There are four different categories of laptop computers, each with its own specific purpose. To choose the right processor, you need to match these systems with computing tasks. Good laptop processors are very different from those installed on desktop computers. The main reason for this is the limited amount of power at which they must work offline.
The less power the laptop uses, the longer the system will last on battery power. For this, manufacturers use a large number of tricks, such as scaling the processor when the processor scales its power consumption.
Low cost laptops
These are specially designed computers to provide the functionality of a portable machine at a low price. They often have a Chromebook system that uses lower processors and is installed on tablets. Such laptops use a wide range of chips and are often based on older, higher-end devices or cheap and inexpensive processors.
The best laptop processor has the ability to perform all the basic computing processes, including browsing the web, email, texts, and presentations. They are very convenient for creating digital content. And the only thing that Chromebook system processors cannot handle is gaming and high-performance graphics applications. Many of them are ultra-thin and have the Ultraportables system, however, they remain quite powerful for most common business applications.
As ultraportable, good laptop processors continue to improve, they begin to use processors with longer battery life. Mobile games depend on desktop performance, so the cost of such devices is much more. Of course, the performance of mobile games will be determined not only by the processor, but also by the graphics card.
AMD vs Intel
In 2018, the rivalry between AMD and Intel became more intense than ever. Cost is a major factor in repairing, upgrading, or purchasing a PC. At a price, AMD chips are generally cheaper than similar Intel chips. Dual-core processors AMD Sempron, Athlon or A-series cost about 2,000 rubles. For comparison, a low-performance Intel chip, for example, a dual-core G3930 processor, will cost about 2,500 rubles. Over the past decades, cheap AMD chips have been a source of funding for creating this brand new good processor for a laptop.
At the beginning of 2017, Ryzen debuted, which shook the old AMD formula, and the new Ryzen 7 1800X was at its highest price. This 8-core "big guy" with turbo clocks and a frequency of 4.0 GHz for 22 000 rubles is one of the least expensive 8-core AMD processors. Ryzen 7 1700 is available at a price of 18 000 rubles, and the cheapest 8-core Intel chip will cost 37 500 rubles. The Intel Core i9 and AMD Threadripper processors, aimed at enthusiasts and gamers, offer even greater performance and continue to blow up the traditional dynamics of the processor market.
The Intel Core i9-7900X processor , which is not located on a traditional Intel-based motherboard, offers 10 cores, 20 threads, a maximum speed of 4.3 GHz and the price currently set at 60,000 rubles. Before choosing which AMD processor is best for a laptop, you need to know that the laptop market of this brand is quite problematic. The problem is that AMD spent too many years focusing on all-in-one chips that consume a lot of energy.
AMD desktop processors typically do not include integrated graphics. Thus, an accelerator processor (APU) designed for mobile chips, processors and GPU cores that consume very little power are usually associated with younger laptops that promise long battery life, such as the 7th generation A-series, consuming about 15 watts of power. Nevertheless, AMD chips and A-Series processors do not compete with Intel at the moment. Therefore, if the user is looking for older hardware for some reason, experts say that the best AMD processor for laptops will always be worse than Intel.
Gaming machines with Core i
This is an ultra-strong brand that can be seen on most laptops. About 80% of new PCs and over 90% of laptops have Intel processors. Desktop chips are selected according to a logical pattern: the number of cores, cache, Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading. This data is common for desktops and laptops. For this reason, if you are considering buying a laptop, you need to understand these indicators before buying and remodeling a new car.
In many ways, desktop processors in the ranges of Core i3, i5 and i7 are very similar to each other, while the best for laptops are i5 processors. They are all based on the same key architecture, code-named for the latest generation of Kaby Lake, have the same instruction sets, fit into the same socket and have similar graphics chipsets in general.
Minimum number of cores
The first thing a user will notice when he gets acquainted with the characteristics of the processor is the number of cores. So, the Core i5 and i7 processors have four cores, while the Core i3 models have only two. Of all the differences between the ranges of Intel processors, the number of cores is the parameter that most effectively affects PC performance. Each core is actually its own processor; the computer will work slowly with only one core turned on. The presence of several cores means that a computer can work with more than one task at a time and will help maintain the smooth operation of the system, even if tasks such as anti-virus scanning or rendering video running in the background are performed.
