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Mobile CPUs - How to determine if it will suitable for my needs?

QwarkDreams

My current laptop (crappy Acer netbook with an Atom N570) is too slow and old and not cutting it anymore as a daily driver for university (Office, web, light entertainment).

I've been looking around for a replacement but I don't know which CPU to choose. With desktop CPUs it's pretty straight forward but I'm kinda lost when it comes to mobile CPUs (how much does hyperthreading improve the performance, when do I profit from it, is an i3 in general better than a Pentium 3xxx or N3xxx, does it justify the price, etc ?).

 

Example:

Core i3-4005U - 2 cores, 4 threads / 1,7GHz

Pentium N3540 - 4 cores, 4 threads / 2,16GHz, 2,66GHz Turbo

Pentium 3558U - 4 cores, 4 threads / 1,7GHz

 

According to benchmarks, the N3540 performs worse than the 3558U and the i3. The numbers confuse me (the N3540 being the cheapest but from the sheer numbers it looks like the strongest, while performing worse in benchmarks), I don't know how to determine which will suit my needs and last for a couple of years (2-3y).

 

I've been looking at a few laptops with identical specs (15.6", 1366x768, 4GB RAM, 500GB-1TB HDD, 3 USB ports, 2y warranty), with the CPU being the exception. The prices are quite different, even when the brand is the same (i.e. Dell Inspiron 15 3000). Is the difference in price between a N3540 and a 3558U/i3-4005U justified or will the cheaper one be fine even in a few years?

If it was just the HDD and/or RAM I wouldn't bother and just upgrade them in the future but that can't be done with the CPU so I want to make sure I choose the best for me now.

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N3540 is low power processor.

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Gould Belt, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Milky Way subgroup, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea, Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Observable universe, Universe.

Spoiler

12700, B660M Mortar DDR4, 32GB 3200C16 Viper Steel, 2TB SN570, EVGA Supernova G6 850W, be quiet! 500FX, EVGA 3070Ti FTW3 Ultra.

 

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The pentium are Atom chips  - they use a different architecture with lower IPC but better power consumption. For you usage the i3 would be good enough, but I'm not sure about the pentiums. I'd get a laptop with an at least 1600x900 screen though, 768p really isn't much.

~non cogito, ergo non sum?~

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My current laptop (crappy Acer netbook with an Atom N570) is too slow and old and not cutting it anymore as a daily driver for university (Office, web, light entertainment).

I've been looking around for a replacement but I don't know which CPU to choose. With desktop CPUs it's pretty straight forward but I'm kinda lost when it comes to mobile CPUs (how much does hyperthreading improve the performance, when do I profit from it, is an i3 in general better than a Pentium 3xxx or N3xxx, does it justify the price, etc ?).

 

Example:

Core i3-4005U - 2 cores, 4 threads / 1,7GHz

Pentium N3540 - 4 cores, 4 threads / 2,16GHz, 2,66GHz Turbo

Pentium 3558U - 4 cores, 4 threads / 1,7GHz

 

According to benchmarks, the N3540 performs worse than the 3558U and the i3. The numbers confuse me (the N3540 being the cheapest but from the sheer numbers it looks like the strongest, while performing worse in benchmarks), I don't know how to determine which will suit my needs and last for a couple of years (2-3y).

 

I've been looking at a few laptops with identical specs (15.6", 1366x768, 4GB RAM, 500GB-1TB HDD, 3 USB ports, 2y warranty), with the CPU being the exception. The prices are quite different, even when the brand is the same (i.e. Dell Inspiron 15 3000). Is the difference in price between a N3540 and a 3558U/i3-4005U justified or will the cheaper one be fine even in a few years?

If it was just the HDD and/or RAM I wouldn't bother and just upgrade them in the future but that can't be done with the CPU so I want to make sure I choose the best for me now.

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~non cogito, ergo non sum?~

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The pentium are Atom chips  - they use a different architecture with lower IPC but better power consumption. For you usage the i3 would be good enough, but I'm not sure about the pentiums. I'd get a laptop with an at least 1600x900 screen though, 768p really isn't much.

 

I have my eyes on a completely different laptop but there's a good chance that I won't get one (due to very limited stocks). My budget is ~450€ and a higher resolution paired with an i3 (+ 2y warranty) will be much more expensive. It's either an i3 with 1366x768 or a Pentium with 900p/1080p.

 

 

N3540 is low power processor.

 So, because of the lower power consumption it will perform worse?

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 So, because of the lower power consumption it will perform worse?

Yes.

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Gould Belt, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Milky Way subgroup, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea, Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Observable universe, Universe.

