What is the difference between an i5 processor and i7 processor? Is there a noticeable difference between the two?
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i5 or i7
- Thread starter mariobros27772
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I would say that the main difference is the first one has a "5" after the "i" and the second one has a "7" after the "i". Other than that they look perfectly similar.
there are differences, of course, but the main thing is a mobile i7 has more cache than a mobile i5, and a little more clock speed, and the ability to TurboBoost to a higher frequency than an i5.
In desktop processor, the differences are more significant, but for a laptop, i don't think they are significant enough, so I just bought the i5 + hi-res, and very happy with my decision.
btw, only the i7 model of MBP has 512MB of video RAM, and it seems that's the most significant advantage of an i7 MBP.
In desktop processor, the differences are more significant, but for a laptop, i don't think they are significant enough, so I just bought the i5 + hi-res, and very happy with my decision.
btw, only the i7 model of MBP has 512MB of video RAM, and it seems that's the most significant advantage of an i7 MBP.
Indeed, as has been mentioned elsewhere, you are likely to see more performance buying the base model and then maxing out the ram to 8gb and swapping the stock drive for a 500gb 7.2krpm drive.
Thats my plan at least and I'm sticking to it. Though the MBP 15" i5 2.4ghz is no slouch. I cant believe how much faster this fella is on batch processing in photoshop over my C2D based Mac mini.
There is also that the difference between a 2.4 and 2.66 is imperceptible to me. I am sure in benchmarks there is a 10% or so diff, but this is not anything you can feel in day to day use. I believe that the i7 has a bit more cache which can make a difference in certain kinds of operations.
Thats my plan at least and I'm sticking to it. Though the MBP 15" i5 2.4ghz is no slouch. I cant believe how much faster this fella is on batch processing in photoshop over my C2D based Mac mini.
There is also that the difference between a 2.4 and 2.66 is imperceptible to me. I am sure in benchmarks there is a 10% or so diff, but this is not anything you can feel in day to day use. I believe that the i7 has a bit more cache which can make a difference in certain kinds of operations.
There really aren't any noticeable differences. A faster processor does not necessarily equal a faster computer. The only time you would notice the speed difference is in rendering HD video or some other very processor heavy tasks. Even then, the difference would be pretty small.