Good modern processors for Intel Core laptops are divided into three ranges and several models in each of them. These ranges are called Core i3 (or Core m3), Core i5 and Core i7. Having multiple cores can also dramatically increase the speed of most programs. Two cores today are the accepted minimum in the processor. If you use only a few tabs open in a web browser and a text editor, then the user will not see the benefits of a 4-core processor. Nevertheless, modern games benefit from 4-core chips, as well as video encoding processes.
Turbo Boost Clock
Before deciding which processor frequency is best for a laptop, the user should know that the oldest Core i3 chips work at a faster speed than the basic Core i5 and Core i7 models. This illustrates the risks of making a purchasing decision based solely on the GHz clock frequency. The indicator is the number of clock cycles (calculations) that the processor can control in a second. Simply put, a larger number means a faster chip, for example, 3.6 GHz means 3,600,000,000 clock cycles. However, this indicator should never be used to compare the best type of laptop processor from different families, generations or manufacturers.
Different models have different levels of efficiency. Turbo Boost dynamically increases the clock speed of the Core i5 and i7 processors when more power is required. For example, although the Core i3-7300 operates at 4 GHz compared to 3.5 GHz for the Core i5-7600, the i5 chip can accelerate to 4.1 GHz. The more the chip increases its clock frequency, the more heat it will produce, so processors can only work with Turbo Boost for a limited time, while they remain in a certain temperature range.
Hyper-threading calculations
The next option is probably the most confusing part of the specification - Hyper-Threading. It is available on the upper ends of the Core i7 and low-end Core i3 chips, but not in the mid-range Core i5. Typically, the user expects to see more features added as they move through the range of processors. Hyper-Threading, in fact, forces Windows to consider that each physical core of the chip is two virtual (logical) cores.
The operating system can share processing tasks between these virtual cores to help some applications run faster and maintain system performance when multiple applications are running at the same time. The dual-core Core i3 will appear in the form of 4 virtual cores in the Windows task manager, and the 4-core i7 chip will appear in the form of 8 cores.
On 4- and 2-core test systems, Hyper-Threading increased GeekBench 3 multi-core benchmarks by 17%. The speed cannot be doubled, but nevertheless this is a very significant increase. The increase in performance will depend on the particular software, which in any case will be much better at handling a large number of threads.
Special suffix encoding
Before answering the question: "Which Intel processor is better for a laptop?" - you still need to understand the marking suffixes. Some Intel desktop chips have suffixes such as K, T, or P. These special models have different characteristics.
K stands for unlocked clock multiplier, so if you have a compatible motherboard, you can easily overclock the chip, significantly increasing the clock frequency for a serious increase in speed. Overclocking can lead to system instability and even damage machine components, so it should be approached with caution. An overclocked chip will generate a lot of heat, so you need a decent third-party CPU cooler to reliably cool stable overclocking. There are three Kaby Lake K desktops: the Core i7-7700K, Core i5-7600K, and Core i3-7350K.
The T-suffix has a lower clock speed but also lower power consumption and is therefore easier to maintain cooling. An example is the Core i5-7600T, which runs at a clock frequency of 700 MHz slower than the i5-7600, but has a power of 35 W rather than 65 W.
Choosing a processor for games
If the user is going to play games at a decent level of detail, he must buy a special graphics card, and the choice of chip will be of paramount importance so that his powerful graphics card is not "jammed" by a slow processor. Even games such as Battlefield 4 work only on 4 cores, so the additional 4 virtual Hyper-Threading cores are not in great demand. However, there are exceptions.
Recent Total War games seem to benefit from the power of the Core i7 due to the large number of units interacting with each other on the battlefield. If you buy a desktop processor for the game and the user does not play real spectacular games, then the 4-core Core i5 is preferable to the Core i5-7600K, besides it can always be overclocked above 4 GHz.
