i5 vs. i7 GPU

Question for those with a decent knowledge of the technical side of notebook GPUs:

I've noticed as I spec out notebooks on different sites, that some GPUs are listed as being incompatible with the i7. This is most noticeable on the HP Envy 15's customizer, where the same GPU seems to have an i5 model and an i7 model. I'm in the market to buy a new laptop soon, and I'm waffling between an i5 and an i7, with the main benefit of the i5 naturally being the significantly lower price point. However, I feel like I would eventually want an i7 quad-core in the machine to increase its lifespan before I need to upgrade.

Therefore, the question is: could I upgrade to an i7 quad in a notebook that was built with an i5, or are the GPU and the CPU going to disagree and ruin my fun?

 

Well its not the GPU and CPU conflicting its the overall Chipset the motherboard uses.

 

Like above said, it has nothing to do with the GPU. As for replacing the i5 for an i7, I think you'll have more luck asking the question in the Hardware section (aftermarket and upgrades) of the forum.

 

Now, I'm not 100% certain here, but I believe the Mobile versions of Core i5 and i7 chips use the same socket - microPGA-989. This is unlike their desktop versions, which use LGA 1156 and 1366, respectively, and are therefore incompatible.

You'll still have to look out for the TDP, though. The i5 430M has a 35W TDP, so you're probably not going to be able to pick up an i7 with a higher TDP, like the quad-core ones. The i7-620M has a 35W TDP and uses the same socket, so I think it might just work.

Again, don't take my word for it, though.

 

Here is a side by side comparison from intel.

Compare Intel® Products,

 

Get the i5, the i7 is going to wear out as of heating long before the i5 will.. It'll also be a lot more comfortable to use the Envy with a i5 as it runs cooler than the i7. Unless you're doing programming / are running heavy programs that require 4 cores you're better off with the i5. As for gaming, some games run faster on 2 cores rather than 4. (ie StarCraft 2)

 

To answer the OPs question specifically, yes, an i7 quad is a direct drop replacement for an HP ENVY that comes with an i5 from the factory. The opposite scenario, however (i5 replacement for i7 machine) cripples the chipset. If you feel that a dual is inadequate after you get an ENVY, you can drop in a 720 or 820QM, sell the dual core and actually make most of your money back. ES and QS quads tend to go for ~$250-300 on ebay (depending on model obviously, retail chips are more expensive), and you can easily sell a dual core i5 or i7 620m for $200+.

A quad will definitely be more future proof, and some games LOVE them (Bad Company 2), but you are gaining power at the sacrifice of heat and battery life. A dual will stay extremely cool and give you an extra hour or so of battery life. The i5s are fast even in multi-threaded apps thanks to HT and efficient architecture, but if you plan to do any heavy rendering or other CPU intensive tasks, an i7 quad will still be king.

As to whether other laptops support this type of upgrade: it would depend largely on the chipset and BIOS supporting additional processors. I don't know of any other examples besides the ENVY.

 

And to add to the advice already presented, if you plan to get a quad, try to get a decent quad core and not its bottom model.

 

Wow out of all the responses only m3ta1head actually answered the OP's question and actually gave a relevant and believable answer.

Please back this up with evidence that a i5 will last longer than an i7. This is about the smelliest BS I've read in a long time.

Oh really? Pray tell exactly why he needs one of the higher models for a Quad? List them why he will need that kind of power.

 

The question that the OP needs to answer is what he plans on using his laptop for. If he wants daily tasks (Firefox, Word, Excel) and gaming, then honestly a cheap i5 CPU will be fine and getting a more expensive CPU will not make his laptop more future proof. There isn't much difference in the i5-520M, i5-540M, i7-620M, and the i7-720QM in benchmarks, games, and real life situations; however, in CPU intensive situations, the i7-820QM will provide the best performance per cost. So stick with the i5-520M unless you need the extra CPU power of the i7-820QM.

 

^^ Exactly for the reason stated above. The benchmark differences are minimum between the top of the line dual cores vs quad cores.

 

This is a misleading post-which benchmarks are you referring to? Of course dual cores and quad cores are going to perform similarly in single threaded apps...but try extracting/compressing some files, rendering some video/3d models, playing physics intensive games, etc and you'll see where a quad pulls far ahead.

 

There is a whole thread in the Hardware section of the forum. You better look at it or at least provide some counter-evidence before disregarding other people posts. Benchmarks have been done (obviously) on multi-threaded apps. The 720QM compares with the 620M. That is why, if you have read my previous post, I said that if you want to get a quad core, it is better not to get the weakest.

