What should I look for in a processor - Cores, or GHz?

Tunnix

Tunnix

Tunnix

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I'm looking to purchase a new laptop, but am confused as to what I should be looking for in a CPU. For example, is a quad core i5 @1.6Ghz better than my old laptop's duel core i7 @ 2GHz? Or is an 8th Gen i5 @2GHz better than a 4th Gen i7 at the same 2GHz?

How is one to know which will deliver the better performance? Please Help! :-)

I'll mainly be mixing / recording / rendering audio - if that helps? I won't be gaming on it as I have a dedicated PC for that...
 
You'll be wanting at least 4-cores regardless of what you do with your laptop, and preferably 6 if you want it to last any length of time with regards to keeping up with software development over the next few years.

Laptops speed is dictated by not just the cores, but the thermal power constraint of cooling the CPU. Intel U series parts are rated at ~15w and designed as low power parts with low base clocks like 1.6GHz, and will boost for a short time to between 3.5-4.5GHz depending on the model. The Intel H series parts are rated for ~45w, so will have a much higher base clock speed, and also be able to sustain the high boost clocks for a longer time.

Those are the basics, but you need to answer what sort of laptop are you looking at in terms of size and weight, as well as price. Some CPU's are only avaialble in very speciifc machines so the answer does matter.

Provide some more info and we can go from there. :)
 
Thanks @Journey - I'm not too fussed in terms of weight, although don't want anything to bulky. I'd prefer a 15 - 17" screen, and the laptop will primarily be used for audio recording, and as such will need to be as quiet as possible. As I'll be rendering large audio files and running live VST plugins while mixing / editing etc. I'll need some decent processing power.

To be honest, my old ASUS X550C (i7 3537U 2.0Ghz, 8GB Laptop) just about handles what I'm currently using it for, only occasionally stuttering or loading the plugins a few seconds late, and is pretty quiet considering it has an HDD - but I'd like something that will handle things with ease, and is as quiet as possible. I'm hoping to be able to find something for under £700 that fits the bill!
 
Replace the hdd with a large ssd? That will speedup loading times and improve battery life,thought about doing that rather than a whole new laptop?

Most likely cure the stuttering
 
For reference, how much better would the following spec be, than my existing laptop (spec above):

  • Intel® Core™ i5-9300H Processor
  • RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 128 GB SSD
 
I5 would probably be better 4c8threads vs 2c4threads plus the i5 has ddr4 and is on newer 14nm,meaning it would probably use less power and run cooler
 
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