You may not have noticed these pits in the notebook CPU.

When buying a notebook computer, once the purpose, budget and size are determined, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) model is undoubtedly the top priority screening condition. After all, it is the "brain" of the notebook.

A more powerful CPU can help users process tables, load web pages, edit photos and play games faster. But at the same time, a high-performance processor also means that its battery life will be worse.

Therefore, when choosing the key components of notebook — — Before CPU, we should first determine what we are going to do with the notebook.

What kind of CPU should I use for different purposes?

At present, the notebook CPU is still dominated by Intel. In view of the fact that the notebook equipped with AMD Ryzen mobile processor has not been officially listed, and AMD has no mobile products at present, this article only introduces Intel’s products.

So, which CPU is the best for you? As long as the purpose and budget are clear, it’s easy to do it. Qiushi Lab has compiled a table for everyone, and it’s clear at a glance which series of CPU to buy for what purpose:

What do you think of the CPU model?

Intel processors seem to be various, but it is not difficult to distinguish them. Let’s take the common Core I series CPU as an example: first, the brand series, with performance of i7>i5>i3, but generally i5 can meet the needs of most users (except Y series, which will be discussed below).

The brand series is followed by the specific model, and the first one represents algebra (only Core applies this rule). Here, it is recommended that office users try their best to purchase the newly launched 8th generation products within the budget.

Two to four digits are SKU digits (Y series is the last two digits). The larger this number, the higher the performance of the CPU. For example, the performance of i5-7300U is better than that of i5-7200U.

If the suffix is u, it means that the product is a low-voltage version. U series is the most mainstream and common type, which is more suitable for office users.

If the suffix is Y, it means that the product is a Y series with ultra-low power consumption. In fact, it is renamed from the Core M series, which is different from the conventional Core products in performance.

Users with game and high performance requirements choose products with HQ and HK suffixes, which are signs of standard voltage, while the former does not support overclocking, but the latter allows users to overclock.

As for the M suffix refers to the mobile version of the product, which appears in the Xeon E series, other suffixes are rare in the new CPU models in recent two years, so I won’t repeat them here.

Detailed explanation of different processor series

Xeon E series: professional high-end users

Xeon E series processors mainly appear on top mobile workstations. Notebooks equipped with Xeon E can efficiently perform 3D animation, complex engineering simulation and other professional work, with very strong performance. But at the same time, this kind of notebook is not strong in endurance and very expensive.

Mainstream models: Xeon E3-1535M v6, Xeon E3-1505M v6, Xeon E3-1505M v5.

HQ/HK Standard Voltage Series: Professional Design/High-end Games

For users engaged in video production, graphic design and high-end games, the CPU with HQ and HK as the follow-up standard voltage can provide stronger performance, but it will generate more heat than the CPU with U as the follow-up, and its battery life will be much worse.

Because of the greater heat dissipation pressure, notebooks equipped with HQ and HK standard voltage series CPU are basically out of touch with the word "thin".

HQ and HK suffixes also have different meanings, both of which are standard voltage series, but the CPU following HK allows users to overclock, while HQ cannot. The topic of overclocking will involve more advanced knowledge, so I won’t talk about it here.

Mainstream models: i7-7920HQ, i7-7820HK, i5-7440HQ and i5-7300HQ.

U low voltage series: the office choice of the general public

U-series CPU is a product with average performance and endurance, such as i5-7200U and i5-8250U. For most users who just surf the Internet, watch videos, process tables and documents, and occasionally trim pictures, the performance of U-series CPU is enough.

At present, Intel has launched the 8th generation Core i5 and i7 processors, and the number of cores/threads has been increased to 4 cores and 8 threads, which is stronger in multitasking than the 7th generation Core i5 and i7 processors. Therefore, it is recommended that you give priority to purchasing products equipped with the 8th generation Core processors.

8th Generation i7, i5 and i3 Processors

Mainstream models: i7-8650U, i7-8550U, i7-7600U, i7-7660U, i5-8350U, i5-8250U, i7-7567U and i5-7200U.

Y/M series: fanless design, light and portable.

Y-series is a trap for some users. Although they also have seemingly strong names such as i5 and i7, in fact, i5 and i7 of Y-series are renamed from m5 and m7 of M-series, so although they are also i5 and i7, there is a certain gap between them and the performance of U-series.

However, the Y/M series CPU benefits from its ultra-low TDP, which can be used in ultra-thin notebooks with fanless design. Therefore, although its performance is not strong, its battery life is still not bad, and it is suitable for light users who pursue lightness and portability and have low performance requirements.

