https://www.pcworld.com/article/3289266/laptop-computers/how-to-pick-the-best-cpu-for-your-next-laptop.html
How to pick the best CPU for your next laptopCore i7 vs. Core i5, Pentium N or Celeron U? We answer your burning laptop CPU questions.By Gordon Mah Ung
Executive Editor, PCWorld | JUL 23, 2018 3:30 AM PT
(https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/dell_new_xps_13_vs_hp_spectre_x360_13_2-100762017-large.jpg)Gordon Mah Ung
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The CPU matters in a laptop even more than it matters in a desktop, because you can't change it. Ever.
That's why we're here to help you find the best CPU for your laptop—the one you won't regret in a year or two. Whether it's Core i7 or Celeron, 7th-gen or 8th-gen, H or U, or a simple matter of bang for buck, we'll help you learn what really matters so you can choose wisely.
(Note: For now, this discussion is centered on Intel-based CPUs, as AMD's newest Ryzen chips are still working their way into laptops.)
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Laptop quick picksBefore you buy any laptop, think hard about what you need it to do. Browse the web? Send and receive email? Edit video and photos? Work on the go? What about Microsoft Office? Or PC games?
You need to know all this because you want the right tool for the job. More importantly, you don't want to overpay for something you won't use.
Keep reading to learn about Intel's Core mobile chips and what kinds of laptops are being designed around them.
Laptop CPUs: Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9Once you know what you need your laptop to do, you can pick the CPU to fit. It's hard to go wrong with Intel's flagship Core brand, which offers models and variants to fit a wide range of uses. We'll summarize the chips below, highlight some laptops that carry them, and go into more detail afterward.
Core i3: For budget laptopsCore i3 is the entry-level Core CPU—what you might call the "good" chip. It's aiming for solid performance on everyday tasks, and is most often seen in budget systems. It comes in dual-core and quad-core varieties.
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What are the four key elements of success for a remote work initiative?
The Core i3-8130U is a budget laptop CPU worth seeking out. It's a dual-core chip, but it offers Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost to maximize performance. Example laptops with the Core i3-8130U include the Acer Aspire E15 (https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130U-Memory-E5-576-392H/dp/B079TGL2BZ) and the Lenovo IdeaPad 330s (https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Computer-i3-8130U-Bluetooth/dp/B07F1PPQC4).
Core i5: For laptops with best bang for buckCore i5 is the "better" chip. A step up from Core i3, it's quad-core all the way, meaning it'll be able to take on more CPU-intensive tasks, including entry-level gaming and multimedia. It comes in three varieties.
The Core i5-8250U is the chip you'll find in many slender laptops that offer surprisingly good performance and features for the price. Examples include the Lenovo Flex 6 (https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Touchscreen-i7-8550U-Graphics-81EM000DUS)and the Dell Inspiron 15.6 (https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Quad-Core-Bluetooth-MaxxAudio/dp/B07CWNG1QC).
For entry-level gaming, look for the Core i5-8300H in laptops like the Asus TUF (https://www.amazon.com/8th-Gen-i5-8300H-GeForce-FireCuda-Windows/dp/B07BP9QG2J), the HP Pavilion 15 (https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-15-inch-Processor-15-cx0020nr), and the MSI GL63 (https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GL63-8RC-069-Performance-i5-8300H/dp/B07C94J15N).
(https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/dell_new_xps_13_vs_hp_spectre_x360_13_14-100762027-large.jpg) (https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/dell_new_xps_13_vs_hp_spectre_x360_13_14-100762027-orig.jpg)
Gordon Mah Ung
Intel's 8th-gen Core chips bring quad-core performance to superthin laptops such as Dell's XPS 13 and HP's Spectre x360 13.
Core i7: For flagships and gaming rigsYou can call Core i7 the "best" chip. It comes in three flavors, two of them quad-core, and one hexa-core that's also partially overclockable. You'll see this CPU in high-end laptops, from sleek flagships to badass gaming machines. It can take on pretty much anything.
The Core i7-8550U is a great choice for a superslim Ultrabook, offering both performance and power efficiency. Example laptops include the New Dell XPS 13 9370 (https://www.amazon.com/Dell-9370-InfinityEdge-Display-i7-8550U/dp/B0799981GR), the HP Spectre x360 13 (https://www.amazon.com/Spectre-8th-Gen-Dark-Ash/dp/B0773JVW5Z), the Dell XPS 13 9360 (https://www.amazon.com/Dell-InfinityEdge-Touchscreen-Quad-Core-Thunderbolt/dp/B07D26P9GR), and the Lenovo Flex 6 (https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Touchscreen-i7-8550U-Graphics-81EM000DUS).
