CPU Upgrade: i7 840QM Retail or i7 940XM QS

I'm currently looking to upgrade my unit from a 740QM. The price difference between the 840 Retail and 940 QS is about 100$ more for the latter (eBay). So I'm interested in the Retail/QS vs. performance vs. price comparison. Looked around the forums but can't find any clear answers performance wise (benchmarking helps to a certain degree...); on the other hand, I noticed more and more people supporting quality samples...

Any thoughts or comments will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Get the XM. Don't waste another moment of thought on anything less. You won't be disappointed.

 

Yes, I dont mean to be offensive...but this is crazy. The XM wins no matter what. Its really not even close. Not at all.

And this is not to say that the 740 or 840 are bad...but if you want maximum processor performance...just spend the $100!

 

Lol, I guess the performance more than makes up for any quality issues a qualification sample might have...

Thanks guys.

 

yup in the m17x get the XM so you can turbo boost all core and push them even further with throttlestop

 

you need to be smart and frugal at the same time...here is my recommendation pick up a 920xm and the $$$ you save from the 940xm-920xm put that into an SSD and you will be hauling butt with a 920xm and SSD like the Vertex II. The difference in the 2 processors will only be felt on benchmarks and your wallet $$$. SSD on the other hand with a 920xm is a deadly combination for unreal speeds and productivity.

940xm runs at stock multipliers of 25x and 920xm runs at 24x. I run my processor on a daily basis at 26x all across on all 4 cores and when fooling around or benching i run it at 28-28-27-26. Here is some reading for you to do to see how you can adjust the multipliers and turn your 920xm into a 940xm or 960xm (lolz).


http://forum.notebookreview.com/6757408-post3.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/520311-multiplier-manipulation-xm-processors.html

EDIT: More benchmarks for SSD and WEI

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6772873-post127.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6772880-post2114.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/6773018-post2116.html

 

Thanks, very interesting reading.

 

I also understand there's no way to OC the 740 or 840, is that true?

Also, how's the heat on the 940XM?

Thanks guys, I'm almost set

 

There are many methods to overclocking which involve either adjusting the FSB using SETFSB, OC'ing in the bios, Voltage mods and multipliers. you are still able to overclock the other processors using a m17x but will not achieve the same results or as much flexibility as compared to a XM chip...its just on a whole another level and should be dubbed i9 =p

 

You can OC the 740/840 using setFSB, but that shouldn't matter Go for the 920XM I seen them on ebay yesterday for like 3-400 bucks which is awesome.

the difference between the 920/940 is minimal Faiz was right about that you will feel it in benchmarks and your wallet.

 

One last question: will both the 920XM QS and 840QM Retail void my warranty if installed?

 

No it will not Void your warranty They will not support the new chip so if you need to have work done you will have to replace the chip with the stock chip if it is sent to depot, but I think the in home service shouldn't make a difference.

 

I see... I was actually thinking of selling the 740QM to make up for the difference a bit. Thanks.

 

Yah you can't sell the chip unfortunately. If they need to replace the laptop you have to return it as was configured. So you have to have the stock chip handy just in case. It sucks, but it is a necessity.