Apparently, LG thinks it's okay to sell a 10th gen Core i7 laptop that's slower than the 7th gen Core i5 model

[Redaktion]

The latest LG Gram 14 drops the ball on performance when even its previous generation Core i5-8250U configuration can outperform the newer Core i7-10510U configuration in raw processor performance.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apparently-LG-thinks-it-s-okay-to-sell-a-10th-gen-Core-i7-laptop-that-s-slower-than-the-7th-gen-Core-i5-model.459953.0.html

[jame]

I wonder how many Youtubers will ignore this and come out and say this new model is the best laptop ever made.
LG is really fishy when it comes to reviews by these so-called 'influencers'

[A]

I wonder how many Youtubers will ignore this and come out and say this new model is the best laptop ever made.
LG is really fishy when it comes to reviews by these so-called 'influencers'

Most laptop reviews out there are virtually useless. Even on tech blogs the best you get is some vague stuff to go on. That is part of what makes notebookcheck great. Even if we may not agree with many of notebookcheck's metrics or how the ratings should be weighed. At the very least we get all the information so we can make our own decision.

But elsewhere, all we get is nothing more than "this is good", "this is bad". Their reviews are virtually useless. Many don't even find common issues simply because they don't bother actually using the laptop.

[william blake]

yeah, lets blame LG for 14nm skylake iterations year after year.
maybe we should stop using "gen" marketing first? intel and media are the ones to blame, not LG.

[JayN]

"Thus, the 14T90N will only be worthwhile if you value its newer Comet Lake-U CPU and Thunderbolt 3 compatibility."

So it is an upgrade in terms of thunderbolt IO.

Perhaps the design goals included maintaining the battery life and adding thunderbolt.

[02nz]

10th gen i7 slower than 7th gen i5? That would be HUGE news, as the 7th-gen Kaby Lake Core i5 (e.g., 7200U) is a dual-core CPU, the 8th- and 10th-gen CPUs are quad-core.

But you messed up. You've mistakenly identified the older model as the 7th-gen: "It replaces the outgoing 7th gen Kaby Lake-R Core i5-8250U CPU with the newer 10th gen Comet Lake-U Core i7-10510U." This mistake is in at least 3 places in this article, including the headline.

To point out the obvious, the 8250U is a 7th-gen part. How do I know? that 8 stands for 8th-gen. I didn't think I'd have to tell that to notebookcheck, but apparently I do!

You really need to hire some editors. Maybe me.

[Stewge]

To point out the obvious, the 8250U is a 7th-gen part. How do I know? that 8 stands for 8th-gen. I didn't think I'd have to tell that to notebookcheck, but apparently I do!

It's not a typo.  The 8250U is architecturally a 7th Gen part.  Intel's marketing does say it's 8th gen, but in reality that's mostly just in name.

The 8000 series ULV processors are a Kaby Lake architecture (7th Gen) refresh.

The 8000 series H processors (such as the 8750H) are an actual generation upgrade as they are built on Coffee Lake (8th Gen).

[_MT_]

It's not a typo.  The 8250U is architecturally a 7th Gen part.  Intel's marketing does say it's 8th gen, but in reality that's mostly just in name.

You shouldn't mix generations of architecture with CPU generations. When you say seventh generation i5 (U line), I'm not imagining an eight generation processor. If you mean architectures, you should speak of architectures (Comet Lake vs. Kaby Lake Refresh). I think this is just adding confusion. Back then, the i7-8550U wasn't necessarily better at sustained performance than i5-8250U. And unless I'm mistaken, it's been a (relatively) long time since architecture change actually brought a significant performance boost for Intel. After all, the 8265U wasn't significantly better than 8250U. Some laptops got slower, generation over generation IIRC. Who knows why it's 8265U and not 9265U. Perhaps the Refresh should have been just a temporary stand-in? But then Whiskey Lake is considered ninth generation. In the end, they performed similarly so I don't care and don't mind binning them together as eight generation processors. Their problems with the 10 nm node could be largely responsible for this particular mess as they surely had to change plans for the U line, perhaps more than once.

[_MT_]

And while i5-7200U and i5-7300U might be the same generation of architecture as the i5-8250U, there is a big difference in multi-core performance as Intel went from two to four cores (there was the 7700HQ with 4C, HT and comparable all core boost, but that was a premium 45 W unit - the base clock was over 1 GHz higher). So, it's a bit unfair to stress the seventh generation, especially when you imply you're talking about CPU, not architecture. Because for users, there is a significant difference. The practical difference between 7300U and 8250U in multi-core workloads, despite the same generation architecture, is much bigger than the difference between 8250U and 8265U (or 10210U), despite the 8265U being two generations ahead in architecture. In multi-core benchmarks, especially prolonged ones, additional cores have been the biggest source of performance gains in recent years.

[mcjw]

i7-1xxxxU is actually a 14nm part, which means it's similar to a 7th gen i7-7xxxU.

Why LG Gram uses a 14nm part rather than the 10nm i7-1xxxGx series with new graphics design is baffling.

People should just skip Intel this year along with nVidia graphics, whose product names are out to fool unsuspecting buyers.

[02nz]

To point out the obvious, the 8250U is a 7th-gen part. How do I know? that 8 stands for 8th-gen. I didn't think I'd have to tell that to notebookcheck, but apparently I do!

It's not a typo.  The 8250U is architecturally a 7th Gen part.  Intel's marketing does say it's 8th gen, but in reality that's mostly just in name.

The 8000 series ULV processors are a Kaby Lake architecture (7th Gen) refresh.

The 8000 series H processors (such as the 8750H) are an actual generation upgrade as they are built on Coffee Lake (8th Gen).

Well, then it would be more accurate to call everything from 6th gen up to 10th-gen Comet Lake "6th-gen," because they all use the Skylake architecture. Do you think that's helpful or confusing?

You are correct that Intel branding is sometimes little more than marketing. But that is a fair criticism of the "10th-gen" Comet Lake CPU, which has very little improvement over 8th-gen CPUs. Kaby Lake-R (e.g., 8250U) had a huge performance improvement over 7th-gen because of the extra cores. It was the biggest jump in CPU performance since the launch of the Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs, and it's not reasonable to argue that it didn't justify being called a new generation.

[opckieran]

Looks like 1*Z90N LG Gram series use the latest 1xxxGy series processors... those are probably the ones to get, not the 1*T90N.

[_MT_]

People should just skip Intel this year along with nVidia graphics, whose product names are out to fool unsuspecting buyers.

I thought Ampere should arrive this year. Suggesting to skip Ampere is... strange (although who knows when exactly it'll be available). Yes, their product stack is a mess. It sometimes looks like even their product managers struggle to remember all the models they have and how exactly they stack.

[_MT_]

Looks like 1*Z90N LG Gram series use the latest 1xxxGy series processors... those are probably the ones to get, not the 1*T90N.

If you want the GPU (G4 or G7), sure. Otherwise, I would check. Just because they're made on the 10 nm node doesn't mean they're actually better.

[opckieran]

If you want the GPU (G4 or G7), sure. Otherwise, I would check. Just because they're made on the 10 nm node doesn't mean they're actually better.

If Intel can't compete with its 2017/18 product lineup in 2019/20, where they currently have two different product lineups for this segment (one being on a better? process), they're toast.