CPU comparison

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
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138
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I know the specs, the benches, etc.

But, in real-world performance both regular usage and gaming, how does the Skylake i3-6100 desktop processor compare to the Haswell i7-4720HQ laptop processor?
 

Burpo

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2013
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Good question. I'm sitting here playing with an HP Envy with the i7 4700MQ, and it's hard to imagine it being slower than the i3 6100, especially multi-tasking.
 

lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
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i7 4720hq should beat the 6100 in every and all possible situations, except maybe gaming if you combine high end gpu + 6100 vs i7 4720 onboard graphics. Browsing email? probably 0 difference
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
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The i7-4720hq is backed up by a 970m 3gb. I would pair the i3-6100 with an RX470 or GTX1060.

I'm wanting to jump back into desktops, so I want to start with a build at least as good as my laptop, and just throw in better parts when I get the money.
 

lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
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A real 4 core desktop skylake (6500-6600k) should be same or better (especially with a light OC) than that laptop cpu in gaming. 470/1060 will probably have +30-40% on 970m as well
 

jmmtn4aj

Senior member
Aug 13, 2006
314
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If you want a bigger screen and external keyboard, buy those and plug it into your laptop until you've saved enough to build a PC that's significantly better all at once. Unless you have a need to use two computers at a time putting together a PC that's roughly as powerful as your existing laptop just to have a desktop is a waste of money, precious metals, and, eventually, landfill space.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,575
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Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
If you want a bigger screen and external keyboard, buy those and plug it into your laptop until you've saved enough to build a PC that's significantly better all at once. Unless you have a need to use two computers at a time putting together a PC that's roughly as powerful as your existing laptop just to have a desktop is a waste of money, precious metals, and, eventually, landfill space.

I was looking to transition away from heavy gaming laptops and build a desktop to be able to upgrade parts instead of having to buy a whole new machine or be stuck with dropping performance. I was planning on selling or giving to a family member my current G751, and getting an ultra portable (the HP Spectre 13 laptop is super sexy and weighs nothing). I have a mouse and second monitor plugged in already, I'd use a keyboard too but it would put the main display too far away for me to see.

Thanks for the benches. I figured Skylake IPC improvements would put an i3 closer to the Haswell laptop chips than that. It should still be an acceptable chip to get the build going though.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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I know the specs, the benches, etc.

But, in real-world performance both regular usage and gaming, how does the Skylake i3-6100 desktop processor compare to the Haswell i7-4720HQ laptop processor?

i7-4720HQ is faster overall than an i5-6500. Therefore, an i3-6100 would get slaughtered if comparing a wide variety of benchmarks. i7-4720HQ offers roughly 85% of i5-6600K's performance and 75% of i7-6700K's. It's too hard to gauge what's faster in games the i3-6100 or the i7-4720HQ since there are some games where the i3 gets absolutely demolished. OTOH, it's theoretically possible to pair Titan XP SLI with an i3-6100 and find a game that's 99% GPU limited and has SLI scaling. That makes it an unfair comparison to the laptop with an i7-4720HQ.
 

jaydee

Diamond Member
May 6, 2000
4,496
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Since no one has mentioned it, an i7-4720HQ, may be thermal throttling in a laptop, depending on the chassis and cooling design. While theoretically your laptop CPU may be more powerful than the latest i3 Skylake design, it might not turn out that way in real life, particularly in sustained load


If you can hang on until 200-series chipset is out (I think by years end?) it's supposed to be compatible with Cannonlake, which would give you a nice option to upgrade in the future without having to replace your motherboard. I would not expect Cannonlake to be backwards compatible with 100-series.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
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I monitored it with XTU, it's actually power throttling. Never goes into thermal throttle even though it hits 80C+ Highest I've seen was 92c, in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I do think I need to repaste as it's sitting at 45-50c idle on the desktop using about 9w. It's an Asus G751 which I got back in January of this year, so it's about a year old.

Edit: OK, I'm wrong. It's thermal throttling above 90c, which it hit while playing SW2 just now. 95-96 is the highest it hit.
 
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