10 best laptop processors

Just a decade ago, desktop PCs — hefty non-portable boxes — were the most popular electronic devices. By 2019, the market has changed significantly, the initiative is intercepted by portable devices such as smartphones and laptops. In this regard, it would be wise to deal with the internal structure of the latter. After all, laptops are extremely variable devices, one and the same model can be equipped with a wide variety of hardware.

In this article we will pay attention to the main element of these devices - the central processor. Immediately it is worth noting that the CPU for a laptop cannot be bought separately. In most cases it is soldered to the board. As part of this rating, we consider the most popular, productive and affordable processors. Go!

Top Intel Notebook Processors

As in the world of desktop PCs, the solutions on Intel processors dominate the notebook market. Their models are installed on ultrabudget devices for study, and on terribly expensive gaming solutions.

5 Intel Pentium N5000

Let's open the rating by the representative of the most budget line of processors. “Pentiums” have been known for more than a dozen years, and if earlier it was a productive series, now it belongs to one of the most inexpensive ones - only Celeron is easier, not included in the TOP-5. The processor includes almost 4 cores, but the minimum clock frequency is 1.1 GHz. Gemini Lake chips are used with excellent energy efficiency and relatively high power. Kesh L2 and L3 is 4 MB. The model is suitable for working with text, unhurried surfing the Internet and watching videos - for a larger Pentium N5000 is unlikely to fit. The integrated video core doesn’t cause any complaints: it can display an UltraHD image with a frequency of 60 frames or connect up to three monitors with a lower resolution.

Laptops based on this processor are ultra-budget, worth up to 20 thousand rubles. As a rule, it is quite light, but overall devices with minimal amounts of RAM (4 GB) and ROM, without discrete video cards. In general, good options for study or office work.

4 Intel Core M3

Rulers Core M (m3, m5, m7) Intel were just a couple of years ago. What are the novelties created for? For supercompact long-lived laptops. The main feature of the processor - the minimum power consumption. This made it possible to create devices based on it that can live without a socket for about 10-12 hours. Also, excellent energy efficiency has affected heat dissipation - it is minimal, so it turned out to abandon the active cooling systems. This means that you can create a very thin, lightweight notebook without any cooling slots.

Of course, paying for a modest appetite has a low productivity. Core m3 includes only 2 cores operating at 1.2 GHz. Intel HD Graphics 615 video processor. This is enough for using a laptop as a “typewriter” or watching videos, no more. It is worth noting that laptops based on this processor are far from low cost - the price tag starts from 50 thousand rubles.

3 Intel Core i3 8130U

i3 is the youngest model in the Core line from Intel. Nevertheless, one should not think that the processor is suitable only for the most undemanding users. Yes, it is unlikely that it will be possible to play modern games, but the new generation is capable even on an integrated video processor - Intel HD Graphics 620 - to produce a good picture in kazualkakh and projects 5-7 years old. The power of Core i3 Kaby Lake is comparable to the generation of i7 before last! The processor is perfect for office and academic work, watching videos, surfing the web - there should be no slowdowns during these tasks.

The considered model includes 2 physical cores, each of which operates in 2 streams. The frequency is much higher than the previous participants - 2200 MHz. Heat dissipation is optimal, if I may say so - the cooling system is not overloaded, but performance, if you believe the reviews, does not suffer. Laptops based on Core i3-8130U belong to the initial middle class - the average price is about 30-35 thousand rubles. Discrete video card, in most cases, is absent, 4 GB RAM.

2 Intel Core i7-8750H

The game industry from year to year is gaining more and more turns. Recently, gaming laptops have become popular - powerful but compact systems that can "take out" modern games at medium-high graphics settings. On the Intel Core i7-8750H based many representatives of this class. The “H” index indicates the usefulness of the processor - there are 6 cores (12 threads) operating at 2.2 GHz. The volume of L3 cache is almost 9 MB. In conjunction with the GeForce GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1060, the model is capable of producing stable 60 frames per second at high graphics settings in FullHD in almost any modern game.

It should be understood that high performance requires a significant amount of energy, and therefore laptops based on it quickly (discharged 1-1.5 hours under load) are discharged and generate a lot of heat, which imposes high requirements on the cooling system - be sure to read this question when choosing a laptop. Laptops with Core i7-8750H roads (80-100 thousand rubles), massive (2.5-3 kg) and noisy. But they are very productive, and therefore suitable not only for gamers, but also video editors, 3D modelers, designers, photographers, etc.

1 Intel Core i5 8250U

Not all play or perform complex tasks on a laptop that require power, like the Core i7. But even many people do not want to put up with even the slightest slowdowns. For lovers of reasonable speed, we can advise laptops based on Intel Core i5-8250U. Based on it are based and affordable (about 30 thousand rubles) machines for office work, and relatively powerful gaming systems (the price tag starts at 50 thousand rubles) with a discrete video card like GeForce GTX 1050 from Nvidia, with which any modern games in FullHD resolution will work stably at at least 30 frames per second. The amount of RAM from 4 to 16 GB. In general, a lot of options.

