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BUYING GUIDE<br />
Although it’s still up for debate, we believe the vast<br />
majority of games people play today don’t need more<br />
than four cores. Yes, there are times when having more<br />
than four cores can yield better performance, but most<br />
gamers will be fine with a quad-core Core i5 chip.<br />
Unfortunately for the budget-conscious, PC makers<br />
typically don’t let you buy a high-end graphics card<br />
with a low-end CPU. Most PC makers will configure the<br />
midrange CPU with mid-range graphics.<br />
Of the current 7th-generation Kaby Lake CPUs,<br />
your choices for a gaming laptop are the Core<br />
i7-7700HQ, the Core i7-7820HK, and the Core<br />
i7-7920HQ. Again, all three are fine, with each step<br />
up getting you only marginally more performance. The<br />
sweet spot for budget buyers is the Core i7-7700HQ<br />
or the Core i7-7820HK.<br />
As for Intel’s 8th-generation CPU, it hasn’t been<br />
confirmed but many anticipate the company will<br />
introduce 6-core CPUs that consume 45 watts by 2018.<br />
Still, the takeaway for you is to not get too hung up<br />
on the CPU for a gaming laptop. Any decent quad-core<br />
is more than enough for gaming purposes and your<br />
money is better spent on what matters more: the GPU.<br />
GPU<br />
The single most important piece of hardware in a<br />
gaming laptop is undoubtedly the GPU. For AMD fans,<br />
the situation is as sad as it is in CPUs: It’s an Nvidia<br />
GeForce world. As with CPUs though, the good news<br />
is that the dominating products are top-notch. The<br />
hardest part will be deciding just how much GPU you<br />
need. Our general advice is to buy as fast a GPU as you<br />
86 TECH ADVISOR • MAY 2018<br />
Worldmags.net
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