Mainstream models: Core i7-7Y75, Core m7-6Y75, Core i5-7Y54, Core m5-6Y57.

Celeron/ Pentium/ Atom series: budget shortage, light use.

Celeron and Pentium CPU series are basically low-priced representatives, while Atom is Intel’s cheapest processor product line. The first two can only meet the basic functions such as browsing the web, editing simple document forms and watching videos, while the latter can only meet the lowest level of browsing the web and watching videos.

Celeron and Pentium CPU series are suitable for users who have a very tight budget and low performance requirements. These users may not rely much on notebooks, but they do need to use them for some work.

Celeron and Pentium series processors

The Atom series only appears on ultra-cheap laptops or tablets, which are suitable for children’s computer education, or as an auxiliary and expansion of the main notebook. Of course, their advantage is that they are cheap and have a long battery life.

Atom series processor

Mainstream models: Pentium N3700, Pentium 4405U, Celeron N3060, Celeron 3855U, Atom x7-Z8750, Atom x5-Z8500.

Introduction of some technical parameters of CPU

The main parameters of CPU processor are model, instruction set and architecture, frequency, number of cores/threads, etc. As for naming rules, we have talked clearly in the last article, so this article mainly analyzes the remaining parameters.

Instruction set and microarchitecture

CPU will follow certain specifications when performing computing tasks, and programs need to be translated into a language that CPU can understand before being executed. This specification or language is called instruction set.

The hardware architecture of CPU is called microarchitecture, and microarchitecture uses hardware circuits to realize instruction sets. Different microarchitecture designs will affect the working frequency of CPU core, as well as the computation and energy consumption level at a certain frequency. Therefore, although the main frequency of CPU has not been greatly improved in recent years, thanks to the improvement of micro-architecture and process upgrade, the computing power of CPU has also been greatly improved.

For ordinary users, you can choose an updated architecture with confidence. Usually, the computing power of the new architecture CPU will be stronger than that of the old architecture products with the same positioning (simply put, buy new products instead of old ones).

frequency

Under the premise of the same architecture, frequency is a very intuitive index to measure CPU performance. The reason why the concept of architecture is introduced is that many people who don’t know the truth like to judge the performance of CPU by its main frequency, but they don’t know that the main frequency can’t be directly used to compare the performance between CPUs under the premise of different microarchitectures.

The frequency of CPU has three parts: Clock Speed, frequency doubling and external frequency, and the main frequency is equal to the product of the latter two. Intel’s CPU also has a turbo frequency, which is actually an acceleration technology, but the CPU can’t work at the maximum turbo frequency for a long time.

For example, the main frequency (fundamental frequency) of Intel Core i5 7200U is 2.5GHz, and the maximum turbo frequency is 3.1GHz, which is the maximum working frequency, but it can’t run at 3.1GHz for a long time. Moreover, there is a temperature wall on the notebook, which will actively reduce the CPU working frequency when the temperature reaches a certain level, so we should choose the one with high basic frequency instead of the one with high maximum core frequency.

Number of cores/threads

CPU has two main parameters: core and thread, such as Intel Core i7-7820HQ, with 4 cores and 8 threads. Core refers to the physical core of CPU, while thread is the smallest unit of program execution flow. Through hyper-threading technology, one physical core can handle two threads at the same time, which further improves the running efficiency of CPU.

This year, the 8th generation Core i7-8650U, i7-8550U, i5-8350U and i5-8250U have all been upgraded to 4 cores and 8 threads, with better multi-tasking performance. It is recommended that daily office users who do not need games and professional applications choose the 8th generation Core.

TDP

Some netizens may mistake TDP for the actual power consumption of CPU or GPU, but this is not the case. TDP, that is, thermal design power, refers to the maximum heat generated by computer chips or components (usually CPU or GPU) dispersed by computer cooling system under typical workload.

TDP does not represent the actual power consumption of CPU/GPU, but it can estimate the calorific value of CPU according to TDP.

In addition, under the premise of the same performance, the lower the TDP is, the better. This parameter may not mean much to consumers. If you want to know the actual power consumption of CPU and GPU, you still need to go through actual tests to calculate it.

Summary: Determine the purpose and choose the strongest one within the budget.

Although there are many kinds of notebook CPU, the new products in recent two years are not so complicated. As long as you determine the good use, combine your own budget, and choose the product with the strongest performance according to the naming rules of CPU within the budget.