Core i5 or Core i7 for Gaming (Laptop)
- Thread starter Shane727
- Start date
Suppose it depends what cpu type and class you are looking at. I have the Octane chassis which uses a desktop cpu (full fat) 
its a i5-4690K quad core and unlocked, and it motors through games. But bare in mind, for gaming you need gpu grunt more than cpu power!
i7 cpu's are quad core but have hyperthreading so effectively 8 threads.
In real terms for gaming, its only when you get into intensive multiplayer games that 'some' games are optimised to use the hyperthreading of i7 cpu's.
Depending on the laptop chassis, and type of cpu it can utilise, try and go for the best in budget, and search the internets for cpu performance benchmarks, cos yeah some cpu's are real dogs!
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
Mick
its a i5-4690K quad core and unlocked, and it motors through games. But bare in mind, for gaming you need gpu grunt more than cpu power!i7 cpu's are quad core but have hyperthreading so effectively 8 threads.
In real terms for gaming, its only when you get into intensive multiplayer games that 'some' games are optimised to use the hyperthreading of i7 cpu's.
Depending on the laptop chassis, and type of cpu it can utilise, try and go for the best in budget, and search the internets for cpu performance benchmarks, cos yeah some cpu's are real dogs!
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmark-List.2436.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html
Mick
caleafterearth
New member
From research I've been doing, an i5 is fine, up to a gfx 965 graphics card. The 970 and up start to get bottlenecked by the i5, but not by much.
Personally, I would the the i5 + an ssd, instead of an i7 without an ssd.
Personally, I would the the i5 + an ssd, instead of an i7 without an ssd.
GeorgeHillier
Prolific Poster
It depends on your budget.
If your budget is £700+ then an i7, it does make a difference and a few games (not many though) won't work with dual core CPUs as it blocks you from playing the game
If your budget is £700+ then an i7, it does make a difference and a few games (not many though) won't work with dual core CPUs as it blocks you from playing the game
I would also bear in mind that Direct X 12 is coming out soon and is supposed to spread out the demand on the CPU more evenly between the cores in the not too distant future more cores will probably be better.
This explains what I mean.
[video=youtube;ET1SZM2zhBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET1SZM2zhBE[/video]
Also you can upgrade to an SSD at a later date or, depending on the chassis, even add one alongside your HDD. Upgrading the CPU isn't quite as easy.
This explains what I mean.
[video=youtube;ET1SZM2zhBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET1SZM2zhBE[/video]
Also you can upgrade to an SSD at a later date or, depending on the chassis, even add one alongside your HDD. Upgrading the CPU isn't quite as easy.
AmirThePersian
Member
I also have a query on this matter. The i5 is cheaper, but the i7 is superior. Is the i5 still decent for gaming i.e. will it hinder the GTX960M?
Intel® Core™ i5-4210H 2.9GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo 3MB L3 4 threads
Intel® Core™ i7-4720HQ 2.6GHz, 3.5 GHz Turbo 6MB L3 8 threads
Intel® Core™ i5-4210H 2.9GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo 3MB L3 4 threads
Intel® Core™ i7-4720HQ 2.6GHz, 3.5 GHz Turbo 6MB L3 8 threads
Some mobile i5's also have hyper-threading so the dual cores have 4 virtual cores. some comparison here:
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4720HQ-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4210H
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4720HQ-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4210H
AmirThePersian
Member
*sigh* I've already checked cpuboss, notebookcheck etc., I know how they compare. But I want to know how well it does independently, for gaming. Not just a load of numbers.
Its either:
Intel® Core™ i5-4210H 2.9GHz with Nvidia Geforce GTX960M (Optimus VI).
OR
Intel® Core™ i7-4710HQ 2.5GHz with Nvidia Geforce GTX950M (Cosmos III).
i think the right answer is whether you want a dual core or quad core cpu. if the i5 only comes in dual core for that model i would go with the i7 quad core as it will be better in future games as code is being optimised over more cores. the i7 variants can also be overclocked to higher speeds.