i5 vs i7 in laptop

Hi,

New to site. I did a search for "i5 vs i7", "i5 i7" and nothing popped up.

So my question is: for a desktop-replacement lappy, which core would run cooler? An i5-460 or i7-740?

Also, I heard of a term "hyper-threading". Did a search and some sites say i5's don't have HT, some say they do. Did a search for "i5-460 hyperthreading", still found conflicting info (yay go internet!).

Lastly, in your opinion, is the i7 core worth the extra expense for: light gaming and normal stuff we 20+ year olds do.

Thanks for any info!

 

An dual-core i5-460M would theoretically run cooler than a quad-core i7-740M because the heat dissipation from a quad-core processor is simply larger. But in the real world, it entirely depends on the computer's cooling system: you can put an i7-740M in a huge gaming laptop with a very robust cooling system and it can run cooler than an i5-460M in a small, thin laptop with a weak and poorly designed cooling system. Even in the same "model," available with both dual and quad cores, the cooling system is often different, with the higher-power i7 quad core variant equipped with more heat pipes, a larger heat sink, etc.

All notebook Core i5 processors have HT, although I believe some desktop Core i5 processors do lack HT.

In general, I would say no. How much price difference are we talking about?

 

All depends on what you specifically do.

I would wait for SB, whole new platform(s) coming out.

And yes, the desktop i5(s) 7x0 1156 do not have HT but every dual core notebook does.

 

if ur going to do some "light gaming" then go for the i5. However for heavy gamers the i7 is essential, i can comment based on my experience because the dual cores sometimes dont cut it in intense gaming situations.

 

Thanks for the info!

I wish I could wait for the new SB, but this is an Xmas present and I probably couldn't afford the new SB for a few yrs anyways.

Price difference for my laptop is $300 for the i7 (but includes additional extras, LED lit keyboard, bluray, bluetooth).

I think I'll go with the i7 (i5 through Walmart, i7 through Costco). Costco "extends" the manufacturers 1st year warranty and has a 90 day return policy; which I will exercise if anything goes wrong.

Thanks for the input!

 

Careful though with the Costco warranty, most places that service that kind of notebook cannot touch said notebooks, they have a different warranty.

 

well since it is a gift, go with the i7 and as you said it comes with a few extras.

 

I have I7-740m and I aren't sure that LAPTOPS I7 is better for Gaming than I5. for the same money you can get middle-rande I7 or the best I5 with Hyper-trading. Games usually don't use 8 virtual cores of I7. Who think different?

 

The i7 doesn't have 8 cores?

It has 8 threads, if that is what you mean.

And dual-cores will be outdated fast.

 

I'm not sure you can say that just because one is quad core and another is dual core, the first will run hotter than the second. the dual cores are clocked higher.

the TDP is the measure of the amount of energy your cooling system must dissipate to accommodate the chip. you can read the TDPs for Sandy Bridge chips in the wikipedia article.

It is correct that half the i7s run hotter. But there are a few that run below 35W, the highest TDP for an i5.

 

I7 has 8 threads, but Windows see 8 virtual cores.
The best I5 is highclocked and thanks to hyper-trading has 4 virtual cores which is IMO enough for most software and especially for games. That is what I mean. And that is why I think that laptop's processors I5 are better for games than I7.

 

Most games don't use all four cores, just look at some benchmarks. So if you are getting an i7 for gaming only, its a waste of money. Your i7 will produce more heat and consume more energy with little to no gaming benefit. I don't understand the whole gaming laptop must have an i7 rationale, I think its just a ploy to get people to buy more than they need.

 

(deleted) - double post

 

Check this:
Review Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Processors ?Arrandale? - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

From what I've seen, it seems that i5 5xxM is better than i5 4xxM but i7 6xxM is only marginally better. If i3 to i5 4xx is worth $50 and i5 4xx to i5 5xx is worth another 60, then i5 5xx to i7 6xx is worth only 30. Mobile i7 quad core is a different story but it is on a 45nm die and has a much lower frequency.

 

Intel Core i7: Dual-Core vs. Quad-Core

There are two kinds of Core i7 CPU's for laptops. One kind of Core i7 CPU is a Clarksfield Core i7 (Core i7-7xxM or i7-8xxM), based off of a slightly older architecture. These are Quad-core CPU's w/Hyperthreading. You also have Core i7's based off of the newer Arrendale architecture (Core i7-6xxM). These Core i7's are dual-core CPU's with Hyperthreading.

What Exactly is Hyperthreading?

Hyperthreading is not the same as multiple CPU cores. A single CPU core with hyperthreading is still one CPU core, despite the fact that it will appear as two cores to the OS. Hyperthreading is basically a "staging area" for data awaiting execution in a CPU core. The idea is that by preparing data for the CPU core to execute, the CPU core spends less time waiting, and more time doing actual work (computations).

