i5 3230M vs i7 3630QM (laptop)

Tama Handika

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Jul 2, 2013
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Hello all,

Im planning on buy i5 3230M, but I want to ask is it worthed for me to add additional $200 for an i7 3630QM?Just say the other part is exactly same.

And what do you think about i5 3230M performance? Im kinda doubt it because it only has 2 cores.

Thanks :D
 
Solution
i7 3630QM is definitly better in performance, ranging around 10%~100% faster than i5 3230M depending on workload and threads used.

I am not sure if the $200 difference is worth it, but I personally would go for a i7 instead of i5 in mobile platforms any day because it is quad vs dual cores, unlike desktop platforms where i5's perform almost as good as i7s in most tasks including gaming. Also, I think 3630M is socketed chip, while 3230M is BGA only, which means 3230M cannot be spared if the mobo goes bad, so I would think that 3630M has better resale value as a standalone part (if mobo dies yrs from now).

goonbar79

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Dec 31, 2008
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i7 3630QM is definitly better in performance, ranging around 10%~100% faster than i5 3230M depending on workload and threads used.

I am not sure if the $200 difference is worth it, but I personally would go for a i7 instead of i5 in mobile platforms any day because it is quad vs dual cores, unlike desktop platforms where i5's perform almost as good as i7s in most tasks including gaming. Also, I think 3630M is socketed chip, while 3230M is BGA only, which means 3230M cannot be spared if the mobo goes bad, so I would think that 3630M has better resale value as a standalone part (if mobo dies yrs from now).
 
Solution

Optimus_Toaster

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Jul 22, 2012
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the i7 would definitely be a step up from the i5 due to the i5 only having 2 cores as opposed to the i7s 4. But for $200, I am not so sure, especially when here in the UK the upgrade from that i5 to that i7 is only around £60 on PCSpecialist's inferno laptop.
What laptop is it that you are looking at. Also bear in mind that haswell is out now and it may be worth buying a haswell laptop for the better power consumption and slightly better performance.