Hyperthreading needed for programming?

[Roamer]

I'm gonna study computer science next schoolyear and i'm currently looking to buy either a Dell Inspiron 5000 (5567) or the Dell Inspiron Gaming. So that'd be either a i7-7500U or a i5-7300HQ and which one would be better for programming, vm's etc?

[TheCherryKing]

5 minutes ago, Roamer said:

I'm gonna study computer science next schoolyear and i'm currently looking to buy either a Dell Inspiron 5000 (5567) or the Dell Inspiron Gaming. So that'd be either a i7-7500U or a i5-7300HQ and which one would be better for programming, vm's etc?

You are better of with the i5-7300HQ. Four real cores are better than two real cores with hyper threading. 

[desertcomputer]

I would prefer to get more core model, but i would suggest doing most of heavy stuff like VM on your desktop and possibly RDP into it when outside if needed.  

[PorkishPig]

8 minutes ago, Roamer said:

I'm gonna study computer science next schoolyear and i'm currently looking to buy either a Dell Inspiron 5000 (5567) or the Dell Inspiron Gaming. So that'd be either a i7-7500U or a i5-7300HQ and which one would be better for programming, vm's etc?

A huge difference between these two processors is their power consumption. An i7-7500U has a TDP of 15W, while the i5-7300HQ has a TDP of 45W. If you want better performance with lesser battery life, go with the HQ.

 

This should help with your decision significantly. It goes pretty in-depth with comparing these two processors:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/925/Intel_Core_i5_Mobile_i5-7300HQ_vs_Intel_Core_i7_Mobile_i7-7500U.html

[Roamer]

4 minutes ago, Homeless_Pineapple said:

A huge difference between these two processors is their power consumption. An i7-7500U has a TDP of 15W, while the i5-7300HQ has a TDP of 45W. If you want better performance with lesser battery life, go with the HQ.

 

This should help with your decision significantly. It goes pretty in-depth with comparing these two processors:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/925/Intel_Core_i5_Mobile_i5-7300HQ_vs_Intel_Core_i7_Mobile_i7-7500U.html

I think the battery life on the machine with the i5-7300HQ is way better than the one with the i7. The i5 one got a 6-cell battery and the i7 only a 3-cell. Not sure if this is the case but on linus' review about the machine, he praised it for its battery life (between 6-7hrs if i remember correctly)

[m0k]

if this guy was able to accomplish all he has with a core 2duo ....im sure you can make do with anything on the market today - dont need much horsepower (Depending on what youre workload is specifically)

my point being - take a look at what kind of resources your specific task requires

[Zodiark1593]

Unless your compiling linux-kernel sized projects, odds are you can get by with hardware as old as C2D (not that you'd want to in this day and age ).

 

If the quad core machine (i5) gets similar battery life and isn't substantially more expensive, get that. Just because whatever you compile right now won't need it much, doesn't mean it won't come in handy in the future for this or any other pursuit.