In my experience, and since I build computers, replacement of the stock tim, thermal interface material, can improve thermal throttling considerably.
Adding a cooling fan pad under the laptop will help with that as well.
Too bad water cooling is not a standard on laptops these days. Little buggers get hot.
Core i7 laptop cups have apx same wattage etc, so expect thermals to be similar with the same cooling platform. The only way to improve thermals is to improve the cooling, and tim is a very nice start if you feel like pulling the laptop apart. Yep, will possibly void your warranty. Also the less a cpu has to work will improve thermals as well. A core i7 will not have to work as hard to do the same thing as core i5. Yet another reason why i7 will have an advantage.
Cache will improve cpu performance across the board. It does not apply only to audio production. The job of cache simplistically is to allow the cpu to perform more efficiently. That is coded into intels cpu drivers and not the daw or vst. A daw or vst will take advantage of better coded and physical cache.
There are plenty of articles on intels site that explain specifically how intel uses, integrates, and improves CPU performance with cache even specifically for the cpu models in question.
Perhaps apple offers a tim material upgrade. I dont know but worth checking into.
I aggre pc is a pita. But it would really be a good idea to think hard before spending your money. I know you have done a ton of research. That being said macbook pro if it has to be a mac is hands down the best choice. With the laptop I recommended, you have a ton more power under the hood available if/when you need it for a similar investment.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac/ ... n-3446650/
I hope you get the best solution for your needs, and hope this helps.