Core i5 8250U includes four cores of the latest generation Kaby Lake-R. The volumes of L2 and L3 caches are 1 and 6 MB, respectively. The processor is energy efficient, which means little is heated, “eats” a little - thanks to this, in idle time on most laptops, judging by user reviews, the noise is almost inaudible even in complete silence, and stress loads will not cause the device to shut down due to overheating.

Top AMD processors for laptops

AMD in the field of portable electronics is a catch-up player. Because of this, there are quite a few models on the market with their processors. Basically, these are inexpensive laptops designed for simple work with office applications or web surfing.

5 AMD E2 9000

Again, we start with the most affordable and therefore the weakest processor.The cost of laptops starts from only 14 thousand rubles - many smartphones are more expensive! Yes, for such a cost you should not count on the smooth operation of applications - you either study the Internet, or print something, or watch video - the simultaneous use of two or more programs will almost certainly cause the E2 9000-based laptop to “think.”

The problem is in the simplest architecture - inside the CPU there are only 2 Stoney Ridge cores operating at 1.8 GHz (in the high frequency mode - 2.2 GHz). Yes, the CPU performance is even lower than that of most models of Intel's Atom and Celeron lines, but low power is compensated by the minimum power consumption - only 10 watts. This keeps the CPU temperature at an acceptable level and does not drain the battery too quickly. To advise devices based on AMD E2 9000 can be students and students who need a simple typewriter that can work all day from the battery.

4 AMD A9 9420

The next player is only slightly more expensive than its predecessor - laptops based on it cost from 17 thousand rubles. What increase does the buyer receive for an additional 3,000? Judging by the synthetic tests, the increase in power is about 35-40%. Of course, while working, the differences are almost imperceptible. You can open a little more tabs, or work simultaneously in two undemanding applications, but no more. But the CPU of a slightly higher level makes it logical to install more RAM, add a touch screen and other interesting features.

As in the case of the previous participant, the A9 9420 uses only 2 Stoney Ridge cores, but the clock frequency is much higher - 3000 MHz. Also, the processor allows you to use faster memory - for example, DDR 4 with a frequency of 2400 MHz. The target audience is the same as the devices on the previous CPU - students, office workers.

3 AMD A12 9720P

As in the previous category, the virtual bronze medal is occupied by a mid-level processor. The model from AMD is comparable with Intel Core i3 not only in cost (30-40 thousand rubles for a laptop based on A12 9720P), but also in performance - the difference in synthetic tests is about 10% in favor of Intel.

In this case, the insides are significantly different. AMD A12 includes 4 full-fledged physical cores of the Bristol Ridge line. The standard clock frequency is 2.7 GHz. In Turbo Boost mode, the indicator rises to 3.6 GHz. It would seem that there should be enough power for all tasks, but the use of 28nm process technology negates the figures mentioned above. Also note that the processor supports DDR3 / DDR4 RAM with a frequency of no higher than 1866 MHz. With real processor usage, it is enough for slow photo processing, programming, or simple games.

2 AMD Ryzen 3 2200U

AMD has long been catching up on the market for desktop processors. The situation was able to change the line Ryzen. With processors for laptops, the situation is not so rosy, but very pleasant for fans of AMD. Ryzen 3 2200U belongs to the lower echelon of the middle class. The performance is roughly comparable to the Intel Core i5 or even the 6th generation Core i7. There are two cores, four streams, the clock frequency depending on the mode is 2.5-3.4 GHz. Supports dual channel DDR4-2400 RAM. Also pleased with the integrated graphics core capable of running at minimum settings in HD resolution to run games like Resident Evil 7.

Most laptops with AMD Ryzen 3 2200U - budget, costing 25-30 thousand rubles. However, there are more sophisticated models for 45-50 thousand rubles. It is possible to advise devices based on this processor to office workers and students, for whom low cost and sufficient power for simple work are important.

1 AMD Ryzen 5 2500U

The first line is taken not by the top-end, but still a very powerful Ryzen 5 2500U processor. In terms of performance, the model can be compared with the Intel Core i5-8250U, which has become the leader of the first category.The difference in synthetic tests is about 3%, which can be attributed to statistical error. Ryzen 5 includes 4 physical cores, each of which operates in two streams. The base clock frequency is only 2 GHz, but in the enhanced performance mode it rises to 3.6 GHz - one of the best performance in the class of mobile processors. Supports dual channel DDR4 memory with a maximum frequency of 2400 MHz. The CPU is made on a 14 nm process technology, which means that the chip, with good performance, does not get very hot and allows the notebook to live longer on battery power.

Separately, we note the built-in video processor - this is an 8-core Vega 8. Of course, you should not expect insane game performance, but, according to users in reviews, even in FullHD resolution at minimal settings you can quite comfortably play projects such as GTA V, PUBG or Battlefield 1. A lot of notebooks based on AMD Ryzen 5 are low-end devices (cost about 40 thousand rubles) with a simple screen, large dimensions, and elegant compact transformers with 16 GB of RAM and SSD on board.

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