M17x R2 I-Series Chips

Just wondering (as im going to buy an R2 soon) which of the i-series chips is considered the best, or is the best for gaming/bench marking etc... ?

 

Core i7 940xm or 920xm

 

Had a feeling the Quads were going to be the better ones, I was just unsure as theres so many to choose from.

Im getting excited of the possiblity of having one of these awesome machines now, I just have to find the right ont for sale (as i live in the UK so eBays pretty much my best bet I think, unless I can get an awesome deal from the dell phonelines)

 

If you are after a good deal on a UK system, Maybe I can help you out.....take a look at my thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-aw-system-accessories-please-contribute.html and let me know via PM if you want any help.

Oh, and yeah, 940xm or 920xm would be the best cpu for an R2....used in conjuction with Throttlestop, they are absolute beasts!

 

Many thanks for that thread, read the first few posts and looks enlightening so will read the rest later on (as its now in my favourites)

I still hate the markup on UK products, it sucks, and the government are slowly ruining out economy, especially in the tech section.

 

One thing no one has mentioned is the 920/940xm are the best if you plan on OCing it and using throttlestop. If you don't want to do those things and/or want to go with a bit cheaper of a chip usually the i7-620/640m is a good chip in gaming because of the higher clock speed per core

 

I'm not sure that this is accurate information, my friend. Joker has verified that his 920XM is running at 3+GHz on all four cores. Plus you can get one for under $400 if you put some effort into it.

 

True, I'm not saying the 920/940xm isn't king, it definitely still is. All I'm saying is if he doesn't have $400 to throw at a CPU a 620m can be had for $150-200 and a 640m for $2-300 without too much searching. It's a good option if someone is looking to go cheaper for gaming because of the higher clock rate and the fact that there's not too many games that properly utilize a quad core still.

 

True. I've been the guy that got a budget CPU, and then ended up buying the best one down the road. Just trying to help folks not make the same mistakes that I often make.

 

Yeah if the OP's original CPU is already an i7 or the high end i5's it is definitely worth holding out for the 920/940xm now that the prices are back down.

 

If he can afford it then he should get a 920xm.
Mine runs at 3.3ghz on all 4 cores (25x multi) no matter what benchmark I throw at it and almost stays on 26x multi (one or 2 cores drop to just below 26 after about 15min of benching) and this is at stock voltage (in bios).
I think I got real lucky with this CPU.

But most will at least do 3.2 on all 4 (24x multi) with a little TDP/TDC tweaking

But, it you cant afford it now then go with a lower proc. and upgrade later (my 740qm was nice for the week I had it installed)

D.

 

Imo i would take a plain jane r3 over a loaded up r2.

Not intended as an r2vsr3 comment i just thought it was worth mention for the op as as the r3 is relatively cheap with no upgrades and theres potential to upgrade for the next few years with sb and next gen gpus

 

on the extreme chips when turbo boost kicks in it's kicking on all the cores. so the advertiesd 3.33 GHz turbo boost is for all cores on an extreme processor.

only the non extreme chips raise speeds on progressively on less cores

example of non extreme chip:

2ghz 4 cores
2.5 ghz 3 cores
3.0 ghz 2 cores
3.5 ghz 1 core
(these aren't real numbers, just examples)

 

Back to the original post.....

OP asked a question as per above....

Simple answer is 940xm...then 920xm. R3 doesnt come into it. It wasnt a comparison between R2 cpu and R3 SB cpu's. The OP asked which cpu was best in the R2 for benching/gaming. The core I7 extremes offer unlocked multipliers and with the use of ThrottleStop, offer unprecedented cpu performance.

Full Stop. End of story. Thats it!

If you are getting an R2 and want the best cpu - core I7 940xm.

In the famous words of Forrest Gump....."Thats all I have to say about that......" lol

 

Really? Not getting into the whole R2 vs R3 thread, but I suppose it depends on what a person needs. Think you'd take a plain jane R3 over my R2? It's a beast. Although that SB CPU would be nice but with an XM not in the R3, there really is no appeal for me.

As far as the OP's question, 920XM is great if you can swing it. Otherwise a 620M and 640M are good for the higher clock rate. My 540M was nice when used with throttle stop. It had unlocked TDP.

 

Though you didn't intend it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. That is a r2 Vs r3 comment. I won't feed you but will ask you this:

How do you know that you can upgrade "over the next few years" with next gen GPUS? I really hope you don't mean 485 or 6970 as those are not going to be "next gen" for the next few years. The truth is many people have NO IDEA how many gpu upgrades they can do. There is no official documentation, to my knowledge that the R3 does support the 485. There is also, no documentation, to my knowledge, that the R2 will NOT support that GPU. "Next gen" is a relative term. So before jumping into posts claiming to basically "go R3" based on your OPINION; try to back up your "next few years" arbitrary comments with facts and links so as to not mislead other people. Just a bit of advice.