Comparison Acer Spin 3 SP315-51 [SP315-51-757C] vs HP ENVY x360 15-bq000 [15-BQ007UR 1ZA55EA]

Each series combines chips that are similar in general level, purpose, and often also in individual specific features. At the same time, most series include processors of several generations at once, which can differ significantly in actual characteristics. It is worth noting that until recently, laptops were almost exclusively equipped with processors from AMD or Intel - until in 2020, Apple introduced its own chip Apple M1(with updated versions of Apple M1 Pro and Apple M1 Max), Apple M2(2022) with productive chips M2 Pro, M2 Max and Apple M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max(2023). Then Qualcomm entered the arena with its Snapdragon processors.

At the moment, the following series are mainly relevant in laptops:

— AMD Ryzen 3. The cheapest series of AMD chips in the Ryzen family (Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, Ryzen 9 and Ryzen AI), using the Zen microarchitecture. In ter...ms of general design, Ryzen 3 is similar to its older brothers, but half of the computing cores are deactivated. Nevertheless, it is quite advanced and is even found in ultrabooks.

— Ryzen 5. The second series on the Zen architecture is a more affordable alternative to the Ryzen 7 chips. Ryzen 5 chips have slightly more limited performance characteristics (in particular, a lower clock frequency and, in some models, L3 cache volume). Otherwise, they are completely similar to the "sevens" and are also positioned as high-performance chips for gaming and workstations. For more details, see "Ryzen 7" below.

— Ryzen 7. The first series of processors from AMD, built on the Zen microarchitecture. It was introduced in March 2017. In general, Ryzen chips (of all series) are promoted as high-end solutions for gamers, developers, graphic designers and video editors. One of the main differences between Zen and previous microarchitectures was the use of simultaneous multithreading, due to which the number of operations per clock was significantly increased at the same clock frequency. In addition, each core received its own floating-point calculation unit, the speed of the first-level cache memory increased, and the L3 cache volume in Ryzen 7 chips is 16 MB by default.

— Ryzen 9. AMD Ryzen 9 processors on the Zen microarchitecture debuted in 2019. The series became the top among all Ryzens, displacing Ryzen 7 from this position. First of all, the CPU line is usually used for professional tasks (design, video editing, 3D rendering), games, streaming and other high-load applications. The first Ryzen 9 models had 12 cores and 24 threads, in later ones this number was increased to 16 and 32, respectively.

— Ryzen AI. The Ryzen series of processors with artificial intelligence was launched in 2024. The first in the lineup was the AMD Ryzen AI 300 subfamily. It introduces the new Zen 5 computing core architecture, has integrated RDNA 3.5 graphics, and a powerful XDNA 2 neural processor with a performance of up to 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second). The Ryzen AI chips are perfect for a wide range of tasks — from everyday work to complex calculations using AI algorithms.

— Atom. Processors specially developed by Intel for mobile devices (including smartphones). Used mainly in ultra-compact laptops.

— Core M. Processors designed for portable devices (in particular, ultra-compact laptops) and featuring extremely low heat generation, allowing the use of passive cooling systems. They were introduced in 2014 as the first serial chips using the 14 nm process technology.

— Celeron. The most budget series in the modern line of desktop processors from Intel. However, the latest generations are equipped with integrated graphics.

— Pentium. Budget desktop processors from Intel, slightly superior in characteristics to Celeron, but not up to the Core i3. Also have integrated graphics.

— Processor. A line of entry-level processors that precedes the Core i3 family in Intel's modern hierarchy. These chipsets are found in entry-level laptops designed for everyday home or office use, as well as undemanding games.

— Intel Core i3 / Core 3. A series of entry-level and mid-range processors, the most budget-friendly in the Core family. However, in terms of characteristics and computing power, the processors of this line are superior to the Pentium and Celeron series (see above).

— Intel Core i5 / Core 5. A line of mid-range processors — both in general and by the standards of the Core family in particular. Most often, the processors of the series contain from 4 to 10 cores, and in terms of performance, they are between the relatively inexpensive i3 (Core 3) and the powerful i7 (Core 7).

— Intel Core i7 / Core 7. A series of high-performance processors from Intel. Before the i9, it was the most advanced in the Core family, but then it gave way to the "nine". Core 7 chips have at least 4 cores and integrated graphics.

— Core i9. Top-end processors released in 2017; the most powerful line of consumer-grade notebook processors at the time of their release, displacing Core i7 chips from this position. They have 6 cores and a large L3 cache.

— Core Ultra 5. A transformation of the popular series of mobile processors of the strong mid-range Intel Core i5, which received the Ultra prefix since the end of 2023 — when the Meteor Lake generation of chipsets debuted. The main feature of the Core Ultra 5 processors is a separate NPU, which gives advantages when working with AI models.

— Core Ultra 7. A pre-top series of high-performance mobile processors from Intel, which replaced the Core i7 family at the end of 2023 (with the advent of the new generation of Meteor Lake chipsets). A mandatory attribute of the Ultra models has become a neural coprocessor, responsible for accelerating the operation of artificial intelligence algorithms.