 

Please prove that an i5 will last longer than an i7. Prove to me that life of i5 and i7 is even something to consider...

How is it even relevant unless someone plans to use the same notebook for 20 years....

 

Okay, so here's what I've got so far:

A) Quad-core is overkill for most purposes (mine included)

B) It might take a higher-end quad-core to run single-core apps at comparable speeds to a decent dual-core (extrapolated, but I think this is right)

C) Dual-core will run cooler and increase battery life - makes sense

D) The dual-core's cooler temperature decreases the likelihood of the processor burning out, though, as Ziddy123 points out, this is probably not a practical issue, just a theoretical one.

I guess that settles me on an i5, then - sounds like bumping to an i7 dual or quad wouldn't really be necessary, and saving that money will be nice as it'll allow me to be a little more prodigal with some other part of the computer.

However, my original question has yet to be answered, if I'm not mistaken: is there any difference between a GPU paired with an i7 quad and an identical model GPU paired with an i5 or i7 dual-core? See attached for an example from the Envy 15 customizer. There are a couple "what's this" or "help me choose" links on that page, but none of them answer my question. While it's looking like I'll probably just want the i5 anyway, I'd like to know for future upgradeability purposes.

 

There is absolutely no difference, the HD5830 in the dual core and quad core machines are identical. The customizer is actually quite misleading, I have no clue why they even included that option in there-perhaps to distinguish between the chipsets in the dual and quad core models? I have no idea really.

 

This reply makes no relation to what I was discussing, maybe you got confused with another post?

 

It may be that by the option you are defining the chipset/motherboard to be used (specific TDP?). In any case performance-wise the only difference is the the processor speed.

Have you tried to ask in the HP website what is the actual difference? If they say it is the GPU just tell them that makes no sense (a GPU is a GPU) and that you would like to ask someone with technical knowledge. Another possibility is that the RAM used in the GPU: ddr3 or ddr5?... Although there is no reason to make that distinction.

 

Just to clarify, but while socket 1366 is only i7's and their Xeon analogs, there are socket 1156 i7's, and they are pretty much the same, not like the two types of mobile "i7's."

 

"he i5 and i7 chips are very close to each other in a price range of 225 to 332 dollars. This also applies to numerous performance tests, whereas the Core i7-620M usually has the lead, but the distance to the Core i5-540M frequently stays in the lower one-digit percent field. The upper class i5 chip and the i7 CPU could distinguish themselves clearly in the PCMark Vantage benchmark test, which is due to single CPU features that are only available in the top models.

The GMA HD graphic solution also supplies good performance. It turns out a bit lower than in the Core i3 processors because of the lower transfer rates but is much more superior than the previous GMA 4500M HD graphic chip set (up to 40%), anyway.

The observations of the i7-620M CPU's GPU performance also turn out to be interesting, as they can be a bit below the i5 results, depending on the test. The i7-620M CPU's considerably higher energy requirement might play a role here, as the total TDP is limited to 35W here as well and the GPU might be impeded a bit in terms of overclockability.
Comparisons to the previous Core 2 Duo chips, in particular the Extreme X9100 CPU, verify Intel with the new Arrendale architecture. The i7 and i5 chip could keep up with the hitherto most efficient CPUs and even partly outpace them.

The new Intel CPUs are seen as a "hot topic" for the configuration of upcoming notebooks, not least because of the interesting price design. If you consider the criteria price, performance and power consumption, the Intel Core i5 should be exposed as the obvious winner. You can get the considerably stronger Core i5-520M starting at 225 dollars (compare: Intel P8700 209 dollars)."

Notebookcheck: Review Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Processors ?Arrandale?



For me personally, I need power for gaming, and video editing. But I don't want to kill battery life, or deal with insane heat.

In many of these tests, it seems to me that i7 is not worth it.
But in real world performance?

I wonder if many video editing programs, like Avid, Sony vegas, premierer support quad-core.

In games, I know GTA4 runs much better on a quad core, than anything else.


It's impossible to predict where we will be in three years. will all programs, and all games run bad because quad-core have become the household standard?

that's the tricky part.

 

While the OEM price by the 1000 aren't that different, typically companies charge quite a bit more for CPU upgrades. And to answer your question about real life differences, benchmarks were done over in hardware forum on multithreaded (quad core and more) capable software to show differences in the 620M and 720QM, with results showing very little differences.