Question How do I eliminate CPU while buying a new laptop?

[terryvalencia]

My use cases: Making virtual machines using virtual box on windows 10, practicing devops, pentesting etc.

I am currently using dell inspiron 15 5567 laptop with total 4 cpus being shown on virtualbox. My current cpu is i5 7th generation.

Because of this, I have hard time trusting anything named i5 even if it's 12th generation. And most laptops seem to come in i5 12th gen in Nepal. Not sure about the reasons behind it.
Also I am never again buying a Dell consumer grade laptop based on my experience with inspiron series. It's simply the worst along with HP(I am only talking about renowned brands)

I'd rather go with thinkpads even if they're bit costly. Same goes for acer laptops that are giving too high specs for very low price.

So my question is to how can I know if I should eliminate this laptop with this specific cpu or i can proceed on? I want my laptop to last few more years. Also, battery performance is I like greedily very long lasting battery is good for me. Dell's worst part is its replacement battery lasts 2 hrs when new. And its new battery lasted 3hrs probably even on normal usage.

However, the thinkpad I was provided in office which had the same CPU, same release date and was provided used to me. It lasted easily 5 hours+ even on heavy usage.

 

[Lutfij]

I am currently using dell inspiron 15 5567 laptop with total 4 cpus being shown on virtualbox. My current cpu is i5 7th generation.

Dell Inspiron 15 5567 - Specs, Tests, and Prices | LaptopMedia.com

Comparison of all Dell Inspiron 15 5567 configurations, Specs, and Prices.

laptopmedia.com

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Because of this, I have hard time trusting anything named i5 even if it's 12th generation. And most laptops seem to come in i5 12th gen in Nepal. Not sure about the reasons behind it.
If you have the i5-7200U, then;
https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...r-3m-cache-up-to-3-10-ghz/specifications.html

So my question is to how can I know if I should eliminate this laptop with this specific cpu or i can proceed on?
If the laptop can't handle the tasks you throw at it, it's time for a replacement. Although an argument can be made in terms of what you're truly taxing the laptop with. Have you made sure the laptop is on the latest BIOS version? Have you tried reinstalling the OS?

My use cases: Making virtual machines using virtual box on windows 10, practicing devops, pentesting etc.
What does the etc represent? How much ram does your laptop have at this moment of time? Are you on an SSD? How many instances of your tasks are you running?

And most laptops seem to come in i5 12th gen in Nepal. Not sure about the reasons behind it.
The people importing the laptop into your country have probably done their research onto your current demography and the consumer's ability to invest in a laptop. Importing high end laptops will cost a pretty penny and if people can't afford them, they'll be sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

On a side note, your thread title is confusing. What are you asking for exactly?

 

[geofelt]

What is the specific CPU that you now have?
CPU-Z will tell you.
Originally, the I5 designation specified 4 cores and 4 processing threads.
I3 would have two cores, but 4 processing threads via hyperthreading.
I7 would have 4 cores and 8 processing threads.
No longer true, the I designation now reflects the processor capability class.
You can get more info about a prospective processor by looking up the passmark benchmark info.

 

[terryvalencia]

I am saying how do I know if a prospective laptop I should ignore just by looking at its CPU? If I want the next product I want to buy to be future proof.
I want at least 12 virtual cpus in virtualbox. and 16gb upgradable ram. i hear amd laptops don't come with upgradable ram these days.

 

[geofelt]

No such thing as future proof.
Products with better price/performance are constantly being launched.
If not, there would be no reason to introduce them.

Unless your virtual cpu-s are somehow locked to cores there should be no connection to processors or threads.
Buy sufficient ram to hold all of the virtual cpu-s comfortably.
Ram is cheap enough these days.
And... adding ram is not always compatible.
Ram must come from the same matched kit to perform at specs.

 

[terryvalencia]

in nepal even basic laptops cost premium lol. they(politicians) claim they're assisting nepal a landlocked country a IT hub like banglaore, india lol and basic laptops cost as much as macbook pro in usa. (high taxations, grey market)

 

[Misgar]

Also I am never again buying a Dell consumer grade laptop based on my experience with inspiron series. It's simply the worst along with HP(I am only talking about renowned brands)

I wouldn't discount a modern HP or Dell laptop just because of your experience with much older processors. Ancient CPUs consume significantly more power than modern counterparts using much smalle (more energy efficient) transistors.

Intel and AMD are continually refining their laptop CPU designs using smaller and smaller processes, which amongst other advantages, often lead to longer battery life.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/1682...nm-3nm-20a-18a-packaging-foundry-emib-foveros

It's getting easier to find laptops with at least 15 hours battery life. A few special laptops work for more than 20 hours on battery. They're not cheap and may not be available in Nepal, but they do exist.

