I5 or i7

[fallenangel_uk]

Hi all

im building a laptop with the main purpose of gaming, what i need to know is which is best the i5 running at 2.6mhz...or the i7 that runs at 2.2mhz. the both cost about the same.

thanks.

 

[jaguarskx]

For games that does not use more than 2 core, then the i5 will be faster because of the higher clock speed. For games that uses at least 3 cores then the i7 would probably be faster.

I would say if you had two laptops that are exactly the same except one has an i5 and the other had an i7, the laptop with the i7 would be faster for games like GTA 4 since it is a poorly ported game and needs all the performance it can get. Mafia 2 seems to be able to use 4 cores so that game will likely perform better on an i7 laptop as well.

I don't really play the BF series, but based on some posts I've read, that game would probably run faster on an i7 laptop.

 

[Azorlorn]

JaguarSKX is right, but as a futureproof you should buy the i7

More and more games are becoming capable of utilizing 4 cores as a quad-core processor is becoming increasingly common.
In a few years, I assume 90% of modern games will utilize 4 cores

 

[cbrunnem]

For games that does not use more than 2 core, then the i5 will be faster because of the higher clock speed. For games that uses at least 3 cores then the i7 would probably be faster.

I would say if you had two laptops that are exactly the same except one has an i5 and the other had an i7, the laptop with the i7 would be faster for games like GTA 4 since it is a poorly ported game and needs all the performance it can get. Mafia 2 seems to be able to use 4 cores so that game will likely perform better on an i7 laptop as well.

I don't really play the BF series, but based on some posts I've read, that game would probably run faster on an i7 laptop.

i would agree that kinda. it is true that the i5 has a higher clock but in dual mode the i7 2720 will run a 3.1 ghz due to turbo. while the i5 will be about 3.1 ghz max turbo with dual core turbo so if heat is not a problem they should be the same in 2 core optimized games. now heat obviously will decrease the turbo in some laptops though but my laptop doesnt seem to throttle at all so those numbers would be accurate for me if you follow what im saying.

id get the i7

 

[nickomcbrain]

Hi all

im building a laptop with the main purpose of gaming, what i need to know is which is best the i5 running at 2.6mhz...or the i7 that runs at 2.2mhz. the both cost about the same.

thanks.

vote for i7!!

i5 is an i3 with greater freq and turboboost (which you dont need for gaming) so there's left only the freq

i7 is 4 core better for new games