i5 vs i7!!!!!

I'm really considering getting the Envy 14 now due to the $500 coupon, except I'm stuck at figuring out what Processor I should get.

From what I've been reading, the difference between the i5's are minimal but when you go to i7, it's like 50% more difference. Now with that saying, you will sacrifice battery life with the i7 compared to i5, but how much battery life are we really talking here between i5 and i7???

I do lots of SLR photo editing using Photoshop and some HD video editing from time to time using Adobe Premiere, but I'm not sure if an i5 will be enough for that, can anyone please help me decide so maybe I can finally order a laptop???

I'm hoping someone can elaborate on this coz I am really hoping to keep this laptop for as long as I can, and dont want to regret the build.

 

probably 2 hours with the i7 and about 4 hours with the i5. i5 will be enough for video editing but you will see an improvement with the i7..but i5 wont lag if thats what your asking. If you care about battery life like me, then go with the i5. If not, then choose the i7, it has no disadvantages other than battery life and maybe more heat

 

i5 is also cooler than i7 right?

 

Battery life with i7 is said to be between 1hr30 min and 2hr30 min, while with i5 4hr30m+ has been seen. I think i5 will get the job done, and if all else fails you can overclock it. If you don't like that idea you can always return it and opt for the i7.

 

2 hours is a pretty big difference!! So your saying that the i5 can handle HD video editing as well but the i7 will probably do it faster? Coz I dont mind loading times as long as it is able to process it. I'd rather get the 2hr battery life over faster loading times.

 

yup, exactly. The i5 can easily handle it, but the i7 will be an improvement, but in my opinion this improvement is not big enough to be worth having half the battery life. I would get one of the i5 500 series

 

It's only faster loading times under heavy duty, otherwise the i5 with a faster processing rate would be faster than an i7.
I've got an i7, which I don't need as I don't utlize the 8 cores, so I've sacrificed battery life and heat for nothing. An i5 is the perfect balance.

 

Sweeeet!! Thanx guys,.. so now that ive decided on i5 over i7, what version i5 out of the 4 choices? LOL

 

Well in order to qualify for the coupon you have to spend 1399, so I would do whichever one would put you closest to that. I had to opt for the most expensive as that put me right at 1400.00

 

Personally for my needs the i7 is the hands down winner - but you probably don't virtualize 4 operating systems to develop stuff on =) So the i5 is probably your all around most well rounded solution because you strike a balance for the battery life and performance.

NO the i5 is not faster than the i7 (ignore the clock speeds) - Windows (7) manages all threads well and the i7 is (in general) a "faster" processor. That's why it's more expensive. The ONLY time you'd see the i5 outperform it is when you're doing something very very specific that you know (unquestionably) that only one CPU is being used. Like when you run a virtual machine and tell it to use one core and one thread. Trust me, a LOT of modern applications take advantage of multiple cores (and even if they don't, Windows manages where they run anyway). Even when you compare core for core the clock speed still isn't as far off as you might think. That said, be careful how much you pay for an extra 200Mhz once you're in a different CPU class. There's a point where (at least to me) it's not cost effective.

Many photo, audio, and video editing applications for example... Photoshop, Bibble, etc. Premiere, After Effects, etc. these all use multiple processors. So if you're a graphic artist or work with audio or video then you may also want to consider the i7.

Gaming. Believe it or not, games now utilize multiple cores like Starcraft2 for example. However, this is more recent and many games still don't. So it's really debatable between the i5 and i7 for gaming. That's probably where you'll hear the most back and forth.

In my experience playing SC2, has been smoking fast with the i7, but of course I can't compare.

So I personally would look at it as a lifestyle/preference more than "which is better" or "faster" ... If you don't use the laptop as a desktop replacement and want more battery life then I'd say i5. Though keep in mind no matter what you get, you probably aren't going to be running the laptop on battery power all day for 8 or 10 hrs. Mac laptops that claim that also are bogus numbers (like the numbers you see on HP's site too). The ONLY computers that have what I consider "good" battery life are some ASUS netbooks. Other than that, 30min, an hour, 2hrs here or there means nothing to me personally.

Edit: OH, those Timeline notebooks are also no joke w/ battery life, but STILL not what I would call "good."

 

How can having a Dual Core Vs a Quad Core make such a huge difference in battery life? especially considering that it is the GPU that really kills the battery time most.

 

The i7 doesnt have switchable graphics. If it did everyone would prob get the i7 and there would be no questions asked in here

 

I went with the i5 580, hopefully I can still do all the editing and SC2 playing with this setup.

BTW can I run SC2 with the 580 on ULTRA without any lag?

 

I think you could come close, SC2 is a very CPU intense game if running on Ultra.