i3 processor 350M or i5 processor 520M - Gaming

OK another quick question, using machine for gamine and I hear that the GPU is the most important element I agree. However, would it matter if I had an i3 or should I spend extra and get the i5?.

 

i5, it worth your money. i5 + discrete graphic card id good for normal gaming purpose. you will need i7 for some special game.

 

i5 has discrete graphics card, can you explain please?. So i3 not good for gaming?.

 

Here's what I found, not sure if this is good news for gaming or not?.

i3 350: no HT, no TB
i5 430M: no HT, TB
i5 520M: HT, TB

You'll benefit from HyperThreading if and only if you load up the processor with the right types of calculations. This usually means intense amounts of math. Unless you will be compiling loads of code all the time, doing intense graphics processing, or doing advanced rendering, you most likely won't benefit from HT.

TurboBoost is where the processor automatically clocks to higher speeds when some cores aren't being used. It's effectively a conditional higher clock speed. Eg. when only one core is utilized, the TurboBoost ratio of 4 in the 520M gives a 0.5GHz boost in clock rate. However, it runs at its rated speed when both cores are utilized.

 

FYI: The i5 430M also has HyperTreading, 2 cores/4 threads.

 

I say get the i5 because not only are they clocked higher than the i3's, they also turboboost. USUALLY the GPU is the bottleneck... but i'm not sure how powerful an i3 is... if anything getting the i5 will at least future proof your lappy for maybe a year longer than an i3

 

The max temp on the I3 is 90C. The Max temp on the I5 is 105C. The I3 has been known to throttle under 3D gaming situations in some notebooks (starting around 85C). No idea if this has been observed in the Z but it is probably the reason that the 4820TG no longer has an I3 option in the US. If you're going to game, get the I5.

Bronsky

 

i5 any day! and i7 if you afford it!