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Can someone explain to me what the point of an i7 (or even an i5) is on a laptop? Aside from speed? They all have dual core processors. It's not like the deskto

Can someone explain to me what the point of an i7 (or even an i5) is on a laptop? Aside from speed? They all have dual core processors. It's not like the desktop lineup where each step up gets more cores.

sz4kerto 9y ago
Aside from speed? Nothing. Similarly to the desktop CPUs. More cores are just one way to achieve more speed.
chrisseaton 9y ago
> They all have dual core processors I don't know what you mean - my pretty old laptop has an i7 with four cores and eight threads - an I7-4870HQ.
- bluedino 9y ago
  They also make dual-core i7 CPUs - the quad-core models aren't very common.
ty_a 9y ago
Cache size and clock speed. In Ultrabooks i[3,5,7] are all 2 core 4 thread differentiated by cache and clock. You can get 4 core CPUs in larger laptops where the i5 is 4 core, 4 thread and i7 4/8. Similar to desktops.
- bluedino 9y ago
  Right, 3MB vs 4MB of L2 cache in the case of the X1
adrusi 9y ago
Virtualization support, for one example. And some laptops do come with more cores — my 2014 Thinkpad has 4.
peterwwillis 9y ago
Each step up gets more cache size, turbo boost, hyperthreading, internal graphics, cpu features, and power options, depending. Also, i3/i5/i7 isn't the only thing to consider - look at the product suffix (U/Y/T/Q/H/K) that adds or removes features to that model. Compare the i3-6100U to the i7-6500U - both skylake ultra-low-power CPUs [1]. The i7 has about 30% faster effective clock speed (plus the turbo boost, which gives a small jump in clock speed when necessary, which can reduce battery usage) and 25% more cache. But another i7 model, the i7-6550U, has better graphics, even faster turbo boost, and a bunch of "Pro" Intel features that neither of the others have. Move up to the i7-6700HQ and now you have two additional cores, incredibly faster performance, even more cache, and higher limits up the wazoo. Of course, newer microarchitectures may have have more optimal code paths, slightly higher clocks, smaller dies, better graphics, and use less power. So an i5-7200U may have better performance, similar features, and use less power than an i7-6500U [2]. [1] http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-6100U-vs-Intel-Core-i7-6500U/m37381vsm36930 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-6100U-vs-... [2] http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-vs-Intel-Core-i7-6500U/m153577vsm36930 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-vs-...
bdcravens 9y ago
A large number of Skylake and Kaby Lake processors are quad core. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors#Mobile_processors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_micropro... Also not really applicable to this review, but if you want a machine with say 32gb of RAM, that requires a bit higher of a processor.

sz4kerto 9y ago

Aside from speed? Nothing. Similarly to the desktop CPUs. More cores are just one way to achieve more speed.

chrisseaton 9y ago

> They all have dual core processors I don't know what you mean - my pretty old laptop has an i7 with four cores and eight threads - an I7-4870HQ.

bluedino 9y ago
They also make dual-core i7 CPUs - the quad-core models aren't very common.

ty_a 9y ago

Cache size and clock speed. In Ultrabooks i[3,5,7] are all 2 core 4 thread differentiated by cache and clock. You can get 4 core CPUs in larger laptops where the i5 is 4 core, 4 thread and i7 4/8. Similar to desktops.

bluedino 9y ago
Right, 3MB vs 4MB of L2 cache in the case of the X1

adrusi 9y ago

Virtualization support, for one example. And some laptops do come with more cores — my 2014 Thinkpad has 4.

peterwwillis 9y ago

Each step up gets more cache size, turbo boost, hyperthreading, internal graphics, cpu features, and power options, depending. Also, i3/i5/i7 isn't the only thing to consider - look at the product suffix (U/Y/T/Q/H/K) that adds or removes features to that model. Compare the i3-6100U to the i7-6500U - both skylake ultra-low-power CPUs [1]. The i7 has about 30% faster effective clock speed (plus the turbo boost, which gives a small jump in clock speed when necessary, which can reduce battery usage) and 25% more cache. But another i7 model, the i7-6550U, has better graphics, even faster turbo boost, and a bunch of "Pro" Intel features that neither of the others have. Move up to the i7-6700HQ and now you have two additional cores, incredibly faster performance, even more cache, and higher limits up the wazoo. Of course, newer microarchitectures may have have more optimal code paths, slightly higher clocks, smaller dies, better graphics, and use less power. So an i5-7200U may have better performance, similar features, and use less power than an i7-6500U [2]. [1] http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-6100U-vs-Intel-Core-i7-6500U/m37381vsm36930 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-6100U-vs-... [2] http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-vs-Intel-Core-i7-6500U/m153577vsm36930 http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-vs-...

bdcravens 9y ago

A large number of Skylake and Kaby Lake processors are quad core. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_microprocessors#Mobile_processors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_i7_micropro... Also not really applicable to this review, but if you want a machine with say 32gb of RAM, that requires a bit higher of a processor.