— Core Ultra 9. The most powerful line of laptop processors from Intel, released to replace the Core i9 family at the end of 2023. The premiere of models with the Ultra addition took place in the Meteor Lake chipset generation. A distinctive feature of Intel Core Ultra 9 is the presence of a separate NPU to improve the efficiency of using artificial intelligence models.

— Apple. A series of processors from Apple, which debuted in November 2020 with the release of the next generations of MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. In the initial configurations, they are equipped with 8 cores - 4 productive and 4 economical; the latter, according to the creators, consume 10 times less energy than the former. This, combined with the 5 nm process technology, made it possible to achieve very high energy efficiency and, at the same time, performance. It is also worth noting that the processors of this series are made according to the system-on-chip scheme: a single module combines a CPU, a graphics adapter, RAM (in the first models - 8 or 16 GB), a solid-state NVMe drive and some other components (in particular, Thunderbolt 4 controllers).

— Snapdragon. Snapdragon processors are essentially mobile solutions — they are traditionally installed in smartphones and tablets. Separate lines of Snapdragon chips have been released specifically for laptops (for example, X Elite on ARM architecture). Many laptops based on such processors are equipped with built-in LTE or even 5G modules. Their advantage is also high energy efficiency.

The specific model of the processor installed in the laptop, or rather, the processor index within its series (see above). Knowing the full name of the processor (series and model), you can find detailed information on it (up to practical reviews) and clarify its capabilities.

The number of cores in the laptop CPU.

The core is a part of the CPU designed to process one thread of instructions (and sometimes more, for such models, see "Number of threads"). Nowadays, in laptops you can find dual-core, quad-core, six-core, eight-core, ten-core, 12-core, 14-core CPUs. Also note that recently configurations with different types of cores as part of a single CPU are gaining popularity. Such chips are built on a hybrid architecture that combines high performance and energy-efficient cores. They operate at different clock speeds, have different amounts of pre-installed cache memory and are designed to solve different problems. In particular, such CPUs are found in Intel CPUs (from the 12th generation) and Apple.

Theoretically, more cores means higher performance, especially in parallel computing tasks or when processing multiple resource-intensive tasks at the same time. However, in practice this is true only all else being equal – that is, with a similar microarchitecture, clock frequency, cache volumes and other key parameters. Modern CPUs can vary greatly on these parameters – in itself, a greater number of cores does not mean superiority. This is especially true for dual- and quad-core chips: a mobil...e-level CPU (for example, Snapdragon, see "CPU series") with 4 cores may well be inferior in capabilities to a dual-core desktop series chip (like Core i3 or i5, which are often used in universal laptops with the "optimal" set of specifications for different tasks). When evaluating CPUs with two or four cores, it is necessary to look, first of all, at the general set of characteristics. But the presence of six, eight or more cores is almost certainly a sign of a powerful CPU. Such equipment is typical mainly for advanced gaming and professional laptops.

Processor clock speed achieved in TurboBoost or TurboCore "overclocking" mode.

Turbo Boost and Turbo Core technologies are used by different manufacturers (Intel and AMD, respectively), but they have the same principle of operation: load distribution from more loaded processor cores to less loaded ones to improve performance. The "overclocking" mode is characterized by an increased clock frequency, and it is indicated in this case.

For more information about clock speed in general, see the relevant paragraph above.

The result shown by the laptop processor in 3DMark06.

This test is primarily focused on testing performance in games — in particular, the ability of the processor to process advanced graphics and artificial intelligence elements. Test scores are reported as scores; the higher this number, the higher the performance of the tested chip. Good 3DMark06 results are especially important for gaming laptops.

The result shown by the laptop processor in the Passmark CPU Mark test.

Passmark CPU Mark is a comprehensive test that is more detailed and reliable than the popular 3DMark06 (see above). It checks not only the gaming capabilities of the CPU, but also its performance in other modes, based on which it displays the overall score; this score can be used to fairly reliably evaluate the processor as a whole (the more points, the higher the performance).

The result shown by the laptop processor in the SuperPI 1M test.

The essence of this test is to calculate the number "pi" to the millionth decimal place. The time spent on this calculation is the final result. Accordingly, the more powerful the processor, the smaller the result will be (this SuperPI 1M is fundamentally different from many other tests).

The maximum amount of RAM that can be installed on a laptop. It depends, in particular, on the type of memory modules used, as well as on the number of slots for them. Paying attention to this parameter makes sense, first of all, if the laptop is bought with the expectation of and the amount of actually installed memory in it is noticeably less than the maximum available. So laptops can be upgraded in RAM to 16 GB, 24 GB a>, 32 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB and even more - 128 GB.

The total number of slots for RAM modules provided in the laptop; in fact — the maximum number of slats that can be installed simultaneously in this model.

Features for upgrading RAM directly depend on this indicator. So, in low-cost models, there is often only 1 slot, and the only upgrade option is to replace the "native" bar. In more advanced devices, two or even four slots may be provided, while some of them may be free in the initial configuration.

A special case is embedded RAM; it is more compact and cheaper than removable modules, but does not imply replacement at all. At the same time, in some laptops, the “RAM” is only built-in, in others it can be supplemented with one or even two slots for interchangeable strips.