When you need power, look to the Core i7-8750H, a workhorse that you'll find in gaming laptops and flagships like the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin (https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GS65-Stealth-THIN-051-i7-8750H/dp/B07BB7XN8C), the CyberPower Tracer III Slim (https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-TS1000-Notebook-i7-8750H-Mechanical/dp/B07C7YL2F2), the Razer Blade (https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Blade-Smallest-i7-8750H-GeForce/dp/B07D37VBVC), and the Dell New XPS 15 9570 (https://www.amazon.com/Dell-i9-8950HK-Anti-Reflective-Compatible-Briefcase/dp/B07DZ5Q8P5).
Core i9: For the ultimate gaming laptopSo what's better than the "best" Core i7? The
beast. Also known as Core i9 (https://www.pcworld.com/article/3267699/laptop-computers/should-you-buy-a-core-i9-laptop.html), this is the pinnacle of Intel's Core technology, offering six cores of Hyper-Threaded, Turbo-Boosted, overclockable firepower. Release the Kraken!?
The Lithonia Lighting Ceiling-Mount Outdoor LED Decorative Light offers convenience since you never have to worry about replacing bulbs. This light is easy to mount and comes fully gasketed for out...
We've already seen the Core i9-8950HK in a few face-melting systems, including the Alienware 17 R5 (https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/alienware-17-gaming-laptop/spd/alienware-17-r5) and the MSI GT75 Titan (https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT75-TITAN-4K-071-i9-8950HK/dp/B07C94H7TJ).
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(https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/alienware-17-r5-open-100761756-large.jpg) (https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/06/alienware-17-r5-open-100761756-orig.jpg)
Adam Patrick Murray/IDGThe new Alienware 17 R5 features a Core i9, which needs the spacious thermal accommodations of a larger laptop to perform at its best.
Intel Core CPUs: What H, HK, HQ, and U meanYou might have noticed that our favorite chips above have names with a letter or two at the end. Those letters indicate what the chip can do, so they're worth deciphering.
Intel Core CPUs with 'H,' 'HQ,' or 'HK' at the end are the highest-performance mobile CPUs. These are the ones you should choose for processing-intensive activities such as photo and video production, PC gaming, and serious data-crunching.
Those with 'U' or 'Y' at the end balance performance with power consumption to help preserve battery life. For most mainstream activities, they will work just fine.
Intel recently introduced a new package that combines an 8th-gen Core 'H'-level CPU with a fairly powerful Radeon RX Vega M graphics. This chip has received yet another letter designation, 'G,' as in Core i7-8705G (https://www.pcworld.com/article/3273485/laptop-computers/intel-kaby-lake-g-core-i7-8705g-review.html). Only two laptop makers currently use this chip, but we hope to see more of it.
Choosing the best CPU for the jobWe've used the chart below to show you the basic specs for the current 8th-generation Core CPUs, adding their 7th-generation predecessors for comparison.
For most people, the key consideration is the number of cores. Every core counts in performance: We've seen a six-core Core i7 offer 50 percent more performance over a quad-core in some tasks. But for mainstream web-surfing and productivity, a dual-core CPU with Hyper-Threading, such as the Core i3-8130U, is all your applications will require. Pay up for a quad-core when you have demanding, processor-intensive tasks like video editing, 3D modeling, or professional photography.
Not all cores are created equal. Super-budget CPUs such as Celeron and Pentium may tout "quad-core" as a feature, but those cores often don't have the same performance specs as the ones in a Core-class CPU. If faced with a budget quad-core vs. a dual-core or quad-core Core-class CPU, the Core is usually recommended.
We spec out key features like Hyper-Threading, which delegates unused portions of the CPU for other tasks to maximize performance; Turbo Boost, which gives you a bit more clock speed when you need it most; and of course, overclocking, which lets you push your CPU to its limit.
(https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/07/7th_gen_vs_8th_gen-100763962-large.jpg) (https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2018/07/7th_gen_vs_8th_gen-100763962-orig.jpg)
IDG
Intel gives all of its 8th-gen laptop CPUs a decent raise over the 7th gen laptop CPUs.
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What this chart also shows is that the jump from 7th-gen to 8th-gen CPUs was significant. For example, the 8th-gen Core i7 H chips boast six cores vs. the four cores of a 7th-gen Core i7 HQ. The 8th-gen Core i5 H chips get Hyper-Threading, which previously was limited only to the Core i7 H CPUs.
Low-power CPUs also get a big bump. The 8th-gen Core i7 U chips and the 8th-gen Core i5 U chips graduate to four cores instead of two. Even the bottom-end 8th-gen Core i3 U gets Hyper-Threading, which was something previously limited only to the 7th-gen Core i5 chips.
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Adam Patrick Murray
The 8th Gen Core i7-8750H features a six-core CPU that destroys the previous 7th-gen Core i7 in performance.
Megahertz does matterAnother important number to pay attention to is megahertz, or the clock speed of the CPU. Overzealous marketing has given megahertz a credibility issue, but the truth is that few applications give you more performance from additional CPU cores or Hyper-Threading. Instead, they go faster when the clock speed is higher.
