Need help comparing two cpus

[ragingthund3r3r]

Hey, so im pretty new to understanding cpu comparisons and how to actually understand benchmarks.

 

Right now im comparing two specific cpus:
Intel Core i7 13620H
Intel Core i5 13420H

Ive gone over the comparison stats on the following websites, and I can see that the difference isnt very big, but could someone help me out and explain if the difference is really not that much or am I reading it incorrectly:
https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/intel-core-i7-13620h-vs-intel-core-i5-13420h
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-13420H-vs-Intel-Core-i7-13620H/m2088006vsm2049481
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5434vs5283/Intel-i5-13420H-vs-Intel-i7-13620H

Id appreciate any help i can get, thanks!!

[Dedayog]

3 minutes ago, ragingthund3r3r said:

Hey, so im pretty new to understanding cpu comparisons and how to actually understand benchmarks.

 

Right now im comparing two specific cpus:
Intel Core i7 13620H
Intel Core i5 13420H

Ive gone over the comparison stats on the following websites, and I can see that the difference isnt very big, but could someone help me out and explain if the difference is really not that much or am I reading it incorrectly:
https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/intel-core-i7-13620h-vs-intel-core-i5-13420h
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-13420H-vs-Intel-Core-i7-13620H/m2088006vsm2049481
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5434vs5283/Intel-i5-13420H-vs-Intel-i7-13620H

Id appreciate any help i can get, thanks!!

Correct, it's not much difference. 2 more cores, a little more cache etc.

 

If you need more cores for production work, get the 13620H but otherwise they're only about 10-15% performance difference.

 

CPUs are all much closer than you think, they don't have massive gaps to keep them all separate.  It's why you'll see some people recommend a 5600 vs a 5700X for gaming, or a 9600X vs a 9800X3D depending on resolution.

 

Reall though, what are you going to use the CPU for?  

[Timme]

7 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

2 more cores, a little more cache etc.

Tbh, it's quite a lot of difference against, say, higher clock speeds

[Dedayog]

11 minutes ago, Timme said:

Tbh, it's quite a lot of difference against, say, higher clock speeds

Yeah, but for certain uses it just isn't.  I'd recommend comparing them directly in specific use cases, as productivity may be a decent difference but gaming may only be 10-15% max.

[ragingthund3r3r]

hi, thanks for the input!!!!

Well the reason im comparing both of them is that i was considering buying a laptop, but the i7 model that i wanted to buy was sold out. it was an i7 model with 32gb of ddr5 ram and 1tb of 2280 m.2 nvme ssd. an alternative i see is a i5 model with 16gb of ddr5 ram and 500gb of 2280 m.2 nvme ssd. the differences in the laptop prices and my budget, allow me to buy 16gb of ddr5 ram + 500gb of 2230 m.2 nvme ssd making them almost equal in specs (as the laptop has dual ram and storage ports), except the i5 vs the i7 issue.

in terms of usecases, i have never done video editing ( my last laptop was an i3 that could barely run photoshop so i never tried video editing), i intend to use photoshop pretty frequently and i dont game much. i might run some ml models locally, maybe something research oriented stuff at times as well. 

my only intention in buying the i7 was that if i am upgrading for at least the next 4-5 (i know that is a big range), i dont want to be bottlenecked by my cpu.

[ragingthund3r3r]

I'll add a few more details. 

 

I mainly intend to use the laptop for programming and running resource intensive apps like docker, vms etc. The laptop doesnt have a specific separate gpu but i would be intrested in running local llms on my cpu, if possible, for fun. 
 

Otherwise the general usecase would be simple web browsing, using obsidian, reading pdfs etc. Like light stuff. But when needed i would be happy if it could perform the extreme compute i need. 

[OddOod]

1 hour ago, ragingthund3r3r said:

the differences in the laptop prices and my budget, allow me to buy 16gb of ddr5 ram + 500gb of 2230 m.2 nvme ssd making them almost equal in spec

Welcome to the forums!
Does the specific model you're looking at have user replaceable RAM? A lot of laptops I'm seeing these days don't. Also, does it have a spare M2 slot for that extra 500GB of storage?

[ragingthund3r3r]

6 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Welcome to the forums!
Does the specific model you're looking at have user replaceable RAM? A lot of laptops I'm seeing these days don't. Also, does it have a spare M2 slot for that extra 500GB of storage?

yup. i chose this laptop specifically since it has two upgradable ram slots and two m.2 nvme slots (1 2230, 2280)

[OddOod]

Well, you're missing out on some performance by getting the i5 and it probably won't hold its value as long, but with your usecase you don't really need more performance assuming you aren't trying to compile unholy massive projects. Also, I wouldn't have much confidence in the i7 model coming back in stock given how old the chip is.

[ragingthund3r3r]

Oh, thanks! This is really helpful! I'm planning to wait for a few days or so else I'll just buy the i5. Thanks for the tip that they might not come back in stock. It'll help me take a decision earlier

[Pusbucket]

1 hour ago, ragingthund3r3r said:

I'll add a few more details. 

 

I mainly intend to use the laptop for programming and running resource intensive apps like docker, vms etc. The laptop doesnt have a specific separate gpu but i would be intrested in running local llms on my cpu, if possible, for fun. 

then go for the i7.

as noted above, I-7 is best for productivity such as what you intend, I-5's are more than adequate for gaming if that is the main goal.

[ragingthund3r3r]

another qn guys, would 32gb of ram ever feel less?

like in terms of future proofing? i ask because if i buy a single 32gb ram, i can still upgrade, but if i buy two 16 gb rams, then im locked in that config and upgrading makes one of them useless