When you go to your doctor's office for a check-up, the office front desk staff will check you in, collect your insurance, have you fill out forms, and lead you back to an exam room where you wait for the doctor. When the doctor arrives, s/he examines you, and sends you on your way. The doctor never has to wait around for patients to check in, because there are always patients in exam rooms waiting to be seen. That is the equivalent of hyperthreading - multiple exam rooms, all waiting to be seen by one doctor.

An Intel Core i7-7xxM CPU has 4 cores w/Hyperthreading. Using my analogy, that is 8 exam rooms that can hold patients, and 4 doctors who actually do work that run around between different exam rooms.

Does a dual-core Core i5 run cooler than a quad-core Core i7?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. This depends on what is called Thermal Design Power (TDP). TDP rating is measured in Watts (W). When you are talking about CPU's, the TDP will determine the maximum amount of heat that will be generated by that CPU.

Take a look at this list of mobile processors:

• Intel Core i5 (i5-4xxM, i5-5xxM, i5-5xxE) - Dual-Core Arrendale - 35W TDP
• Intel Core i5 (i5-4xxUM, i5-5xxUM) - Dual-Core Arrendale - 18W TDP
• Intel Core i7 (i7-6xxM, i7-6xxE) -Dual-Core Arrendale - 35W TDP
• Intel Core i7 (i7-6xxLM, i7-6xxLE) - Dual-Core Arrendale - 25W TDP
• Intel Core i7 (i7-6xxUM, i7-6xxUE) - Dual-Core Arrendale - 18W TDP
• Intel Core i7 (7xxQM, 8xxQM) - Quad-Core Clarksfield - 45W TDP
• Intel Core i7 (9xxXM) - Quad-Core Clarksfield - 55W TDP

In this particular case of current-generation mobile CPU's, dual-core Core i5 CPU's happen to run cooler than quad-core Core i7 CPU's. The only way to absolutely tell whether one CPU runs cooler than another is to look at TDP, and not the number of cores.

Are Dual-Core CPU's Better for Gaming than Quad-Core CPU's?

Let's get some context around this question first.

In most cases, CPU is irrelevant. Most games (est. 95%) are GPU-bound, which means that the GPU matters far more than the CPU. Repeated tests and benchmarks over the past 10 years have shown that small incremental changes to CPU clock speed or number of cores has very little effect on gaming performance.

That leaves the remaining 5% of games that somehow DO depend on the CPU. These games are games that have a lot of AI (e.g. Left 4 Dead 1/2, Civilization 5), or games with a lot of CPU-based physics (e.g. Starcraft 2). And most of these games are dependent on clock speed, more than the number of cores. Most current mobile dual-core CPU's have higher clock speeds than mobile quad-core CPU's. which gives them a slight advantage. However, there are some games which depend on the NUMBER of cores more than the clock speed of those cores (e.g. Civilization 5, Supreme Commander 2). In those rare cases, a Quad-Core CPU would perform better.

So, in general:

• 95% - GPU power is dominant, CPU is largely irrelevant.
• 4% - GPU power is dominant, but CPU still matters. CPU Clock speed is more important than number of cores.
• 1% -GPU power is dominant, but CPU still matters. Number of cores is more important than CPU clock speed.

 

I liked your analogies for hyperthreading, but I'd just like to add that while power consumption (not so much TDP) is a good measure of heat produced, the cooling system of a laptop is what determines how heat is dispersed and hence felt. The more cores, faster and more cache (generally, in that order of importance) the CPU has, the more power it will consume, despite what the TDP says.

 

Smart. You just forgot to add that that electricity (power) can be shut down in at least 4 rooms without doctors and and some rooms with doctors so it will be used to an exact room where is an exact doctor who has more patient because they prefer not multithreaded...oops I mean not prefer other doctor and need the first one

 

This whole debate of dual core vs quad core gets really old, for gaming, especially for gaming on a laptop, GPU matters MUCH more than CPU as most of the games on the market are GPU-bound. For gaming, the difference between a high clocked dual core and a low clocked quad core is minimal, provided they have the same graphic card.

Actually someone on the forum did a very comprehensive test about that a while ago, it's a 2.0Ghz Q9000 vs a 2.8Ghz P9700, both coupled with a GTX260M, the end result totally proves that, the difference is too small for anyone to notice, in most of cases the GTX260M will start bottlenecking the performance WAY before either the Q9000 or P9700 does. Most of the mobile GPUs are too weak to keep up with the processing power the modern CPUs.

If you intend to do lot of gaming on your laptop, you can't go wrong with either a i5-560m or a i7-720m, really, because most of the mobile GPUs will easily become the limiting factor, unless you have some some GPU powerhouse like a crossfire 5870 or a SLI 480M, in that case, then you really need a high end i7.