Not all Core i5 and i7 chips are created equal. The ones ending in “H” or “HQ”
are the highest-performance chips, typically found in larger gaming-focused
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meant for use in thinner, portable machines. More performance means more
generated heat, which generally requires a more substantial chassis and support
gear to cool the chip.
If you like playing games in your downtime, you might want to splurge on a
gaming laptop. Most general-purpose machines won’t have the kind of discrete
graphics chip (GPU) necessary to make the hottest AAA game titles look good
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starting at around $700 with a decent Nvidia GeForce GTX or (less commonly)
AMD Radeon RX GPU for playing games at 1080p and moderate or better
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applications, but like high-powered processors, they also feast on the battery.
The good news is, in most other cases (unless, say, you’re an architecture major
with a heavy reliance on CAD software), integrated graphics solutions should
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processors of most budget and midrange laptops. Today, that means some form
of Intel integrated graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Intel UHD Graphics, or Intel
Iris or Iris Plus graphics. Our reviews detail their comparative performance
levels, but none is a match for even a moderate dedicated GPU.