HD 405 vs HD 520 (N3710 vs i5 6200u)

[AAny]

Hello, I would like to ask about a rough or rather precise answer towards what would be the better solution for a convertible?

The i5 6200u being only a dual core confuses me in waging how it will perform compared to a N3710.

I currently have a convertible with a N3150 which is "ok" but even very light gaming of 5+ year old games doesn't run well at all. We're speaking of Simcity 4 and the likes. Red Faction runs fantastic btw so its quite the Playstation 2 in there. Then again it has problems with Age of Empires 2 HD and Red Alert 2.

Also would both N3710 and i5 6200u be a considerable boost compared to my current N3150? The 7000 line seems to be coming should I wait a half year or so?

That I had to come here to ask this should worry you. Notebookcheck and CPUBoss and the others weren't of much help. N3710 didn't get much coverage at all either.

Thank you very much in advance for replies.

[AlHill · Accepted solution]

If your intent is to upgrade your convertible, you will be disappointed.

While the N3150 and N3710 are the same socket, the i5-6200u has a different socket. However, none of this matters as all three of these processors use BGA sockets, which means the processor is soldered to the motherboard.

Review this link for more information: http://ark.intel.com/compare/87258,88193,91830 ARK | Compare Intel® Products

If you did have a processor that was upgradable, it would have to be socket, BIOS, and chipset compatible.

Doc

[AAny]

I thought that CPUs can't be upgraded at all with laptops and the likes. I am looking for a new convertible and am really unsure if I should go for one with a N3710 or i5 6200u.

GPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbohttp://www.notebookcheck.com/Intel-Pentium-N3710-Notebook-Prozessor.169232.0.html Intel Pentium N37104 x 1600 MHz, 6 W400 MHz700 MHzCPUGPU Base SpeedGPU Boost / Turbohttp://www.notebookcheck.com/Intel-Core-i5-6200U-Notebook-Prozessor.149434.0.html Intel Core i5-6200U2 x 2300 MHz, 15 W300 MHz1000 MHzhttp://www.notebookcheck.com/Intel-Core-i3-6100U-Notebook-Prozessor.149440.0.html Intel Core i3-6100U2 x 2300 MHz, 15 W300 MHz1000 MHzmin. - max.300 - 300 MHz1000 - 1050 MHz

The HD 405 has a higher frequency too. Is the 405 inferior to a HD 520? The name would suggest so but it being a dual core with lower frequency and all.

[AlHill]

It depends on the laptop. With the proper socket, they can be upgraded.

I would go with i5-6200u.

Doc

[idata]

Hello anyuser,

Al Hill is right; we cannot upgrade the processor in a Laptop just because the processor you want to upgrade is better. To upgrade the processor needs to be a compatibility with the motherboard socket, chipset and BIOS and also the processor can be embedded on the motherboard. Regards, Ivan.

[AAny]

I probably shouldn't have used the word "upgrade" as I do not mean changing a component. I meant I want to get a new convertible with either a N3710 or an i5 6200u. So my question is which one would be the better choice out of the two? N3710 is a quad core instead of a dual core and some of its stats indicate that its HD 405 may be better than the HD 520 but that sounds wrong since 520>405. What adds more confusion is that I read that the built in factory overclock or boost (whatever you may call it) only applies to one or two of the four cores and I read that many programs do not utilize core 3 and 4 much if at all.

Oh well ok I am going for the i5 6200u or maybe for the new i5 7200u if I can one for a reasonable price.

Thanks again.

edit: I somehow misread something and thought that the HD 520 had the same 16 EUs as the HD 405 when it actually has 24.

[idata]

Basically, it depends what you need the system for and what kind of applications you will be working on it, if you are interested in better graphics I would choose either the Intel® Core™ i5-7200U or the Intel® Core™ i5-6200U, they both support 4k resolution, so the 6th and 7th generation processor support much better resolution than the Pentium processor.

Honestly I would prefer the 7th generation processor http://ark.intel.com/products/95443/Intel-Core-i5-7200U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz Intel® Core™ i5-7200U Processor Regards, Ivan.