Core i5 heat vs. i7 (HP Envy 15)

Wow, here I am again, 2 some years later and still trying to find a good notebook haha

Ok so I’m now thinking about buying the Envy 15. I noticed that HP now offers a Core i5 set up, the main reason behind this is most likely to make the unit much more affordable, but I see another up side to this

The new Envy’s come with the 40nm ATI 5830 HD card, which uses way less power and heat output. The Core i5’s use the 32nm, as well as the i7’s, but after doing some digging around the web I noticed that the power consumption of the i7 is way higher than I first thought.

So I know that by getting a Core i5 version the battery will last longer, but I was wondering about the heat savings? I’ve heard from reviews that heat is a big issue with this notebook, but I can’t find any new reviews that have the newer smaller chips.

Now I’m mainly getting this comp for school/back-up if ever needed. I also hope to do some gaming as well. Nothing insane Crysis like, more like Source Engine (Left 4 dead, Half life 2 + 3, if that ever comes out) BF 2142, Eve Online, Bioshock, etc. So the dual core HT and 1 gig 5830 will do fine.

So my big question is if I do decide to play it smart and get the weaker but more energy efficient i5 will I also receive a much noticeably cooler notebook. Now I’m no dummy and know that the less powerful the CPU, the less heat it will make, I’m just wondering if theres a big heat difference.

Thanks for the help!

 

Dual core i5s and i7s are rated for 35 watt TDP (heat output) which includes cpu, memory controller, and gpu

Quad core i7s are rated for 45 watt TDP (all of the above sans gpu)

 

Also i7 is 45nm process. Except 17 620m, which is a dual core 32nm

 

ark.intel.com has a great comparison tool.

 

be VERY careful about the i7-620m. there are reports of the chip using more power(and therefore getting hotter) than its specs say it should[ on stock settings].

 

The i5-540M will be good enough for the purposes you listed. I doubt you'd see any performance difference in any games or school programs if you pay more for any i7 CPU.

 

As an owner of an i5 model Envy, I highly recommend it. Unless you're going to be doing major HD movie editing, 3D rendering or other such things all the time, an i7 is more than you need, and will make the Envy that much less portable. Just as an FYI, with my 540M I can transcode a 2 hour 1080p move in roughly 6-7 hours. More than acceptable for a mobile processor IMHO.

 

It's a common misconception, but TDP is not heat output, so you can't say the 32nm i5 and i7 use the same power or that the 45nm uses 15 more watts than the 32nm.

 

TDP is not the constant heat output, but it is the Thermal Design Power, so it can do up to that, generally.

And either way, the i7 still idles using something like 15W, whereas the i5 is around 5W. THAT is significant. 3x the idle power for double the (slower) cores. Sometimes you need the cores, but the i5 being 32nm is a much more power-efficient chip.

 

Thank you all for the great replies so far!

I’m thinking about getting the premade Core-i5 Envy model. Since this ships overnight, has the External DVD drive, and 500 gig 7200rpm drive and 1080 p screen. The only downside is the fact that it’s an i5-430m and the not the 520m which I was thinking about getting. I guess this is my impatience showing, sine I won’t want to wait till may 12th to get it xP

Anyone know if its worth the wait for a Core i5-5xx?

 

Depends on your use. An i5-430M is plenty for gaming, and pretty much all "normal" uses. I mostly got the 540 because I had a $300 off coupon when I bought it. If you're going to be doing lots of video editing and 3D modeling and rendering, a 540m would be great for saving power while doing so, and the i7-720m would be a much faster system for it at the expense of battery life and heat.

 

TDP only tells a partial story about Heat output and battery life. The i7-720qm gets mighty toasty when under load and on the Envy its multiplier locked at x7 when on batteries.

 

I didn’t want to carry around a 17” notebook anyways lol

Well guys thanks for all you're help again, I put in the order late last night:

Eny15
Core i5-520m
4 gigs
500 gig 7200rmp drive
1080p Ati-glare screen <3

And all the other typical things like the awesome video card and external DVD player. The only down side I wont get it till like May 15th x.x So I hope the wait is worth it!