i7 620M vs. 720QM

[vostro1400user]

Originally Posted by IntelUser

More cores are good, but when the comparison is against a CPU that is clocked 1333MHzhigher, that's quite unfavorable.

won't take any cpu with less than 4 cores in future no matter what.

[lackofcheese]

Sure, quad-core is likely better for you, but your needs are very specific. Even then, the i7-720QM is only going to be ~30% better than, say, an i5-520M.

Also, the 820QM should be closer to 15% faster than the 720QM.

[vostro1400user]

Originally Posted by lackofcheese

Also, the 820QM should be closer to 15% faster than the 720QM.

820 can be seen as same class as 720 for just a 15% difference in same 8 hyperthreading category, but is much more favorable than 620's 4 hyperthreading. more hyperthreading capacity is more critical here. i'm waiting for the delivery of second quad core machine and will see if it's up to the tasks later in coming week. current quad core works much better than previous core 2 duo's 2.6G machine for 10 threads real-time streaming but have yet to test 40 threads tasks as it's on another machine.

[Skarloc]

So why pay so much more for the 820qm? does the 8 vs 6 Mb cache make such a difference?

[vostro1400user]

Originally Posted by Skarloc

So why pay so much more for the 820qm? does the 8 vs 6 Mb cache make such a difference?

820 costs 180-350 more which is not worth imho.

[Skarloc]

yeah that's what i think....

[Bilsko]

Really don't want to hijack this thread, but I do have a couple related questions and this seems to be the best thread to tack on to.

I'm considering the new Thinkpad X201 that's just been released and it sports the 620M. Lenovo doesn't say which chipset its plugged into (I haven't called yet to find out). But over on the Intel site, it lists the 620M as an embedded chip. Is it safe to assume that if I get this model, that if I ever want to up the chip, I'm going to have to swap out the entire board? (Not that I'd necessarily want to, but just to help me understand)

The X201s runs the 640LM - the 25W cousin of the 620M.
They're both dual core chips - and the 640LM clocks up to 2.93. Am I really going to see an appreciable difference in performance by going with the 620M?
Typical usage would be: half a dozen simultaneous Excel/OpenOffice spreadsheets (from 4-12Mb each), some cycle-hungry energy modeling software that is probably too old to be able to take advantage of any multi-core/multi-thread processing, occasional Photoshop/GIMP work, some Google Sketchup work, background has Dropbox/Syncpliticity taking up cycles too.
Don't need discrete GPU, am fine with integrated.

Also, the 640LM is not listed as an embedded chip - something to consider if I want to swap it out?

I'm looking for something below 3lbs and sub-13" screen to fit the usage profile above. I haven't seen any i7 quads that have been fit into such a small machine - I can't figure out why Alienware didn't put something better than the C2D in the M11x...otherwise I'd consider it. The (soon-to-be-released?) ASUS UL30JT may sport an i7 - can't recall if its dual or quad.

[corecomps]

Originally Posted by Bilsko

Is it safe to assume that if I get this model, that if I ever want to up the chip, I'm going to have to swap out the entire board? (Not that I'd necessarily want to, but just to help me understand)

I'm looking for something below 3lbs and sub-13" screen to fit the usage profile above. I haven't seen any i7 quads that have been fit into such a small machine - I can't figure out why

I'm in the market for a similar machine, only I tact on high res screen *and* dedicated graphics.

IMHO, quad core i7 isn't going to help you much and I would go with the 620. The idea of processor replacement is enticing but its likely not worth the cost. You are looking at trying to find a source for processors that in 1K cost $330+. Unlike the desktop market, competition is light and they mark up the cpu for resell quite a bit. even then the performance gain would likely be minimal.

I too was excited for a quad core but after reading reviews and real results, the 620 or even the 540 is the better choice.

[Bilsko]

so what models are you looking at?
Is the proc. on the Alienware M11x good enough? (Its running the 3-series NVidia)

Any other brands/builds that fit the size profile?

[vostro1400user]

just confirm i7-720 works great in 20+ threads cpu demanding tasks, never had freezing moment like previous core 2 duo did, no need for i7-820 or i7-920 upgrade here.