i5 vs i7?

zedsterr · 01-25-2011, 03:13 AM

So I've been eyeing the m11x for a while now... but I dont really wanna spend over a grand on it. I was wondering, if I were to get the i5 version, would it be significantly slower in gaming / 3dmodelling / music production than the i7? I play stuff like nfs hot pursuit (lots of racing games) mass effect, arkham asylum etc. But I really don't want to go over that 1000 mark and I am pretty sure the i5 only comes out to around 900 something. So what do you guys think? Anybody have an i5 and can say anything about the impact it has on games? I know it must be not even that much since most games depend on the gpu. Also is it possible to overclock the i5 to speeds of the i7?

roxxor · 01-25-2011, 03:55 AM

The difference is marginal and not noticeable outside cpu-intensive benchmarks. You'll be able to OC the i5 way beyond the stock speeds of the i7, but then again you can do the same with the i7.

kent1146 · 01-25-2011, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zedsterr

So I've been eyeing the m11x for a while now... but I dont really wanna spend over a grand on it. I was wondering, if I were to get the i5 version, would it be significantly slower in gaming / 3dmodelling / music production than the i7? I play stuff like nfs hot pursuit (lots of racing games) mass effect, arkham asylum etc. But I really don't want to go over that 1000 mark and I am pretty sure the i5 only comes out to around 900 something. So what do you guys think? Anybody have an i5 and can say anything about the impact it has on games? I know it must be not even that much since most games depend on the gpu. Also is it possible to overclock the i5 to speeds of the i7?

This has been answered before in other threads.

There is practically no performance difference between the Core i5 and Core i7 in day-to-day tasks or most gaming. The only time you would notice any performance benefit to the Core i7 is in CPU-bound activities like CPU-based video encoding or CPU-bound games (Civ 5, GTA4, are the only ones I can think of). If you're not doing those tasks, then get the Core i5.

The Core i5 and Core i7 can both be overclocked. The M11x R2 allows you to overclock the base system clock in BIOS from 133Mhz --> 166Mhz in increments of 1Mhz. The Core i7 can potentially achieve a higher clock speed because it has a higher clock multiplier. But your actual overclocking success will depend largely on the hardware that you get. And the actual benefits of that higher clock speed will most likely never be noticed in applications or games.

If you're looking for the best way to spend the $150 that the Core i5 --> i7 costs, then get the Core i5 and spend that money somewhere else. If you care about application performance and general smooth and fast "feel" to your computer, get an SSD. If you care about gaming experience, get a nice mouse or a nice headset.

thegh0sts · 01-25-2011, 10:44 AM

i'm taking a core i7 because i haven't used/owned one before!

kent1146 · 01-25-2011, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegh0sts

i'm taking a core i7 because i haven't used/owned one before!

Spoiler: It looks and performs exactly like the Core i5, except it costs more.

zedsterr · 01-25-2011, 02:51 PM

Ah, haha makes sense. Yeah I was just worried cause someone somewhere else told me that the i5 wasn't even overclockable (Yeah I knew it sounded wrong but I always like to check to be sure) and that it was super slow.... but as long as its good for day to day tasks and some gaming along with it's wicked battery life I'm totally down... my gateway laptop which isn't even that powerful died on me in class when I was taking some notes :[ And GTA IV brings even my desktop down to its knees.... then again its a 2.5 ghz dual core.

MousePotato · 01-25-2011, 02:57 PM

WoW is CPU-bound in large raid vs raid environments (Tol Barad). That being said, stock-clocked i5 or i7 is enough to handle it, but I'd still opt for the i7 just to be sure.

zedsterr · 01-25-2011, 03:50 PM

Anybody here played vindictus? I think it runs on the source engine. But thats one of the mmos ive been real addicted to lateley lol. Its fun as helll. Im pretty sure it should run fine on the m11x, its def a game i play alot and it runs pretty well on my gateway. I just wish they put more gpu choices on the m11x

zedsterr · 01-25-2011, 03:52 PM

Oh wow i feel dumb, i totally did not know WoW was cpu bound. Thats pretty cool.

Revoluxon · 01-25-2011, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zedsterr

Anybody here played vindictus? I think it runs on the source engine. But thats one of the mmos ive been real addicted to lateley lol. Its fun as helll. Im pretty sure it should run fine on the m11x, its def a game i play alot and it runs pretty well on my gateway. I just wish they put more gpu choices on the m11x

I played Vindictus on my M11xR2 (i7)... COMPLETELY maxed out, Vsync ON, max AA, etc.

60 FPS all the time, 40+ FPS on the city with many ppl around me.

I could play TERA online completely maxed out at 30+ FPS, and 40~50 FPS on dungeons.

Even Crysis on high settings running at 25~30 FPS, this game needs more optimization.

Don't worry about this notebook because it's capable to run every single game out in the market.