Better CPU or GPU?

[harditiitus]

I'm going to buy new laptop and I think I need your opininon which one is better.

1. CPU: i5-7300HQ RAM: 8GB (max 32GB) GPU: GTX 1050 (4GB)
2. CPU: i7-7700HQ RAM: 8GB (max 16GB) GPU: GTX 1050 (2GB)

Any suggestions?

 

[sizzling]

Better at doing what?

 

[harditiitus]

Well I'm not hardcore gamer but I would like to play some games (BF1 or CoD WW2 maybe). But mostly I just use VirtualBox, VisualStudio, IntelliJ, and MSOffice 😀

 

[TechyInAZ]

Well I'm not hardcore gamer but I would like to play some games (BF1 or CoD WW2 maybe). But mostly I just use VirtualBox, VisualStudio, IntelliJ, and MSOffice 😀

Definitely the i7 variant. Sure the 4GB is handy, but that's only a 1050, so you should be fine with 2GB for 1080P.

 

[velocityg4]

Ditto, that i7 is a big upgrade over the i5. A GTX 1050 4GB is not a big upgrade over a 2GB variant. Are you sure that is not a 1050 Ti 4GB?

What is your budget and country? There may be better options.

As you mention virtual box. I'd hate to think of how slow a VM is on the same drive as the boot drive. If the computer only has a HDD not an SSD.

 

[harditiitus]

Budget is around 900€, country is Estonia. It will have 1 TB HDD but I will change it with 256GB SSD. Yes, I think its just GTX 1050 4GB. (Here is link: it is in Estonian but its just specs so I think you will understand:
https://www.1a.ee/compare/products/arvutitehnika_burootarbed/sulearvutid_ja_tarvikud/sulearvutid/acer_nitro_5_an51551_eng_full_hd_gtx_kaby_lake_i5/lenovo_legion_y520_80wk00enpb8)

 

[velocityg4]

The only reason I would choose the Acer is for battery life. As it has a larger battery.

The Lenovo has the best performance. In general, Lenovo laptops also have a superior reliability ratings.

Please note that with either laptop. You will have to install Windows if you want Windows. The Lenovo only has DOS (I assume FreeDOS).

 

[harditiitus]

Thanks for answering! I know that I must install Windows (I have win10 product key). There is one alternative will you check that aswell? HP Pavilion 15-bc200ne (https://www.arvutitark.ee/est/tootekataloog/Arvutid-ja-lisad-Sulearvutid-15-ekraaniga-sulearvutid118/HP-Pavilion-15-bc200ne-Renew-i7-7700H-GF-GT1050-2GB-156-FHD-AG-16GB2x8GB-1TB-SSD-128GB-NO-ODD-WIFI-CAM-Arab-BL-Kbd-150W-W10H6-307720)
It has more RAM and extra 128 GB SSD. CPU and GPU seems same as Lenovo.

 

[velocityg4]

Thanks for answering! I know that I must install Windows (I have win10 product key). There is one alternative will you check that aswell? HP Pavilion 15-bc200ne (https://www.arvutitark.ee/est/tootekataloog/Arvutid-ja-lisad-Sulearvutid-15-ekraaniga-sulearvutid118/HP-Pavilion-15-bc200ne-Renew-i7-7700H-GF-GT1050-2GB-156-FHD-AG-16GB2x8GB-1TB-SSD-128GB-NO-ODD-WIFI-CAM-Arab-BL-Kbd-150W-W10H6-307720)
It has more RAM and extra 128 GB SSD. CPU and GPU seems same as Lenovo.

That HP is definitely the best. Double the RAM and SSD. Same CPU and GPU as the Lenovo. Larger battery than the Lenovo. At 63.3Wh battery life should be quite good for regular usage (better than the Lenovo). Gaming uses too much power for batteries. That SSD will be nice for your OS and Apps. It is likely too small for a VM. So, you'll want to place the VM on the HDD.

 

[harditiitus]

Thank you! You helped me a lot, sincere thanks!

 

[SENOR BURTOS]

With a low-end GPU like that the i5 and the i7 are going to perform pretty much the same.

I would consider i5 7300HQ with 1050 ti or 1060 if possible.

But if only those two options fit your budget, that's a though question there's not a clear winner. In some cases the i7 7700HQ is going to help a little bit more and in some games the 4GB 1050 is going to be the best choice.

For instance, let's say you are running a very CPU-intensive game such as Civilization VI, then the i7 is best suited for that particular game.

But now let's say you want to run Tomb Raider which is not a particularly CPU-intensive game but it requires a ton of VRAM if you want to run ultra textures and stuff.

Both CPU and video memory are going to be a limiting factor someday. So I would look at other differences not only CPU and GPU to see which is the best opcion