Laptop Processors [Intel i3 vs Intel i5 vs AMD A8 vs AMD A10] vs Intel i7

[priyabrata_chak]

Hello guys!
I am planning to buy a laptop in near future.
My present laptop in Lenovo Z570 (Intel i3 2nd Generation clocked at 2.10 GHz, Switchable Graphics[nVidia/Intel]).

I purchased this @ 2011 and it has handled some real hot stuff for me (I am quite grateful to this piece of machinery). I've run 2 Android Emulators on this (side by side), Android Studio, Visual Studio, RAD Studio, and Web Dev S/W like Php Storm, WebStorm.

At times the CPU Usage went up to as high as 100% and laptop heat was enough to make a cup of coffee!

I did some research on the processors for laptops and to be very honest, I am kinda disappointed with the pricing of i7 laptops (i7-s with 4 Physical and 4-Logical Cores).

My desktop rig, (i7-4700 3.4 GHz) costs Rs : 53K. In the same price I seem to get an i7 laptop with 2 Cores which is kinda disappointing.

Now, Comparing i3 an i5 was equally disappointing.

i3 : 2 Physical Cores, 2 Logical Cores. (No Turbo Boost)
i5 : 4 Physical Cores. (Turbo Boost)

Q) Speed difference : Not quite sure, how significant the speed difference is going to be given my line of work. (This remains a question for you guys).

Checking the AMD line up :

A8 And A10 : Have no idea about their performance. (Need some information).

Q) How does, the Intel (i3 and i5) stack up against (A8, A10) ?

Q) Now, the final question, is it worthwhile to invest around 55K for a dual core i7 ?

Please consider full fledged software development task as a daily routine for the laptop.

 

[Shneiky]

Wait a bit until Skylake laptops show up and become readily available. That would be a better improvement over a Haswell laptop.

 

[priyabrata_chak]

As for skylake processors, can you address the question about dual-core i7 at the present price point ? How does that stack up against dual core i5 and i3 ?
And as a separate question, how well does AMD A8 and A10 fit in the picture ?

 

[Shneiky]

1 - AMD A8 and A10 does not fit in the picture at all. They have descent integrated graphics, but lack the CPU power that you need.

2 - Intel has different mobile parts hierarchy when compared to desktop.

Mobile U processors 15-30W:
1 - Pentiums - 2 physical cores, low speed, NO HT, NO turbo
2 - I3 - 2 physical cores, low speed, HT, NO turbo
3 - I5 - 2 physical cores, low speed, HT, turbo
4 - I7 - 2 physical cores, low to medium speed, HT, turbo

Mobile H processors 35-45W (which resemble the desktop line):
1 - I3 - 2 physical cores, medium speed, HT, NO turbo
2 - I5 - 4 physical cores, medium speed to high speed, No HT, turbo
3 - I7 - 4 physical cores, medium speed to high speed, HT, turbo

The prices of U I7s are around the 300 mark. So take that 300 and add it to the laptop costs.
The price of HQ I7s is around 500-600 mark. So take those and add it to the laptop cost - 300 difference just to get a descent processor.

If it was me - I would take a I5 HQ instead of I7U. It will be more productive and slightly cheaper, at the expense of some heat and noise, of course. Even the I3 HQ beats some of the lower clocked I7U models.

You can read more about it here:
http/www.cpu-world.com/news_2015/2015090801_Intel_announces_Skylake_lineup_mobile_processors.html
You would definitely want a laptop with a H or HQ processor inside.

 

[Arcal52214]

Most intel i5s are going to be better at every thing that requires pure CPU processing (even if you are talking about price to performance ratio) and I wouldn't even compare AMD A series with Skylake or i7. Core clock and quantity wars have ended since long ago. AMD A series have generally better integrated graphic chips though.

 

[priyabrata_chak]

1 - AMD A8 and A10 does not fit in the picture at all. They have descent integrated graphics, but lack the CPU power that you need.

2 - Intel has different mobile parts hierarchy when compared to desktop.

