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Is 2.6 i7 actually better than 2.7?

6770HQ is the one with Iris Pro 580 graphics so it is more expensive. The MBP has the 6700HQ instead.
The three options are
-6700HQ (2.6GHz)
-6820HQ (2.7GHz)
-6920HQ (2.9GHz)
 
Fireball Dragon said:
I ordered a 15" MBP with the 2.6GHz cpu. Been searching a lot it the upgrade to 2.7 is worth one extra £80.

I think I have the right comparison chart here, and just wanted to ask why the 2.6 i7 is more expensive than the 2.7? Also looks like the max resolution of the 2.7 is capped at 1080p.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/88969,93341
Click to expand...

Because you are comparing a 2015 processor against a 2016 processor.
 
The 2.6 has less L3 cache than the 2.7 in case it's important for what you are doing. It's likely not if you need to ask though :D
 
NickPhamUK said:
Even if OP didn't ask it, I'd go a step forward and say the CPU upgrades are not worth it.
Click to expand...

I've ordered the 2.6 i7 anyway, but just curious to know why the upgrade is not worth it.
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iKrivetko said:
The 2.6 has less L3 cache than the 2.7 in case it's important for what you are doing. It's likely not if you need to ask though :D
Click to expand...

In all honesty the most demanding things il be doing are gaming and video editing (4K).
 
Fireball Dragon said:
I've ordered the 2.6 i7 anyway, but just curious to know why the upgrade is not worth it.
[doublepost=1479082376][/doublepost]

In all honesty the most demanding things il be doing are gaming and video editing (4K).
Click to expand...
Anyway, it is not possible to upgrade the Base 15" from 2.6 i7 to 2.7 i7. The 2.7 version is only available on the high-end 15".
 
Fireball Dragon said:
I've ordered the 2.6 i7 anyway, but just curious to know why the upgrade is not worth it.
[doublepost=1479082376][/doublepost]

In all honesty the most demanding things il be doing are gaming and video editing (4K).
Click to expand...

Because the chip is fast enough. For $300 extra you get something that is only 10-15% faster at most. Might be worth it if you do lots of video editing (I'm not into it), but if I were a professional video editor, I would have gotten myself a desktop anyways.
 
NickPhamUK said:
Because the chip is fast enough. For $300 extra you get something that is only 10-15% faster at most. Might be worth it if you do lots of video editing (I'm not into it), but if I were a professional video editor, I would have gotten myself a desktop anyways.
Click to expand...
10-15%? That's way too optimistic.
 
Fireball Dragon said:
I've ordered the 2.6 i7 anyway, but just curious to know why the upgrade is not worth it.
[doublepost=1479082376][/doublepost]

In all honesty the most demanding things il be doing are gaming and video editing (4K).
Click to expand...

You're going to get 1-3% more CPU speed. And with a Skylake i7, you're not likely to need that extra speed. Video Editing is more GPU reliant, as is gaming. You're more likely to run out of RAM doing both of those, as well, than run into a CPU bottleneck.
 
Fireball Dragon said:
That's right. But seeing as specked out the base model with 1TB SSD and the Radeon 560, I could still get the 2.7 with the higher end.
Click to expand...

Oh that's where you're getting the difference from. Yeah get what you mean, but at that price point, maybe the slight price premium you pay for the 2.7GHz is more insignificant. I'd just get the high-end model if i were you, thinking of getting 512GB and Radeon Pro 460.
 
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monkeydax said:
Oh that's where you're getting the difference from. Yeah get what you mean, but at that price point, maybe the slight price premium you pay for the 2.7GHz is more insignificant. I'd just get the high-end model if i were you, thinking of getting 512GB and Radeon Pro 460.
Click to expand...

Would mean waiting possible until after Christmas now, if I went for the 2.7, which sucks :(

I think I need 1TB as I am planning to get a drone later and imagine all that 4k video content will take up a lot of space. Same story when I upgrade my iPhone.
 
Fireball Dragon said:
Would mean waiting possible until after Christmas now, if I went for the 2.7, which sucks :(

I think I need 1TB as I am planning to get a drone later and imagine all that 4k video content will take up a lot of space. Same story when I upgrade my iPhone.
Click to expand...

What do you do for a living?
 
Fireball Dragon said:
I'm a Scientist.
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Interesting. I wouldn't worry about ultra speccing your stuff out, if you're big into tech. Look for what you need, use external storage if you need to, and go for good resale value. I like to Craigslist things within 1-2 years to buy new again. Not sure if that's your thing tho.
 
PaulWog said:
Interesting. I wouldn't worry about ultra speccing your stuff out, if you're big into tech. Look for what you need, use external storage if you need to, and go for good resale value. I like to Craigslist things within 1-2 years to buy new again. Not sure if that's your thing tho.
Click to expand...

I'll be honest. Not sure I'll notice much of a performance boost at all. The 2.7 upgrade is more for my satisfaction tbh. I was just probing to see if there was something I may be missing, as it's an expensive purchase.

I'm keeping the 15" as my in-home power house machine. iMac not really an option as I like to work around the house. Plan to keep the machine for at least 3-4 years, until a redesign/significant upgrade.

Also have my 12" MacBook from 2015 which will keep as my portable mac as I don't need the processing power on the move.
 
Last edited:
Just had a quick look at CPU benchmark website for the scores.

i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz) - 8046
i7-6820HQ (2.7GHz) - 8717
i7-6920HQ (2.9GHz) - 9595

The 2.7Ghz is 7.6% faster than the 2.6Ghz.
The 2.9Ghz is 9% faster than the 2.7Ghz and 16% faster than the 2.6Ghz.

In real world usage will that make a difference? All the basic stuff won't be any quicker, unless you do some massive render, compile or conversion that 16% quicker will actually benefit.
 
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