Spoiler

12700, B660M Mortar DDR4, 32GB 3200C16 Viper Steel, 2TB SN570, EVGA Supernova G6 850W, be quiet! 500FX, EVGA 3070Ti FTW3 Ultra.

 

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Yes.

 

That's unfortunate. Longer battery life won't do me any good when I sacrifice performance for it.

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That's unfortunate. Longer battery life won't do me any good when I sacrifice performance for it.

If I were you I would get the laptop with 1080p display and update hdd to ssd. You won't notice cpu performance that much if you have ssd.

Location: Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Local Interstellar Cloud, Local Bubble, Gould Belt, Orion Arm, Milky Way, Milky Way subgroup, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea, Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, Observable universe, Universe.

Spoiler

12700, B660M Mortar DDR4, 32GB 3200C16 Viper Steel, 2TB SN570, EVGA Supernova G6 850W, be quiet! 500FX, EVGA 3070Ti FTW3 Ultra.

 

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The N3540 might be the best CPU, actually. Even if the IPC is lower, it has both more cores and a higher clockspeed. I don't know how much lower the IPC is though. Single threaded benchmarks would be the best way to find that out. While I have a fair grasp of the core i mobile series, I don't know much about the Y-series like those pentiums.

I have finally moved to a desktop. Also my guides are outdated as hell.

 

THE INFORMATION GUIDES: SLI INFORMATION || vRAM INFORMATION || MOBILE i7 CPU INFORMATION || Maybe more someday

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If I were you I would get the laptop with 1080p display and update hdd to ssd. You won't notice cpu performance that much if you have ssd.

 

I would like to keep the 2y warranty. I could only find models with 1080p that fit my budget with only 1y warranty (although, those have an i3).

 

The N3540 might be the best CPU, actually. Even if the IPC is lower, it has both more cores and a higher clockspeed. I don't know how much lower the IPC is though. Single threaded benchmarks would be the best way to find that out. While I have a fair grasp of the core i mobile series, I don't know much about the Y-series like those pentiums.

 

PassMark's scores show that the N3540 is vastly inferior to the 3558U and i3-4005U in single-thread rating.

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I guess I could squeeze out a couple more bucks and buy less cigarettes for a month.

Has anyone of you experience/knowledge about the Lenovo B50-70? The specs look really good (http://geizhals.at/lenovo-b50-70-mcc34ge-a1163442.html?hloc=at) for the price. I guess an i5 (even a mobile verion) paired with 8GB and an R5 M230 2GB should give me 2-3 years of good, steady performance.

 

But I'm not sure about Lenovo as much as I was in the past. Some say the quality has gone down and shit like the whole SuperFish thing have dedcreased my trust in the company. Oh, and it only comes with 1y warranty.

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PassMark's scores show that the N3540 is vastly inferior to the 3558U and i3-4005U in single-thread rating.

And Passmark thinks my CPU is inferior to an i7-3770 (which it isn't). Passmark is a poor example. Look for concrete benchmarks from notebooks that you're considering (if possible).

 

The other problem of course, is the TDP limit. ULV chips have 15W (and honestly my i7 can run at 1.6GHz, 4 cores 8 threads, with a little undervolt, and not draw over 15W in various stress tests) but the other one, the quad, can only draw 7.5W. I don't know what that chip's maximum limit is... if it's say... 10W and the user wants some elbow grease, maybe a little throttlestop magic can vastly "fix" that TDP limit. Depends on how locked down the motherboard is too. Some boards, no matter what you do, won't supply over X watts to a CPU. The Alienware M17x R4 is a good example; it'll never give over 68W to any chip (which is near the 3920XM and 3940XM's short power boost max rating) unless you mod the bios to allow it to do so... then on the other hand, the Alienware 18 will shut off if you manage to get the board to draw somewhere near 400W of power or more, even if you mod in a dual-PSU situation. The M18x R1 and R2 don't do this, and you can pull well over 600W through the board.

 

There's lots of factors to consider, which is why I said to get some single sample concrete benchmarks and see how it works, preferably in the machines he's using.

I have finally moved to a desktop. Also my guides are outdated as hell.

 

THE INFORMATION GUIDES: SLI INFORMATION || vRAM INFORMATION || MOBILE i7 CPU INFORMATION || Maybe more someday

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And Passmark thinks my CPU is inferior to an i7-3770 (which it isn't). Passmark is a poor example. Look for concrete benchmarks from notebooks that you're considering (if possible).