Mobile U processors 15-30W:
1 - Pentiums - 2 physical cores, low speed, NO HT, NO turbo
2 - I3 - 2 physical cores, low speed, HT, NO turbo
3 - I5 - 2 physical cores, low speed, HT, turbo
4 - I7 - 2 physical cores, low to medium speed, HT, turbo

Mobile H processors 35-45W (which resemble the desktop line):
1 - I3 - 2 physical cores, medium speed, HT, NO turbo
2 - I5 - 4 physical cores, medium speed to high speed, No HT, turbo
3 - I7 - 4 physical cores, medium speed to high speed, HT, turbo

The prices of U I7s are around the 300 mark. So take that 300 and add it to the laptop costs.
The price of HQ I7s is around 500-600 mark. So take those and add it to the laptop cost - 300 difference just to get a descent processor.

If it was me - I would take a I5 HQ instead of I7U. It will be more productive and slightly cheaper, at the expense of some heat and noise, of course. Even the I3 HQ beats some of the lower clocked I7U models.

You can read more about it here:
http/www.cpu-world.com/news_2015/2015090801_Intel_announces_Skylake_lineup_mobile_processors.html
You would definitely want a laptop with a H or HQ processor inside.

Yes, exactly the kind of reply I was looking for.
I live in India an I am really having a hard time finding laptops that use i5 HQ .
Making my life really difficult selecting a laptop for development needs.

 

[priyabrata_chak]

Most intel i5s are going to be better at every thing that requires pure CPU processing (even if you are talking about price to performance ratio) and I wouldn't even compare AMD A series with Skylake or i7. Core clock and quantity wars have ended since long ago. AMD A series have generally better integrated graphic chips though.

Graphics isn't a concern for me. I seldom play games and the integrated graphics is enough to handle the IDEs .

Looks like AMD is a BIG NO for me. Gotta stick with intel!

 

[priyabrata_chak]

If possible could you guys point me to a few i5 HQ Laptops that might be available in India.

 

[Supermuncher85]

You considered upgrading the CPU in your current laptop? I upgraded my i3 to i7 in my HP laptop and didn't see a need to buy a new one. Just replaced the old batteries with 2 new ones.

Some other people on toms have already done the upgrade as well with links to supported CPU's and dissasembly guides http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/323503-28-laptop-processor-upgrade

 

[priyabrata_chak]

You considered upgrading the CPU in your current laptop? I upgraded my i3 to i7 in my HP laptop and didn't see a need to buy a new one. Just replaced the old batteries with 2 new ones.

Some other people on toms have already done the upgrade as well with links to supported CPU's and dissasembly guides http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/323503-28-laptop-processor-upgrade

No, I am not considering an upgrade. I think the processor in this is soldered.

 

[Shneiky]

Upgrading a laptop CPU is 99% of the times impossible.

Only few vendors use LGA CPUs as opposed to BGA. BGA interface is directly soldered - in other words - non removable.

99% of the old Intel M series are soldered. Just very reticently - vendors like Eurocom started packing LGA CPUs in laptops extensively. Only high-end mobile I7s and Xeons are not soldered.

 

[priyabrata_chak]

Upgrading a laptop CPU is 99% of the times impossible.

Only few vendors use LGA CPUs as opposed to BGA. BGA interface is directly soldered - in other words - non removable.

99% of the old Intel M series are soldered. Just very reticently - vendors like Eurocom started packing LGA CPUs in laptops extensively. Only high-end mobile I7s and Xeons are not soldered.

I just checked. Mine is i3 2310-M and it is soldered. It cannot be removed or upgraded.
In the mean time, I've been able to find some high end super monstrous gaming laptops with i7 HQ processors that costs a fortune, but none that rocks an i5 HQ processor.

All i5 laptops I've seen thus far, uses the U series of processors. Even i7-s mostly use U series processors. Any idea on where I can search laptops by processor make ?

 

[Shneiky]

Try

http/www.eurocom.com/ec/main%28%29ec

They make the laptop the way you configure it. I have no idea how much will it cost you with the shipping. But if I ever get a laptop - it will be one of those.