is an i7 2620 a necessity for gaming over an i5 4210?

I decided to get a MSI laptop, with a 2GB 555m, the i5 2410 and 4GB RAM.

I understand that a lot of people feel the i5 is fine and that an i7 wouldn't be used properly (bottlenecked?) since the graphics card can't take advantage of the i7.

But, the problem is, the site notbookcheck.com, the game benchmarks for the 555m is used with an i7. So I'm just confused as to if the i7 gives it a small boost, like an extra 2-3 FPS or is it really need to get around the same FPS as what's given in those benchmarks?

I thought that the i7 would be a waste since it would cost me about an extra 180 euro (aswell as getting 8GB RAM and a bigger HDD). But I'm slightly worried as if the i5 isn't going to get me around the same FPS as the i7.

 

555M is too weak to be bottlenecked by a i5, you will be fine even with a i3, i7 will make VERY little to absolutely NO difference for gaming. Even a 560M can't take the advantage of a cpu faster than i3. Here is the proof: Intel Sandy Bridge Processors Gaming Performance: Part II - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Wow, thank you! I feel so much better after that link, thanks again!

 

No problem, save the money and spend on something that can bring you some real benefit like a SSD.

 

Oh my!

From that linked article:

An SSD will not improve gaming except in load times - 180 Euros is a lot of money to get an i7, 4GB more RAM and a bigger HD (is it faster? An XT Hybrid, perhaps?) - but as long as the i7 can clock higher than the i5, then yes - Everything on the system will get a performance boost, even a gpu.

This is why every component tested is put on a high end machine - so that there is no reason (lack of horsepower) to think the part tested is hampered in any way.

You may notice that a performance part is not put into an entry level machine and it magically transforms it? No, the performance part on subpar hardware will sink down to the level of the platform it is installed on.

You should be looking for a balanced system.

With 2012 being right around the corner, an i5, 4GB RAM and a slow HDD (slower RPM, smaller capacity=slower, smaller capacity=older tech - possibly) is not the way to go if you want a system for the next few years.

At least not if you want a balanced system.

If clock speed is kept constant (as the article indicates it was in the tests it performed for the gpu's) then of course the performance will be nearly identical.

What impacts performance (work performed, or 'productivity') of any system is first how powerful the CPU is and closely followed by how much physical 'real' RAM (8GB minimum recommended for gaming...) it is allowed to use. Anything else (like the gpu and the storage subsystem) is secondary to the work a given platform can produce.

Of course, for gaming a gpu becomes one part of the cpu/RAM combo - but if the 555M is what is in both systems (the i5 and the i7 based systems - a constant, in other words) then it is what it is.

As to the notion that an SSD takes a platform to a higher performance plane, that is not universally true. Sure, it will give the system great 'snap' - but it will do nothing to make the system more powerful, only 'smoother'.

As a matter of fact, an SSD on an underpowered system only highlights just how underpowered the rest of the platform is - it doesn't increase performance anywhere near to the $$$ spent for the gain received.

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7994175-post63.html

The link above shows how increasing the storage subsystem performance by 45x (using RAM) barely translates into a 10 - 15% increase in overall system performance (even when increased by 102x - the same or less system performance was 'felt').

SSD's barely increase the performance (using the same ASU benchmark) by 10x vs. a HDD in identical systems - that is why I say SSD's give 'snap'.

But a better/more CPU/RAM upgrade gives real performance gains. Everytime.

Good luck.

 

That sentence, once you put it back in context, is talking to people with a 560M or better. A 555M is closer performance-wise to the 540M they tested (no noticeable benefit) than it is to the 560M.

 

Mitlov,

which is all the more reason to give the 555M a fighting chance with the best mobile platform you can buy.

 

I wouldn't bother with the 2620. A 2630 or other low end quad core would be a more worthwhile investment. Adding the extra cores makes a difference in a lot of games.

 

That's not how performance bottlenecking works. If you're bottleneck is the GPU for the games you're playing, adding a more and more powerful CPU is not going to change a darned thing.

 

I know how performance bottlenecking works.

dmurray though is considering the same gpu with different cpu/ram combo's.

Which makes my point exactly on point.

 

Link us to the spec page for the MSI you're looking at buying, and if it's 15.6" make sure the screen resolution is 1920x1080, not 1366x768

If it says 1366x768 and it's a 15.6" laptop, buy a different 15.6" laptop. 1366x768 screens are terrible.

 

I don't mind it being bottle necked, so to speak, once I can get say low-medium graphics (or at least, ideally, console level ones).

Sure, the laptop is here: MSI 15.6" GE620DX-297NL - i5 2410M/4GB/500GB : GE620DX-297NL - Komplett

I opted for the full HD screen and despite that it doesn't come with an i7, I felt that the laptop was the best I could get for that price here. (if you ever set foot in some stores here, you'd agree; the prices in Ireland are just... horriblely high)

Oh before I forget, on average, if a card that's a lower class (say a 520m) can run a game, it's a safe bet to assume my 555m can run it too?

 

Games now are starting to incorporate quad cores; top of my head I can only think of BF3 and Arma II (not entirely sure on Arma II)

i7's are great for everything out there, but if youre sole purpose for the laptop is gaming and normal stuff such as watching and writing word docx's then yeah i5 is decent

 

The i7 he mentioned isn't a quad core... It's just a higher binned i5.

OP, the i5 will suit you just fine in games, especially with that GPU. Go for it.

And yes, if a 520m can run a game, then a 555m will be able to as well.

 

There's no point in getting an i7-2620, an i7-2630 now is another story. I can think of a few games that will work better on quad cores like civ 5 and FS X. Also, while the extra cores might not benefit the game itself, your other processes can run on said extra cores. I remember seeing an article on some tech site about games benefiting from up to three cores if they were dual threaded. I'll try to find it again and link it.

EDIT: Here's one: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/07/05/how-many-cpu-cores-do-games-need/ and here's a slightly older one: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/multi-core-cpu,2280-11.html.

 

yeah.... well that shows it's almost end of dual core era..... if u getting new pc now then no point in getting dual core if u can get quad..... but this review cant' be matched directly with i5 processors as those are hyperthreaded as well..............

 

If you want to try a cheap upgrade, ebay has engineering samples of the i5-2520/2540 for around $100. I just ordered and have it for my 3830tg (w/ 540gt) I'm waiting for a couple other things before I install it. Another member installed a 2520 and he said he saw a good upgrade in FPS and it is working and stable and is running around 2.8GHz.