Do I really need Intel i7 CPU or i5 will be more than enough?

[dea2k]

So I am trying to decide between i5 6300hq and i7 6700hq processors for Optimus VII laptop. The thing is I am not sure if I will be able to use all features of i7 processors. I am not video makers, I don't work with any 3D modeling programs and so on. All mostly I do with my laptop is playing video games. Well I use Photoshop from time to time, but very rarely lately. So do I need i7 CPU or I am ok just with i5?

P.S. No matter what games I play, I mostly play on lowest possible graphics to have best performance/fps possible. And I use Photoshop from time to time, but nothing regular...

Also another question. i5 6300hq cpu + 16GB ram vs i7 6700hq + 8gb ram? Which option would suit me more? For same things as I mentioned above.

 

[Oussebon]

If it's a straight choice between the two: i7 6700hq + 8gb ram wins. Because you can add more RAM in a year or whenever you want it by popping an extra stick in. But you're stick with the CPU for the life of your laptop.

If you deliberately play games at low settings when the GPU would be capable of a lot higher, then you're actually more likely to run into your CPU being what limits your performance - the low settings mean the GPU can breeze its way through the instructions the CPU is sending it and the limiting factor becomes how quickly the CPU can tell the GPU to render things. That's not a problem, but it just means that in your case you're potentially making the CPU more important for your FPS than it usually is in gaming.

The difference in performance between a laptop i5 and a laptop i7 is actually a little larger than the difference between a desktop i5 and i7 - it's not just the extra threads, it's better single threaded performance too. Not by an astronomical amount (the i7 6700HQ beats the i5 6300HQ by ~13% while the i7 6700k beats the i5 6600k by ~7% in single threaded cinebench), but it does mean there's more of a case to be made. Also the price difference is smaller for a laptop i5 to i7 than for a desktop (it's about ~£50 to go up to the i7 6700HQ, while going to an i7 is a desktop costs twice that).

The conventional wisdom for general household desktop PCs - that an i5 is fine and an i7 isn't worth the cost - doesn't really apply so much to laptops. Because the performance difference is bigger and the cost difference is actually much smaller

So I'd save £30 on the RAM and spend what I saved plus another £20/£25 on the i7.

 

[dea2k]

So I'd save £30 on the RAM and spend what I saved plus another £20/£25 on the i7.

Well this is why I am dropping hard drives/OS to make as low as possible. I have Crucial M500 120GB SSD drive and at this moment it is more than enough. Also I am waiting for some hard drives sales so I can get them for really good price.

Btw, in some reviews I read people said that you can't or have issue with installing windows 7 Optimus VII laptop, is it true? Is this UEFI thing in BIOS?

 

[keynes]

Well this is why I am dropping hard drives/OS to make as low as possible. I have Crucial M500 120GB SSD drive and at this moment it is more than enough. Also I am waiting for some hard drives sales so I can get them for really good price.

Btw, in some reviews I read people said that you can't or have issue with installing windows 7 Optimus VII laptop, is it true? Is this UEFI thing in BIOS?

I think the issues is due to the lack of compatibility with Windows 7. That is why Windows 10 is only offered.

 

[ubuysa]

Regarding Windows 7 on Skylake processors, this is what Microsoft have to say: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/11675/windows-7-windows-8-1-skylake-systems-supported. Support for Windows 7 ends in January 2020, which is only about three and a half years away. I'd have thought you'd want your laptop to last longer than that (my Optimus IV is almost that old already and going strong on Windows 10) which means you're going to be upgrading to Windows 10 at some stage.

The main issue AFAIK with Windows 7 on Skylake processors are the lack of drivers, that said it is possible to do as a quick web search will reveal. Installing Windows 7 on Skylake looks to be like the early days of installing Linux, you have to get a bit more down and dirty with the hardware. Only you'll know whether that effort is worth it for just over three more years....

 

[dea2k]

Regarding Windows 7 on Skylake processors, this is what Microsoft have to say: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/11675/windows-7-windows-8-1-skylake-systems-supported. Support for Windows 7 ends in January 2020, which is only about three and a half years away. I'd have thought you'd want your laptop to last longer than that (my Optimus IV is almost that old already and going strong on Windows 10) which means you're going to be upgrading to Windows 10 at some stage.

The main issue AFAIK with Windows 7 on Skylake processors are the lack of drivers, that said it is possible to do as a quick web search will reveal. Installing Windows 7 on Skylake looks to be like the early days of installing Linux, you have to get a bit more down and dirty with the hardware. Only you'll know whether that effort is worth it for just over three more years....

In 3 years I will definitely buy new PC/Laptop. I switch gaming laptops every 2-3 years.

I have legal win7 and I don't want pay for win10 90GBP. With windows I can't fill into budget.