Difference between mobile and desktop cpu

[SoloRaptonic]

Hey guys, I've been curious. Generally speaking, how big is the performance difference between mobile processors and their desktop counterparts. I don't really care about productivity but I plan to buy a gaming laptop and I want to know if mobile i5's are good enough for some of the more demanding or less optimized games out there. Games like rust, miscreated, DayZ, Arma 2 and Arma 3. I don't expect them to play the titles ate 140 fps max settings. I just wanna be sure it can at least make those games playable. P.S. I already own a PC. Im buying this for actual mobile gaming

[Thony]

Mobile i5 is dualcore whereas desktop i5 is 4 cores minimum. And then there are clock speeds. They differ a lot. Mobile will only boost a single core to stated boost speed for limited time due to thermal limits.  Mobile chips have lot less power provided to them (or consumed by them). Either way they are less powerful so they prevent overheating.

[trekkie1701c]

3 minutes ago, Thony said:

Mobile i5 is dualcore whereas desktop i5 is 4 cores minimum. And then there are clock speeds. They differ a lot. Mobile will only boost a single core to stated boost speed for limited time due to thermal limits. 

Maybe some mobile i5s are dual-cores, but not all of them:  https://ark.intel.com/products/97456/Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

 

If you want to know about a specific Intel CPU, it's usually best to go to their website.

[Crunchy Dragon]

3 minutes ago, Thony said:

 prevent overheating.

It should also be mentioned that a mobile CPU can overheat if the cooling or thermal compound is inadequate.

[Thony]

6 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

It should also be mentioned that a mobile CPU can overheat if the cooling or thermal compound is inadequate.

Thats common sense. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, Thony said:

Thats common sense. 

True, I just felt the need to mention it

[Thony]

7 minutes ago, trekkie1701c said:

Maybe some mobile i5s are dual-cores, but not all of them:  https://ark.intel.com/products/97456/Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz

 

If you want to know about a specific Intel CPU, it's usually best to go to their website.

Oh finally ! I dont understand why they called them i5 on mobile in the firstplace since desktop had always been quadcore.... but then we are talking about a company who uses lakes as code names...

[SoloRaptonic]

11 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

It should also be mentioned that a mobile CPU can overheat if the cooling or thermal compound is inadequate.

I Usually immediately replaced the thermal compound anyways. A lot of the times it's really Shotty and not the best

[Mira Yurizaki]

Other than issues with core counts using the same general branding, mobile processors are slower only because they're clocked slower. Architecturally the performance is the same. So an i7-7700HQ is going to perform roughly the same as an i7-7700 clocked the same.

[TheGlenlivet]

"Gaming Laptops" usually have quad core CPUs, even I5s.  Before you buy, make sure you look at the spec sheet carefully.  

[Coaxialgamer]

26 minutes ago, Thony said:

Oh finally ! I dont understand why they called them i5 on mobile in the firstplace since desktop had always been quadcore.... but then we are talking about a company who uses lakes as code names...

There have been quad core i5's since 2015...

[System Error Message]

Actually the performance of mobile and desktop chips are equal if they have the same frequency, cache and cores. I've noticed that more cache actually does give better performance. My laptop's i7 quad core ivybridge with 6MB of cache sometimes stutters in games compared to my desktop with a i7-3770k at lower frequency. The ivybridge could be tweaked for more performance so i got them clocked similarly with the mobile chip a little faster but still does stutter from time to time. The stutter is not a graphics stutter, its when the CPU doesnt have enough cache. This only happens during some games and applications but otherwise performance is similar.

 

Also some mobile CPUs have interesting variants. Theres a mobile skylake i7 with 72 intel IGP shaders, 3x more than the most desktop intel IGP has. If you use throttlestop and give your laptop good cooling, it'd turbo well indefinitely.