Dell's worst part is its replacement battery lasts 2 hrs when new. And its new battery lasted 3hrs probably even on normal usage.

Two to three hours battery life is typical of old laptops using power hungry processors, like the i5-7200U and i5-5300 released 9 or 10 years ago.

I've just purchased an old Lenovo ThinkPad X250 laptop with an i5-5300 CPU (released March 2015) and a Dell Latitude 5480 with an i5-7200U (released August 2016) as gifts for friends overseas.

I replaced the dead internal battery in the Thinkpad, but not the external battery, plugged into a recess on the back. Neither of these laptops (Lenovo and Dell) are likely to last more than 2 to 3 hours away from the mains. The designs are simply too old, even with brand new batteries.

If you want more battery life, buy the most modern laptop you available in Nepal, i.e. 12th Gen. Intel or AMD equivalent. Check a few web sites and laptop reviews with special reference to extended battery life:
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-laptops-for-all-day-computing

As a general rule, laptops with more room inside for bigger batteries (17in screen) may well have higher capacity batteries than a small lightweight 12in notebook. A lot depends on the CPU rating though.

A more powerful i7 or i9 CPU will consume more power than an i5. A i3 of the same series should draw the lowest amount of power, but won't be very good for VMs.

I'm typing this on a Lenovo Evo laptop with an Intel 13th Gen. i7-13700H CPU. It has 6-cores and 12-threads, so Task Manager shows 16 "Processes" (what you'd probably call "Cores"). More recent Intel CPUs are dispensing with Hyper Threading and concentrating on E-cores and P-cores.

The i7-13700H has a PL1 TDP of 65W. When I start Hyper-V and load a virtual copy of Windows 10, CPUID HWMonitor shows the processor alone pulls 66W for around 30 seconds as the Virtual Machine starts up. N.B. Hyoer-V is similar to VirtualBox.

I can hear the laptop fans ramp up to full speed as the VM loads and HWMonitor shows the CPU reached 91 degrees Centigrade briefly (thermal throttle point).

A USB power meter connected between the AC power supplky and the laptop USB-C power input peaked at over 90W as the VM loaded. If the laptop had been running on battery, it would probably have pulled roughly the same power, accelerating battery drain.

What this means is that running VMs is very power intensive and you cannot expect a laptop battery to work for a long time, when compared with the same laptop sitting idle with no VMs running.

My i7-13700H CPU Package draws only 5W and the whole laptop consumes 10W. when idle. With a Hyper-V Virtual Machine playiing back a video, the laptop consumes 70 to 90W.

On one ocassion the laptop crashed suddenly when I was running a VM on battery power. I had to change the CPU power settings in the battery profile to full power.

You can check the milliWatt Hour rating of your laptop battery using BatteryMon and determine the Design Capacity (mine was 73,000mW hr when new) and the Current Capacity (mine has dropped to 70,730 after 18 months use).
https://www.passmark.com/products/batmon/

TLDR (Too Lazy Didn't Read)

Buy the most expensive 12th Gen. laptop you can afford, or better still, a modern powerful desktop system, if you went to run multiple VMs.

Laptops are great for portability, but I do all my serious VM work on desktops.

 

[terryvalencia]

I have no idea why a i5 7th gen lenovo e580 performed better than same cpu dell inspiron 15 5567. what's the difference? (In terms of battery life)

 

[Misgar]

Even when two manufacturers use exactly the same CPU in their laptops, there can be many differences:

1). Battery capacity is often quoted in Watt hours. Some laptops come with 70 Whr batteries, others with only 50Whr. If you want a lightweight, easy to carry, portable laptop, you may end up with a smaller battery.

2). Some manufacturers "tune" the CPU for extended battery life by restricting the maximum power consumed by the processor. Other manufacturers "tune" the CPU for maximum processing power, at the expense of shorter battery life.

3). The Microsoft Power Options settings when running on battery might not be same., e.g. different screen brightness.

4). As batteries age, their fully charged capacity goes down. Eventually a point is reached where you decide to replace the battery. If you compare a laptop with a brand new battery with a laptop using a 3-year old battery, they won't have the same run time.

All of these settings can make a big difference in battery life, as can the programs you run when on battery.

 

[terryvalencia]

The battery life was 45wh for lenovo e580 thinkpad.

 

[terryvalencia]

Based on the discussions and insights I've garnered from this post, I've semi-decided to do this:
- buy an used thinkpad under 30,000 nepalese rupees. It just needs to work.
- SSH/RDP/Tailscale into my homelab.
- Buy a PC or Mini PC for homelab.