XPS1645 vs E6520

The E6520 has max CPU of i72720QM but its graphics card is only NVIDIA NVS 4200M 512MB (35W) Discrete Graphics.

My current XPS1645 is the older i7 Q720 but the graphics card is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 with 1GB Dedicated RAM.

Both are maxed out at 8GB RAM.

According to my research, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 in the XPS is superior to the NVS 4200M and therefore should be much faster.

The CPU however is much faster in the E6520.

I do not game, so I am only interested in the speed of video rendering and graphics software.

With the two machines above, is the increased speed of the CPU in the E6520 balanced out by the poor graphics card making them both sort of equal in speed when rendering and using graphics etc?

Thank you.

 

What video/graphics software in particular are you using?

 

Sony Vegas Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom etc. All HD.

 

Do they render on the CPU or GPU?

 

The CPU I think, but doesn't the video card also affect the speed (accelerated rendering via GPU)?

 

I can't say for sure, but from what I have heard GPU accelerated stuff is more of a gimmick especially when you already have a powerful CPU.

 

Thanks Namaiki. So are you saying then that the i2720QM of the E6520 will give substantially faster render times on HD video over the XPS 1645 despite the fact that the graphics card on the E6520 is not as good (according to reviews, stats etc)?

 

You can't compare consumer level graphics to business level graphics. It is entirely different methods on how they work. True NVS 4200M isn't super powerful, but remember Latitude is Dell's main workhorse laptop. If you need super high end graphics, look at Precision, Lenovo's W series, or Elitebook Mobile Workstation.

 

Yes, thanks Tsunade Hime.

Reason I ask is I am supposed to be ordering the M6600 today but something is telling me to get the E6520 use it for a year, sell it and then get a M6600 with Ivy Bridge and Windows 8. A year is not a long time to wait for two massive launches.

That is why I wanted to know just how much of a performance in rendering HD video I could expect between the XPS 1645 and the E6520.

I know the M6600 will provide a massive boost, but so will IVY bridge and Windows 8. Plus the touch screens that Windows 8 rely on will be so much better quality.

It is complicated but ultimately I have to choose today between the M6600 and the E6520 and I will have to travel a lot with it. I have read so much about the differences, looked at the tests, studied the reviews etc but I am still asking questions as you can see.

 

The biggest difference is going to be the graphics/battery life IMO. Both E6520 and M6600 house quad core i7's, though the M6600 cooling is much better at handling the top end ones (2920XM, 2820QM). Of course M6600 can handle top of the line Quadro (up to 5010M) but your battery life will also go down the toilet compared to a 6520 with 4200M.

It's kinda not comparable an M6600 and E6520 (15.6" vs 17.3"). One is ultimate business DTR while other is a mainstream 15.6" workhorse. Did you consider the M4600 vs the E6520?