Which processor (i7 7500 vs i7 7600) should I choose?

[smallbox]

Dear all,

I'm considering to buy a new x1 carbon, but I don't know which processor (i7 7500 vs i7 7600) I should get. Please help me out. Now option for sure I'll go for is the 16g ram. Between those 2 processors, is the performance difference obvious? Is it necessary to pay extra £180 to choose 7600? I just use this laptop for internet browsing, watching movie, sometimes gaming and some excel works.

[RealBlackStuff]

IMHO you'd be wasting money with the i7-7600u for only a few % improvement over the i7-7500u.
And the 7500u will also run a little cooler than the 7600u.
With your planned usage you might even consider an i5 instead of i7.
The X1C is also more expensive than the T470 or T470p, which you should look into instead.

[smallbox]

Thanks, realblackstuff.

There is an option of i5 7300u which has 3.5 Ghz as i7 7500u does. However this i5 has 3mb cache. Do u think this i5 processor is better than the i7 7500u? It costs slightly more than i7 7500u.

[RealBlackStuff]

i5 should be cheaper than i7.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/857/In ... 7500U.html

Don't stare yourself blind on a few numbers.
Honestly, for your presumed use even an i3 would suffice!

[w0qj]

1. If you plan to do only one thing at a time (nothing done together at the same time), then any i3/i5 CPU with 8 GB RAM would suffice for the time being.
(ie: Either T470 or X1 Carbon).
~Browser internet with a few tabs open
~Watch movie
~Occasional gaming
~MS Excel work

2. The real issue is future updatability:

2a) X1C5 (X1 Carbon Generation 5): Only the SSD is user upgradable**. The CPU is soldered onto motherboard. The RAM is soldered onto motherboard.
~If budget is limited, order of priority is for: More RAM.
~Therefore your own suggestion of 16 GB RAM is OK for future-proof your machine. Then your SSD. Lastly, your CPU.

(As an example, our old T410 recently user upgraded to max 8 GB RAM, and SSD. Same old CPU which is ancient by today's standards.
This T410 could do any one of these at a time: watch movies, browse internet, occasional gaming, or MS Excel work.).


2b) T470: Only the CPU is soldered onto motherboard. ie: RAM is user upgradable, and SSD/HDD is user upgradable** also.
www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T ... 130.0.html
~Therefore if budget is a consideration, T470 is easier to upgrade in the future, and T470 is more economical.


Anyways, we fully understand that the X1 Carbon is a very attractive machine

Do have fun deciding!

[Note: '**' - if you do decide to unofficially upgrade your SSD while still under warranty, ThinkPad do not (should not) need to know about this!]

[ZaZ]

Given that you're not stressing the CPU much at all, I'd buy whatever is cheaper, which would be the i7-7500u in this case.

[robertgalp]

i5 should be cheaper than i7.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/857/In ... 7500U.html

Don't stare yourself blind on a few numbers.
Honestly, for your presumed use even an i3 would suffice!

There are a few minor differences like:

Hyperthreading: All i5 processors are Quad Core and hence have 4 physical cores serving 4 threads. All i7 processors also are Quad Core but they are equipped with Hyperthreading technology which enables each core to serve 2 threads, hence the OS sees it as an Octa Core Processor rather than a Quad Core Processor.

Cache Size: RAM minimizes the use of Hard Drive similarly Cache minimizes the use of RAM. The more the Cache size, the more data can be accessed quickly. Most i5 processors(if not all) have a cache size of around 4MB (3,4,5 or even 6MB in some of them) but almost all i7 Processors have 8MB cache, which is significantly more, thereby allowing more amount of data to be accessed quickly.

[jaspen-meyer]

Given that you're not stressing the CPU much at all, I'd buy whatever is cheaper, which would be the i7-7500u in this case.

Why a new x1 carbon? Used x1carbon from 2014 are 230 GBP on ebay.co.uk. When watching movies and browsing the web you could hardly tell the difference between that machine and the 1000 GBP i7-7500u.

[w0qj]

X1 Carbon Generation 2 (X1C2) = circa 2014
Just to ensure that everyone is on the same page

Why a new x1 carbon? Used x1carbon from 2014 are 230 GBP on ebay.co.uk. When watching movies and browsing the web you could hardly tell the difference between that machine and the 1000 GBP i7-7500u.

[RMSMajestic]

Go for the i5 7300U with 16GB instead

[Geartooth]

i5 should be cheaper than i7.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/857/In ... 7500U.html

Don't stare yourself blind on a few numbers.
Honestly, for your presumed use even an i3 would suffice!

There are a few minor differences like:

Hyperthreading: All i5 processors are Quad Core and hence have 4 physical cores serving 4 threads. All i7 processors also are Quad Core but they are equipped with Hyperthreading technology which enables each core to serve 2 threads, hence the OS sees it as an Octa Core Processor rather than a Quad Core Processor.

Cache Size: RAM minimizes the use of Hard Drive similarly Cache minimizes the use of RAM. The more the Cache size, the more data can be accessed quickly. Most i5 processors(if not all) have a cache size of around 4MB (3,4,5 or even 6MB in some of them) but almost all i7 Processors have 8MB cache, which is significantly more, thereby allowing more amount of data to be accessed quickly.

That is absolutely wrong, atleast for -U. Mobile CPUs (Up to 7Gen) are all 2 Cores, 4 Threads, from i5 to i7. 8 Gen changes this to 4 Cores, 8 Threads unless you have a -Y. (Cough Cough Macbook Air hahaha Cough)