I was comparing an i5 7200U and an i7 6500U but I am really struggling to see the point of the i7, granted it has another 1MB cache but clock speeds and threads are identical, does the cache really make much of a difference to warrant the extra cost?
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Mobile i7 a waste of money?
- Thread starter PiKe
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You are talking about the U series which have a 15W TDP so there's very little that can be done to improve performance between the two without crippling the i5 unnecessarily.
The i7 mobile quads are another thing and they are more like the difference between an i5 and i7 desktop chip with the later gaining HT and higher clocks.
The i7 mobile quads are another thing and they are more like the difference between an i5 and i7 desktop chip with the later gaining HT and higher clocks.
Soldato
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Intel's mobile chip naming scheme is a mess. Their "full fat" mobile i7s are definitely worth it, the U series... Not really.
I'd go the i5 for the additional Kaby Lake iGPU features.
Need more Ryzen laptops announced!
I'd go the i5 for the additional Kaby Lake iGPU features.
Need more Ryzen laptops announced!
Aye. Atm only Asus has them (full fat 1700 and 1600), which implies a hefty price tag.
With the low power mobile dual cores, going from i3 to i5 usually enables turbo boost and is definitely worth it for the % performance increase. Going from i5 to i7 usually just increases cache and sometimes 1x on the multi, it's not worth it unless you have money to burn.
Soldato
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These two CPUs score the same for Cinebench R15 (Single-Core), but the 7200U scores higher than the 6500U for Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core).
You'll need a higher turbo boost frequency to justify the price of an i7, e.g. finding bragging rights with the 7600U at 3.9GHz, which is faster than some recent desktop CPUs for single-thread applications.
You'll need a higher turbo boost frequency to justify the price of an i7, e.g. finding bragging rights with the 7600U at 3.9GHz, which is faster than some recent desktop CPUs for single-thread applications.
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No, but all ULV's are dual core.
You have ULV i5 (low wattage, dual core, low base clock) have the 'proper' dual core i5's (higher wattage, higher base clock), followed by the quad i5 mobile models.
i7 is the same - all the ULV models are dual core, essentially just i5 ULVs with extra cache, but the 'proper' i7's are similar to the desktop versions.
To answer the original question, I wouldn't bother with an i7 ULV unless the prices were almost identical.