 

The other problem of course, is the TDP limit. ULV chips have 15W (and honestly my i7 can run at 1.6GHz, 4 cores 8 threads, with a little undervolt, and not draw over 15W in various stress tests) but the other one, the quad, can only draw 7.5W. I don't know what that chip's maximum limit is... if it's say... 10W and the user wants some elbow grease, maybe a little throttlestop magic can vastly "fix" that TDP limit. Depends on how locked down the motherboard is too. Some boards, no matter what you do, won't supply over X watts to a CPU. The Alienware M17x R4 is a good example; it'll never give over 68W to any chip (which is near the 3920XM and 3940XM's short power boost max rating) unless you mod the bios to allow it to do so... then on the other hand, the Alienware 18 will shut off if you manage to get the board to draw somewhere near 400W of power or more, even if you mod in a dual-PSU situation. The M18x R1 and R2 don't do this, and you can pull well over 600W through the board.

 

There's lots of factors to consider, which is why I said to get some single sample concrete benchmarks and see how it works, preferably in the machines he's using.

 

I actually don't need that much computing power, I just don't want to feel the need for a new laptop in a year or two already because the performance is decreasing (like it has been with my netbook....that little crap). I just don#t have the income to afford a new laptop every year, that's also why I would prefer laptops with more than 1y warranty.

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I actually don't need that much computing power, I just don't want to feel the need for a new laptop in a year or two already because the performance is decreasing (like it has been with my netbook....that little crap). I just don#t have the income to afford a new laptop every year, that's also why I would prefer laptops with more than 1y warranty.

Take my advice. Save up a bit and buy a decent mainstream laptop, and keep it for a few years. When you start hunting bottom of the barrel, you're going to run into the situation you're attempting to avoid right now. Deal with what you've got for a bit longer, maybe cut back on the drinks for a month or two or whatever... but save some more and get something good. It doesn't have to be flashy or gamey, but make sure it's something that's gonna last you. Then you'll be fine.

I have finally moved to a desktop. Also my guides are outdated as hell.

 

THE INFORMATION GUIDES: SLI INFORMATION || vRAM INFORMATION || MOBILE i7 CPU INFORMATION || Maybe more someday

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Take my advice. Save up a bit and buy a decent mainstream laptop, and keep it for a few years. When you start hunting bottom of the barrel, you're going to run into the situation you're attempting to avoid right now. Deal with what you've got for a bit longer, maybe cut back on the drinks for a month or two or whatever... but save some more and get something good. It doesn't have to be flashy or gamey, but make sure it's something that's gonna last you. Then you'll be fine.

 

Starting at....? i3? i5?

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Starting at....? i3? i5?

I'd suggest a ULV i5 at minimum. ULV i7 should be no problem either, but isn't much of a benefit from a ULV i5, so needn't be strived for. 8GB of decent RAM should be fine. If you want, a SSD for your OS at least (and another storage method for data if you don't want to buy a large SSD and/or depending on your needs). And a solid 2-3 year warranty. Keep the machine for a solid 3-5 years. Something like that.

 

And for the love of meowmix, please do not buy a 4K laptop. They're mostly a gimmick right now.

I have finally moved to a desktop. Also my guides are outdated as hell.

 

THE INFORMATION GUIDES: SLI INFORMATION || vRAM INFORMATION || MOBILE i7 CPU INFORMATION || Maybe more someday

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I'd suggest a ULV i5 at minimum. ULV i7 should be no problem either, but isn't much of a benefit from a ULV i5, so needn't be strived for. 8GB of decent RAM should be fine. If you want, a SSD for your OS at least (and another storage method for data if you don't want to buy a large SSD and/or depending on your needs). And a solid 2-3 year warranty. Keep the machine for a solid 3-5 years. Something like that.

 

And for the love of meowmix, please do not buy a 4K laptop. They're mostly a gimmick right now.

 

Huh....not sure if I need that much performance. My desktop PC has only an i3-4130 and an R7 260X. An i7 would be overkill, maybe even the i5. I have a spare SSD that's currently in my netbook (the 250GB HDD in there crapped out....Seagate) so I could use that. The warranty and CPU will definitely add to the price, not even including 1080p.

 

 

Ha^^ There's no way I could afford a laptop with that resolution xD Don't worry.

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Huh....not sure if I need that much performance. My desktop PC has only an i3-4130 and an R7 260X. An i7 would be overkill, maybe even the i5. I have a spare SSD that's currently in my netbook (the 250GB HDD in there crapped out....Seagate) so I could use that. The warranty and CPU will definitely add to the price, not even including 1080p.

 

 

Ha^^ There's no way I could afford a laptop with that resolution xD Don't worry.

ULV chips wouldn't even perform as well as that i3. Their names are pointless. Read my mobile CPU guide to understand what I mean.

I have finally moved to a desktop. Also my guides are outdated as hell.

 

THE INFORMATION GUIDES: SLI INFORMATION || vRAM INFORMATION || MOBILE i7 CPU INFORMATION || Maybe more someday

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