Skylake HQ vs HK

So it's about $120 add between the two models when customizing a Sager model.

Is it worth it? What is the main differences?

If all I would be doing is gaming does it make a real world different that the HK is unlocked? It's a laptop how much OCN can you actually get?

Need some help if it's worth it.. may free up some funds to go to the 980m

 

If all you are doing is gaming, literally any quad core i7 is enough for your needs. You won't cpu throttle on anything. I would never get the more expensive one for mobile anyway. The only huge differences are between like a 4700mq and a 4940mx, or like a 4700mq and a desktop cpu. Both Skylake cpus are powerful, and will not be a problem in the foreseeable future for gaming, especially since DX12 if anything is supposed to decrease cpu overhead. There is not a single scenario I can think of for gaming where I would take a 6820hk over a 980m. The 980m will give you an increase in fps, while the cpu won't really do anything at all for gaming.

 

I beg to differ
False
This is sensible and true

Funny since the CPUs are the same price according to Intel

HK is overclockable like old XM/MX chips were.

This much.

I don't know if the HK is capable of holding its TDP under load. If this is the case, it's pointless as an unlocked CPU, and thus I can't give you a good judgement right now. However, the 980M is a better choice over that CPU.

Read my mobile i7 CPU information guide in my signature if you wish to know more about what I'm talking about with "holding TDP under load".

 

Can I ask what quad core i7 would be an issue in most modern games? Look I know it is possible to throttle the cpu on games I already talked about ARMA 3 and rts games can also do it and like minecraft sometimes, but for the most part gpu throttling occurs before cpu throttling.

 

I didn't say most games. But GTA V and at least one point in Crysis 3 you can have issues with. And an i7-4800MQ. In fact, mine, where it doesn't have enough excess power (not that it's actually throttling).

As for a quadcore i7 that THROTTLES in games, stuff like this can: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/review-gigabyte-p55w-v4-i7-5700hq-970m-3gb.782018/

Even though I don't expect a Clevo to thermally throttle, I'm definitely saying it can throttle in various ways. We've seen tons of TDP throttle for 4720HQ chips all over, usually due to high voltages on the chips for seemingly no reason. Any old i7 isn't just "perfect". It's good; great even... just like any old desktop i5 is "great" for games. But they're not infallible and even if there's a 1% section where it's not "great", people should be informed. It's not to dissuade their sale, but to make them understand what they're spending their money on. An informed customer is always a good thing.

 

True, I guess I over exaggerated a bit and I am aware of all of that, but the main point was go for the 980m. The 6700hq beats the 4720HQ and 4800MQ if I'm not mistaken, and OP should definitely pick a better gpu over a better Skylake i7 quad core. I also never throttled with a 4710MQ with a 980m in GTA V so that's interesting. Crisis 3 I've only played on my 5820k @ 4.1 GHz (which I leave there because no game comes close to throttling it haha) so I have no idea there, you are probably right. I also was assuming that a Clevo is less likely to throttle horribly like that Gigabyte, so gameplay shouldn't really be dropping below 60 as long as its performing as intended and in that case a 2630qm would be fine.

 

I didn't really "throttle" as in "drop clocks" (I NEVER drop clocks) but I got under 60fps quite often

 

Maybe you were on higher settings than me because you have sli? Unusual.

 

Honestly I couldn't guess. I know SLI has a bit of a CPU overhead, but it shouldn't be that much. If you were on Windows 7 it might explain a bit, since I know Win 8.1 limits CPU load for some programs (and many multithreaded games fall victim to it). The later patches however seem to work a lot better.

 

Nah it was 8.1, not sure what the difference was and I can't check as per my sig I switched to a desktop.

 

I also do not understand why is so much CPU power needed, I play GTA5 with i5-5200U (yes dual core and 15w TDP) with 950m and 1080p fluent ( min 30 fps),many things on high. The only thing is what i d like faster in my laptop is the GPU...

 

Mmm... maybe you just didn't stare at it I guess? Since I switched to the 120Hz gaming scene I ALWAYS notice under 60fps or stutters in frametimes. Who knows.

That plus my overlay shows me just about everything about my PC and I keep a lot of things up while gaming (some extra CPU power there)

 

If you have a 980m and push up the details a bit, no way an i5-5200U will cut the mustard. Did you ever check to see what your CPU load is? Perhaps it's the CPU and not GPU limiting that FPS.

 

Haha no I do have afterburner showing fps and gpu stats and stuff.

 

I'd spend the money on the 980M instead of the upgraded CPU. You'll get VASTLY better results (in terms of gaming performance) from a GPU upgrade.

Yes, there are certain CPUs in certain machines that can throttle, or can be a bottle-neck in certain games. But by and large, the GPU is a far better investment. The GPU will get you better performance in all games -the "better" CPU will only get you better results in certain games. And even then, maybe not - there are times where the issue is not the CPU, but the actual laptop itself failing to deliver sufficient power/cooling to the CPU.

 

So it sounds like the stock NP8658 is a good bet (with a few after purchase upgrades down the road, of course)
Anyone see a reason to not get one? I doubt anything mind blowing or one of the higher end HQ models will make a difference.

As I am interested in the 15" and don't want the thickness of the non mobile gpu. the 980m is good for me.