Envy 14 i7 the right choice?

hey guys i recently got in on the bandwagon of the $500 envy 14 coupon but im unsure of my purchase

i bought the i7 720qm with 4gb (upgrading to 8gb) of ram and the radiance screen.

now i do a lot of stuff in after effects, MAYA, 3DS max, photoshop and flash catalyst to name some of the programs i use... im a professional graphics and multimedia designer.

is it true what some are saying that the i5 and the i7 are not that far off in performance? or is this just really in games? whats the difference i would see in some of the programs i mentioned above between the 2 types of cpus

so would the i7 be beneficial in my case? reason im asking is because im really bummed about reading how bad the battery life is on the i7's is there any way to increase the life of it by undervolting it or lower the clock rate?

is there anywhere cheap to get the slice battery and how many hours can you get with it using a i7 ?


thanks guys so much for your time

 

You won't be able to increase batt life by underclocking the cores or voltage, and I got around 4.5 hours (total) with the addition of the slice battery doing video rendering.

It's a power hog, but that's probably why you bought it...

 

While I will not be able to provide you with actual statistics there are other users on this board that will. I figured this. I wanted the most processing power for whatever I plan to do on my laptop. I edit HD video frequently, use multiple programs and do not want to wait for a computer to compute. I decided on the core i7 for my needs because I am rarely far away from an outlet. That coupled with the slice battery option and a power supply in my vehicle I went ahead for the processing power and I am not sad at all.

However, if you have to have portability the switchable graphics option is awesome and helps battery life. While this is not my use for a computer this is something you should consider.

Additionally, I have multiple laptops and my wife has the core i5 on her Envy and a Toshiba A665 3DV1 for her blu-ray needs (home video). I notice a slight speed jump on mine but I don't use her computer in the same way I use mine.

Either way there are people who can put numbers to it, I just know that was the right choice for me.

 

photoshop, flash etc. all use multiple cores, you will benefit a lot from the i7, if you just do web browsing and basic stuff then it would be pretty much pointless. Yes the battery is short, but it's worth it if you need the speed in those programs

 

The hp parts store has them for cheaper. $127 ($150 after shipping, tax)

HP Parts Store - HP Computer Parts - HP Printer Parts - Compaq Parts

P.S.- Don't order the $120 get the $127. The $120 is refurbished the other is new.

P.S.S.- Expect about double the internal battery's time w/ the slice

 

Battery life seems way shorter (which I don't care about at all), but anyone suggesting a 2 core cpu over a 4 core one is still living in 2008.

Edited to avoid people think I'm trolling. Really, W7, apps, and even games nowadays are starting to generally be very well optimised for multicore CPUs, and it's a trend that will only go up. Granted, if all you will do is browse the web and do some word processing you don't need the i7, but then you don't really need an Envy either, do you? In your case and the apps you are mentioning (Maya on a 14" laptop is brave though ), i7 all the way.

 

That's like saying everyone that buys a truck should have 4 wheel drive. When most people want 2 wheel drive because it gets way better gas and they'd rarely ever need 4 wheel drive so it isn't worth it.

Most people on here w/ envy 14's have an i5. I can see this getting bad.

 

Erm, I may have worded that awkwardly, dual cores are fine, but that couple years old adage that 2 slightly faster (clock) cores are better than 4 - which was true back in the time of the E8400 and the likes and the beginning of the Vista cycle, is not true any more, really. Multi core support has matured and will do so even more, I don't think anyone would argue with that at this point. I myself would have chosen an i5 for my Envy 14 if I had had a choice, but since my company works for HP and I get huge discounts, with the catch that I can choose the model, but not the exact spec, and I ended up with the i7.

And as for the OPs question about specific apps: after effects, MAYA, 3DS max, photoshop - all very well multi-core optimised, it is a no brainer.

 

Yeah, the time of the E8400 and when multi-core support was scarce, don't know where's the drama about that sentence? I said 2 core over 4 core, meaning as in flat out performance, since the OP was obviously asking about processing intensive apps? I was replying to his post and if you plan to stick with this please prove me wrong that 2 cores will be better than 4 for those apps that are clearly mentioned?

Quoting out of context just brings flaming, and I did admit to wording it awkwardly, so what's the point with going on and on with this?

 

I think what he's trying to say is that i5 cannot be faster than an i7. Some people say that an i5 with higher clock rate is faster than an i7 with lower lock rate when running single threaded applications. This is not true, and i7 will always be faster than an i5, the only downsides are heat, power, and price (if applicable). So and i5 is not "better" than an i7. It just depends on what matters to you more.

 

Thanks waleed, and yes, indeed, that is exactly what I was trying to say - somewhat clumsily though.

The OP was very specific about the applications this would be used for, and in his case there is no contest, he shouldn't even be thinking about the i5 if he can afford an i7. I've used all those applications extensively, and on many of my desktop systems and to a lesser extent laptops. They all benefit hugely from the i7 architecture, the 4 cores and 8 threads.

 

For what I use my laptop for I wouldnt be able to see a difference between the I5 and I7 so I went with I5 cause my battery will last longer. I was tempted to go I7 but I would rather be able to go on a flight and watch a few movies and go to class all day without my battery dieing. Im all about not plugging in. When I am home I have the desktop anyway.

 

Well those are perfectly good reasons for choosing an i5 but let me requote the OP and what this thread is all about:

 

I think she/he is wanting to know more of how much better will the i7 be for these applications compared to the i5 since battery life seems important to her/him as well. Is the advantages the i7 has on these programs enough to justify the loss in battery life and are there any examples, "numbers", or real life experiences that can be shown to better present the case?

 

its a choice between :
- i7 : CPU power + short battery life (hardly >2h)
- i5 : 25% less CPU power + 100% more battery life (>4h30)

If you do a lot of processing with pictures, audio and programming then go i7.
If you dont mind being 25% slower and double your battery life, go i5.

But again I have an i7 desktop at home that kills any laptop out there if i need to do some heavy processing.
I don't need sheer CPU power for games (GPU matters more) and I like the portability. The choice was simple for me, i5 all the way.

 

25% in a fully multithreaded app like 3DS Max and Maya- which the OP specifically asked about? Are you seriously saying that or shall I link you the benches from the 3DS and Maya official forums myself?

 

I used the passmark CPU ratings

 

Why not get an i7 desktop for cheap that will be way more powerful and have about the same battery life ha.