i5-3320M vs i7-3612QM

[edit1754]

I was configuring a computer for music production use when I noticed that the i7 has a lower frequency than the i5 (2.1 vs 2.5 respectively)

How does the lower frequency & greater number of cores (4vs 2) affect its performance under heavy use?

What are the other specifications and configuration options of the laptop? Often times, there are other specifications that would affect you more than the processor would.

[bradyboyy88]

It's your money, but I don't know what your fascination with the 3612QM is. I'd say save your money and go with the 3610QM as there is no advantage other than saying it's a 35W TDP CPU which runs slower but at the same power and temps as the 3610QM 45W TDP CPU.

Where is your proof of this?? I have a 14 inch lenovo t430 and its difficult for me to make a decision with the 3612qm and the 3610qm.. You state there is no heat difference however sony vaio's 13.3 inch s series definately could not handle the heat of the 3610qm however they only offer the 3612qm as an option...They must have been conscerned about heat and I am sure they did alot of tests as well.

[HTWingNut]

Read a few posts back: i5-3320M vs i7-3612QM

It's the same chip, just 3612QM clocked 200MHz slower: http://ark.intel.com/compare/67356,64899

Mythlogic did some performance, temperature, power testing with it in the Clevo W110ER... searching... It was at about 90-92C after several hours gaming with BF3.

[bradyboyy88]

Unfortunately I cant see any images on the computer I am at now . So you think if the sony vaio s can run 3612 then it would run the 3610 with no extra heat?? what exactly does a 10w TDP difference do exactly then?

[HTWingNut]

TDP is just how they decide to bin the CPU's based on the heat and power requirements. They could have just as easily binned the 3612QM as a 45W TDP, but I think they wanted to say they have a 35W TDP quad core. It just means it just fit in the 35W power/heat envelope. They don't just magically jump from 35W to 45W, it just means it can be cooled adequately using a 45W TDP system. The 3610QM could very well be a 36W TDP chip, but they don't classify chips as 36W, next bin is 45W. The way I understand it the 3612QM chips they cherry picked the coolest running, lowest power consuming 3610qm chips and clocked them 200MHz lower.

As far as the Sony, unless the chip comes from Sony I can't say it will or will not run. If you decide to install the chip yourself, the system may not recognize or accept it because it isn't supported by the BIOS.

[bradyboyy88]

I am putting a 3612qm in the t430. I have done a few cpu swaps to up the value of certain laptops and resell so I am almost 100 sure the mobo and bios will be fine. I was just concerned about the heat. Highest cpu the t430 can run is the i7 3520 . Is there any data on how well the 3520 and 3612 and 3612 compare for heat. If those quads are close to the 3520 then it shouldnt be a problem at all.

[bradyboyy88]

So HTwingnut is there any benefit to buying the 3612qm over the 3610? Anything at all?

[User Retired 2]

I am putting a 3612qm in the t430. I have done a few cpu swaps to up the value of certain laptops and resell so I am almost 100 sure the mobo and bios will be fine. I was just concerned about the heat. Highest cpu the t430 can run is the i7 3520 . Is there any data on how well the 3520 and 3612 and 3612 compare for heat. If those quads are close to the 3520 then it shouldnt be a problem at all.

There's a 45W i7-2xxx T420 installation, which also was retrofitted to a 12.5" HP 2560P and ran with a 65W AC adapter.

Means you could even want to look at a 45W i7-3720QM install in a T430.

Now the m18xR2 folks have unlocked multipliers on them so can gain a 700Mhz advantage over a i7-3610QM. Not sure if the T430 bios would lock the multipliers or not.

[bradyboyy88]

Yea I put a i7 2720 into the t420 and the 2820 into a dell e5420 and 6520. The dells were uncomfortably hot lol. The 2720 in the t420 wasnt to bad but that was not with a dedicated gpu which I have now. The other 2720 installations in the t420, had throttling issues from what I read.

[RefinedPower]

So HTwingnut is there any benefit to buying the 3612qm over the 3610? Anything at all?

lower power drain means longer lasting battery... about the only benefit i can think of.