Question about U and M type processors on laptops

[Parablodia]

Hi guys, i own a Lenovo Z580 laptop which has i5-3210M processor and it's battery life sucks(it's almost 5 years old so pretty natural). So i'm thinking of switching to an ultrabook. My question is would there be any performance difference between i5-3210M and i5-7200U processor? Their specifications are alike.

[knightslugger]

http://ark.intel.com/compare/95443,67355

 

the 7200 is the better processor of the two. i mean the tdp is half of what the 3210M is.

[Sakkura]

Yeah. The M chips generally run at higher clocks than the U chips. On the other hand, the 7200U is newer and will get more performance per GHz.

 

One thing you need to consider with the 7200U though, is that the thinner laptop will likely have a smaller battery, so battery life may not be better at all. Well okay, compared to a 5 year old degraded battery it probably is.

 

Edit: Just checked the particular models, and they actually run the exact same clocks, normally. So the 7200U will be faster across the board. Unless you buy a laptop where the OEM has decided to configure the CPU to run slower.

[Parablodia]

So newer architecture performs better even if the clock speeds are the same? i5-3210M served me well but i want more power and longer battery life. So you think i7-7200U or maybe i7-7500U will do the job for me?

[Mark77]

If you compare at a site like cpubenchmark.net, you'll see that there isn't a huge difference between your old Ivy Bridge chip, and the newest de-rated chips for small form factor/laptops. 

 

Basically laptops are fast enough for most uses that people were buying them for.  So the emphasis has been on making them thinner/lighter/longer running times. 

 

 

[Mark77]

Quote

So newer architecture performs better even if the clock speeds are the same? i5-3210M served me well but i want more power and longer battery life. So you think i7-7200U or maybe i7-7500U will do the job for me?

 

No your new laptop probably won't be faster CPU-wise, although embedded graphics-wise, it will be noticeably better.  Unless you move from a dual core to a quad core.  However, it will have better battery life, probably weigh less, last longer, and have a much nicer screen if you get a model with a nice IPS panel.