i7 6 core vs i9 8 core

[badsimian]

I am not sure which is better here. I am considering switching from my almost maxed 2019 13" to a 2016 for screen real estate but I can't work out the best processor to go for. When I try to run VMs on my 13", the fans run loud and hot. It works but is not ideal. I could put 4 of 6 cores to the VM on a 16" and it might help things as not all cores are going max. Would 8 be better? The8 base clock is lower though, does that mean that it runs slower day to day on not intensive tasks because the 6 cores are running faster? or it doesn't matter because both boost when they need it?
My workloads are unlikely to max the processor out massively but I could imagine having quite a few multi-core happy processes.I can save money by going base model upgraded to 32GB/2TB but for not *that* much more I can get the 8 core with higher graphics. (I sometimes game but nothing hardcore). Would like to keep the machine for a while.

 

[ephone1]

Any VM you run, no matter how many cores, will cause your fans to spin-up because you are simply using more than one core. Also, when using a VM, you will be using your dedicated GPU.

 

[AustinIllini]

You probably should be able to get away with the I7 as both processors are formidable. Based on what I have read/seen, I would recommend getting the base and updating the machine in this order. I would lean towards only doing 1 and 2 and skipping 3.

1. Upgrade GPU
2. Upgrade RAM
3. Upgrade storage space
4. Upgrade CPU

 

[matram]

My experience is with VMWare Fusion. Their recommendation is one virtual CPU per VM. And they count a thread as a vCPU so you actually have 12 for the 6 core and 16 for the 8 core. That is plenty.

Also a Win10 machine for simple office work can be run with 4 GB RAM. I run two VM with 4 GB and one vCPU, and one for development with 8 GB and 4 vCPU.

Fusion by default does not use the dGPU if you are not doing 3D graphics.

VM do consume a lot of disk, upwards to a 100 GB each.

So I would probaply prioritize disk first, followed by memory and then cores. Of course what type of work load you will be running in your VM has a great impact.

 

[Nacho98]

You probably should be able to get away with the I7 as both processors are formidable. Based on what I have read/seen, I would recommend getting the base and updating the machine in this order. I would lean towards only doing 1 and 2 and skipping 3.

1. Upgrade GPU
2. Upgrade RAM
3. Upgrade storage space
4. Upgrade CPU

Exactly what I did.

1. Maxed GPU (8GB 5500M)
2. Mid level RAM (32 GB)
3. Poverty SSD
4. Poverty CPU

 

[UltimateSyn]

Does anyone know if there would be any noticeable difference in battery life between 6-core and 8-core?

 

[redheeler]

Exactly what I did.

1. Maxed GPU (8GB 5500M)
2. Mid level RAM (32 GB)
3. Poverty SSD
4. Poverty CPU

This is a solid configuration and also my preference. 32 GB RAM is better in the long-term, and the maxed-out GPU is a good idea as that tends to show its age before the CPU does. The base i7 is no slouch and easily outperforms the 2017 5K iMac with the maxed-out i7 in multi-core.

Does anyone know if there would be any noticeable difference in battery life between 6-core and 8-core?

I'm curious about this as well. Considering the i9 has a lower base clock it's possible that it actually has better battery life for non-intensive usage. But I doubt there is much of a difference between the two.