i7 and if you don't... well don't! I have an i7 860 in my desktop OC'd to 3.8ghz and this thing is ridiculous. Also with the turbo feature they just blow everything away.

 

So the i7 is worth the price if I am using it for gaming? I read that most systems cannot yet take advantage of the tech yet.

But if that is incorrect, I know what will be on my next laptop.

 

GPU's in notebooks today are fine with a Core 2 Duo. But the Core i7 in general is a much more efficient and powerful CPU.

 

Yeah the i7 is a very powerful CPU and does very well in games. However, you are correct in saying that a large majority of games don't really require nor use the power of the i7 to its max(probably only a dozen or so actually do).

 

Indeed, its a nice perk but wouldn't say its necessary, you should be more concerned with the GPU.

 

One nice thing about the core i7 is that they're very cost effective for the power and versatility they pack. The lowest range, 720qm, goes for ~$380, just a few dollars more than the $350 T9600 2.8GHz C2D and the similarly priced Q9000 2.0GHz C2Q. Performance-wise, the 720qm is generally substantially better than the other two options in games, plus you get some neat advantages when you're not gaming (hyper-threading, better power-saving and lower heat than the C2Q).

The mid-range 820QM is a couple hundred more expensive at ~$580, but could probably beat any C2D or C2Q out there, with the possible exception of the QX9300 2.53GHz (and even then, they'd probably be close). And the QX9300 will cost you over $1000, and it will suck your battery dry and burn a hole in your desk with the heat. The 920XM handily beats the QX9300, making it easily the most powerful laptop option for gaming, or anything else for that matter (unless you're into putting desktop CPUs in laptops... silly D900F users...).

I've got the weakling 720QM, and it does everything I ask of it, save running Crysis at max settings... and that's probably a GPU issue more than a CPU one. I love my 720QM.

 

So far though, most i7 notebooks are $300-$400 more than a similarly equipped Core 2 Duo. A good example is the NP8662 and NP8690. I'm not saying it's not worth it, just something to consider. Granted you also get the GTX 280m vs 260m in the NP8690.

 

Well arguably, the day an i7 becomes needed for gaming(and the word 'gaming' isn't preceded by 'extreme' or 'hardcore') will be quite the day indeed lol .

I'd still look at GPU setup first and foremost before looking at an i7. It's a very nice perk, but definitely not the main thing to look at for gaming purposes.

 

For the time being, most games are not full multi-threaded.

but the newer games are becoming more and more CPU demanding from my tests.

The CPU helps make up for rendering and physics calculations (and yes, even if your card has PhysX enabled... which does not mean all games will use that platform of physics)

 

This is sometimes true, unfortunately i7 prices are sometimes artificially inflated just 'cuz they're NEW, so companies think people will pay more for them (*glares evilly at HP*).

There are some decently-priced i7 rigs out there, though most aren't for gaming. Asus is lagging a bit behind with their i7 iterations.

 

And will probably continue to be true. I can't see i7 machines costing same or less than a similarly equipped Core 2 machine.

Bottom line like everyone else has said though, for gaming, probably choose based on GPU more than CPU. Games are definitely taking advantage of more cores, but even so, I don't think you'll really "need" an i7 for at least a few years, at which time you'll probably be replacing your notebook anyhow, unless you plan on keeping it more than 2-3 years for gaming purposes, get an i7.