In a laptop, the clock speed is typically expressed as base clock, which is the guaranteed minimum megahertz under the worst-case scenario. The Turbo Boost clock speed is what the CPU on very light loads will hit. Because Turbo Boost is very much tied to heat and power consumption, it typically lasts only a few seconds. For what most people do, that suffices.
Even with megahertz, there's no need to sweat the small stuff. For example, if you're looking at Laptop A with a 1.6GHz - 3.4GHz Core i5-8250U and Laptop B with a 1.7GHz - 3.6GHz Core i5-8350U, you're unlikely to notice such a small clock speed difference. Even a 500MHz difference is easy to miss. We'd say that once you get to maybe 800MHz or 1,000MHz, or an actual timed event (such as waiting for Photoshop to convert files), you'll start to notice. It's far more important to get a Core-class CPU or the latest-generation chip, though.
(https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2017/11/acer-aspire-e15-350-100742758-large.jpg) (https://images.idgesg.net/images/article/2017/11/acer-aspire-e15-350-100742758-orig.jpg)
Amazon
The Acer Aspire now features an 8th gen Core i3, which we recommend over Pentium or Celeron CPUS with N's in the model number.
Let's talk about cheap chipsWhile Intel's model numbers are usually pretty honest with the Core lineup, it gets a lot more difficult with cheap CPUs.
For example, a Core i5 is indeed going to be generally faster than a Core i3. And a Core i3-8130U is going to a little faster than a Core i3-8109U. Likewise, an 8th-generation Intel CPU is generally going to be faster than its 7th-generation equivalent.
Where Intel's model numbers appear to break down is in the budget arena. The company's Celeron and Pentium CPUs tend to blur the line between what we feel is good and what its model numbers would indicate.
For example, a Celeron N3160 is a common CPU in ultra-budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Naturally you'd assume it would perform very closely to the the similar-sounding Celeron 3215U. In fact, the Celeron 3215U will generally be far more responsive, while the Celeron N3160 will give you better battery life.
The easy takeaway as you peruse dozens of budget laptops is that letter. N-class CPUs give you better battery life but less performance, while the Pentium and Celeron's with U or Y will be responsive but offer less battery life. Frankly, we'd go with the Y or U models if you can find them in a laptop you want.
If you are bent on an Pentium N or Celeron N though, the higher number is better, and Pentium is generally faster than Celeron unless there's a U in the model number.?
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From Best cheap laptops: We rate the best-sellers on Amazon and Best Buy https://www.pcworld.com/article/3097473/computers/best-budget-laptops-on-amazon-and-best-buy.html When you're looking for a good, cheap laptop, knowledge is power. Every budget machine (which we're defining as laptops costing $500 or less) is the product of compromise—corners carefully cut here and there to hit a price point.
Budget laptops: The features that matterBased on the current top-selling budget laptops on Amazon and Best Buy, here's what you should expect to see in the major components:
CPU: You should expect to see lower-end dual-core Intel Core processors, and a sprinkling of AMD's older mobile CPUs (not the company's latest and far more interesting Raven Ridge mobile processors). Those older AMD parts tend to perform badly compared to their Intel rivals, so manage your expectations (and stick to basic computing needs).
Memory: You'll see 4GB or 6GB of RAM, but try for 8GB if you can, so you can run more applications or browser tabs simultaneously.
Storage: You'll see a lot of hard drives and some lower-capacity SSDs. If you're on a budget, a slow hard drive with greater capacity could be a better deal than a fast SSD that's barely got room for the operating system and a few applications.
Display: Display quality is one area where vendors often skimp to hit a price point. Do your best to balance size with resolution. An HD resolution of 1366x768 suffices for an 11-inch or 13-inch display, but starts to look grainier (albeit still united snakesble) on 14-inch displays and upward. You won't always see a maximum brightness spec, but we consider 250 nits to be a reasonable level. Anything less will limit your ability to work in brighter environments (let alone outdoors). Viewing angles could be limited, which is tolerable unless you want to share your screen.
Graphics: Expect integrated graphics that will manage everyday imagery well, but not gaming or other graphics-intensive tasks.
Connectivity: Good news: The bulkier laptops you often see in this price range have plenty of room for ports. You should see USB-A ports, but note that those using the USB 2.0 spec are more limited in capability than those using the USB 3.0 spec. You might not see USB-C, full HDMI, or ethernet.
Dimensions and weight: Many cheaper laptops are larger, heavier models. Anything over 3.5 pounds may not be something you'll want to carry past the living room.
Know what you want and shop smartAfter seeing what's popular among cheap laptops, you should have enough knowledge to shop for yourself. Keep in mind your priorities, whether it's display size, storage capacity, weight or more, and you should be able to find a good deal.