The world of laptop chips
At Intel, things are a little more complicated. For example, there has been a clear distinction between 2-core i3 and 4-core i5 with a small number of 2-core chips in Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7. The new Y-Series ultra-low-power chips lack a Core i3 processor, which replaces the Core M range. It is called Core m3.
The advantages of several cores, Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading and a larger cache are the same for laptops, so Core M was upgraded in Core i and a new range of Y-series processors appeared, which contains proprietary chips: Core m3, Core i5, Core i7, m3-7Y30, i5-7Y54, i5-7Y57 and i7-7Y75. They actually replace the Intel Core M processors, which are almost always installed in laptops without a fan.
The difference between mobile machines
All Core i3 chips have 2 cores and no Turbo Boost to dynamically increase their clock speed. Core i3 chips have Hyper-Threading, so in some situations the OS will see 2 physical and 2 virtual processor cores to improve performance. Meanwhile, all Core i5 and Core i7 chips have Turbo Boost.
Hyper-threading is present on all Core i7 chips. Finally, Core i3 chips have 3 MB of cache, 2-core i5 chips have 3 MB and 4 MB, and i7 has 4 MB, 6 MB or 8 MB. Web browsing, office work and easy multitasking will be possible if there are only two physical cores, and without Turbo Boost.
The best AMD processors for laptops are Ryzen 3 / R3, Ryzen 5 / R5 and R7. The R7-2700U's older brother is also ideal for gamers who spend 3-4 hours behind the monitor.
Dual core chips
When choosing, you need to pay attention to the suffix U (for example, i7-7600U, i5-7200U). This means a low-voltage chip, and all such processors have 2 cores. They also consume far less power than laptops without the U suffix, so they can often be found in ultraportable laptops, where battery life is paramount.
There is another question for the user: the Core i5-U chip or the Core i7-U model? Both types have two cores: Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading. The main difference is that low-voltage Core i7 chips can usually support Turbo Boost at higher frequencies than Core i5 models, so they are faster. In addition, all Core i7-U chips have a 4 MB cache, while the younger Core i5-7200U and i5-7300U only have 3 MB, which will have an impact on performance.
Inevitably, Intel found a way to further complicate the U-Series range. Besides the differences mentioned above, there are also three different graphics chipsets to be aware of. Model numbers ending in 00U have the base chips Intel HD Graphics 620, and ending with 60U have much more powerful graphics Intel Iris Plus 640. There are also Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 with the suffix 67U, which are equipped with chipset Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 top class.
High performance 4-core processors
High-performance chips with the suffix H, which can be found in high-end multimedia and gaming laptops. Most of them are 4-core chips with the HQ suffix, but there is one model Core i3, Core i3-7100H, which has only 2 cores and does not have Turbo Boost. All Core i5 H chips have four cores, Turbo Boost and 6MB cache. If you still need the most powerful laptop, you will need a 4-core Core i7-HQ, which has 4 physical cores, plus 4 more virtual cores thanks to Hyper-Threading.
Turbo Boost delivers impressive performance. A laptop with an i7-7820HK, which has an unlocked multiplier and will allow you to overclock the chip in the laptop BIOS. These chips have higher power than the Y- and U-Series, however, they should not be the first choice of the user if battery life is more important for him than computing power.
Intel HD Graphics and Iris Plus
If a user plans to play games on his new laptop and thinks about which type of processor is best for a laptop, he should buy it with a special graphics card. The most powerful Intel graphics chip goes under the name Iris Plus, so if you need to play on decent PCs, you should look for a processor with Intel Iris Plus 640 or 650 graphics. And some with Intel HD Graphics 615, 620 and 630 chips that are wrong strong like iris.
Base clock frequencies differ between chipsets, and acceleration speeds vary between individual processors. However, clock speeds are not as important for 3D performance as the number of units. For example, depending on the game, the 48 Execution Units Iris Plus 640 can provide significantly better performance than the 24-inch HD 620 chip.
It's no secret that AMD lagged behind Intel in both high-performance processor design and manufacturing. AMD still makes 28 nm chips when Intel switched to 14 nm long ago. The first Ryzen were manufactured using 14 nm technology and entered the market in March last year. This is AMD’s best laptop processor, and tests show that it can compete with the Intel Core lineup.