Could cheap desktop processors compete with the top tier laptop ones?
Nowadays we can see more and more amazing laptops advertisements, which claims that laptops can work better and faster than last year’s models. Sometimes this difference could look like a revolution. So people take less into consideration desktop solutions because this option does not feel as great as 5 or 10 years ago.
I decided to check is it true that laptop with Intel Core i7 is better than the cheapest Ryzen 3000 series.
In the right corner, 4 cores 8 threads Intel Core i7 8550U with the base frequency 1.8 GHz and 4.0 GHz turbo boost, also 8 MB of L3 cache (recommended price $400). In the left corner, 4 cores 4 threads AMD Ryzen 3 3200g with the base frequency 3.6 GHz and 4.0 GHz turbo boost, also 4 MB of L3 cache (recommended price $100).
Both computers use DDR4 dual-channel memory with the basic frequency equals to 2400 MHz. The laptop has 16 Gb of memory and desktop 8 Gb (minus 2 Gb for integrated graphics).
So it looks like almost all parameters are better for the laptop’s CPU: 2x more threads, 2x more L3 cache, and 2.6x more RAM. Only one parameter is bigger for the desktop’s CPU and it is TDP: 65 W against 15 W.
Let’s compare benchmarks results.
Intel Core i7 is better than AMD Ryzen 3 and we can stop here. But we can try to overclock the Ryzen processor and see what it could give us. Thank God it is simple BIOS manipulation. It was possible to increase the RAM frequency from 2400 to 3200 MHz.
The multi-core score increased by 100 points but the single-core was almost the same. So it was time to overclock the CPU frequency to 4150 MHz.
This time the single-core scores for the laptop and desktop CPUs were almost the same. And the multi-core score for the desktop was greater than for the laptop. I have made Cinebench comparison and results were the same as for Geekbench.
At the end of the day, it’s great that laptops could perform more powerful tasks each year. But they still can’t compete with the desktop solutions in terms of performance to price efficiency, because laptops restricted by smaller chassis, battery life and TDP.
As a bonus, it was possible to run some modern games on AMD Ryzen 3 3200g but overclocking doesn’t work as good as for CPU intensive tasks and gives us plus 2–3 FPS on max settings.
