SU7300 VS i5

Been looking long enough at this to start getting dizzy. I have gone through 17 Pages of this fine forum and didn't see anyone talk about this.

I want to get an M11X but I can't figure out if I want the R1 with the SU7300 or the R2 with an i5.

I want my M11X to be quick, quiet and stay cool. I don't intend to play the latest, up to the minutes games on it. It will be for older games... say, early 2010 and down.

For the most part, I think the R1 is more for me. I really would prefer the manual switching of the video cards. However, I hear that Dell has stopped supporting the R1 with new drivers which worries me a bit.

So, in term of heat, how does the SU7300 compares to the i5?

Also, with the Optimus on the R2. Isn't it possible to switch it back to manual switching?

Any input will be appreciated.

 

the m11x is actually surprisingly good at managing heat. it will stay at around 50-60C at the most intense games/tasks. Just use an air can on it once every 2/3 months and you should be fine.

 

My I5 is 45-50 degrees C messing around online, using Word, etc. At that temperature, I never hear the fan come on. From what I've read, 40 C is an average R1 temperature, so I'm sure that one is silent, too.

In terms of performance, the out of the box 3dmark06 score for the SU7300 is around 6000, while it's 6900 for the I5, and the best 3dmark06 score for the SU7300 has been 7100, while it's a bit above 8000 for the I5. You probably can get away with using an R1 for whichever games you want to play (though keep in mind some it didn't do so well--like GTA4), but the R2/I5 will play them better. If I were you, I would look through the gaming threads for which ones you play to see how each version will do to see whether or not the little bit of extra juice from the I5 is worth it.

With Optimus, it is not possible to go back to manual switching at this time.

 

if noise is your concern, don't ever get R1 as many users have reported it sounding like a hovercraft with "fan stuck" issue which has been lingering for the past 4 months that have yet to be fixed and may never be fixed.

I owned a R2 and it's silent.

 

@Soul Maru - The speed comparison is easy..
SU7300 (and SU4100) 1.73ghz - overclocked in bios
I5 - 2.3 - turbo plus maximum fsb @ 166

So 2.3 > 1.73

However I can't say Optimus is > Legacy "hybrid" graphics switching.

Best wishes,

StevenX

 

Megahertz myth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

tl;dr version: you can't compare different model processors by their clock rate

 

@Corwinicre - Tru that the numbers aren't everything. In this case however, the I5 was tested with prime and other apps and it's lots faster. The I7 is even greater. I have the R1 and I will be the first to admit the R2 series cpu's are faster. No bout a doubt it (as they say in Michigan!)

Now if they would just release the R3 (joke) with the I7 and dedicated Nvidia 440 I would buy that in a heartbeat! HA HA .. (I can always wish)

BW,

StevenX

 

Correlation is not causation (talking in regard to mhz and actual speed). If the speed was the exact reason for the speed difference, then the SU7300 would be exactly 1.73/2.3=75% the speed of the I5. If correlation was causation, then it would also follow that dropping the VGA port must cause a speed increase. I'm not denying the I5 is faster than the SU7300; I'm just saying that telling people to compare them in that way is misleading.

 

Personally I would choose the SU7300 over the i5.

I went for the i7, but if I didn't get that I would've gotten the R1 with and R2 i5 as last resort.

 

@Corwin - I understand you disagree with the delivery. It still easier explaining it that way to the masses. The I5 is greater than the 7300 or the 4100. Trust me I would put the I5 in my R1 in a heartbeat if it were an option. (and yes I understand all the how's and why's it would never be an option)

BW,

StevenX

 

It seems to me the i5 is just the middle ground between the SU7300 and the i7. I was trying to decide between battery life and performance. So for me, a somewhat indecisive person, the i5 was the logical choice.

 

Ditto..

offtopic: Once you overclock your machine, is it safe to leave OCd for whenever you use it?

 

I don't have an M11x i5-520UM to compare but I can give a bit of info on the M11x SU7300.

In a multi threaded processing environment the i5-520UM would be faster than a dual core SU7300 with no HT.

The M11xR1 does have a VGA port.

It's true, heat and battery life on the M11xR1 are not a problem.

From memory my fan kicks in at 40C for CPU and 45C for GPU or any combination of the two using BIOS A01.
The CPU temperature maxs at around 45C and the GPU doesn't get above 60C that I've seen.

The fan does 'reduce' after approx 15min from switching back to integrated GPU (Intel)

M11xR1 wPrime CPU benchmark 55sec on 32M test.(2 cores)

This is my M11xR1 3Dmark06 score with a few tweaks.

M11xR1 1.7Ghz OC'd 4GB RAM nVidia 197.72(Dell) OC'd GPU 570/1425/910

3DMark Score: 6934 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score: 3181
SM 3.0 Score: 3414
CPU Score: 1459​

My M11xR1 WEI is:

Processor: 4.6
Memory (RAM): 5.4
Graphics: 6.6
Gaming graphics: 6.6
Primary hard disk: 5.9​

Not being a 'gamer' the only time I see CPU response 'challenges' is when converting video file formats on large files. But it's only a time issue. Bigger CPU shorter time.
For me manual GPU switching is not an issue and most of the time I'm running on integrated GPU(Intel) anyway.
When gaming one thing to consider is that some games _are_ GPU and _not_ CPU intensive in which case gaming, you may not always see the benifits of the i5-520UM processor.

I leave my SU7300 OC'd all the time as I believe (can be corrected) the Alienware SU7300 OC'd CPU is still quite conservative.

 

??

My R1 is totally silent on integrated doing normal stuff. Fan only really becomes noticeable when intensive gaming with NVidia, and not to hovercraft levels.

 

there is no ponit in leaving the the OC off and use speedstep, as while in overclock the vcore is locked in 0.900 and with normal mode using speedstep goes from 0.900 to 1.1 adding more heat and less battery life. talking about the fan stuck ... my fan still spining using intel onboard graphis with air on the room on! Alienware didnt released a bios to fix that as the post here in the forum groes strong !!! its a shame i paid $2.000 for a R1 here in Brazil.

 

I would buy an i5 if it was as the numbers say - a solid 2.3ghz maxed out. Game benchmarking says otherwise though.

At least with the SU7300 it is solid, performs consistently in everything. The R2 seems to be all over the place, the fact that some games (including CRYSIS!) perform better with SU7300 than even the i7 says to me there is no point in updating. As soon as the throttling/optimus/turbo-boost issues are solved and the i5/i7 processors are perfoming consistently better across the board I will get them (and optimus is fixed =/= removed) but until then I am much happier with the su7300 and a SSD.

Thermal problems are non-existent in the SU7300 and I have had mine OC'd from day one and it has never had a problem. Plus the battery life is much better. I would've really liked to have seen a much better core 2 duo put in before the iX processors, they are proven and much more reliable at the moment.

 

If you Flash UR Bios to A01, The fan issues are elminiated on the R1

 

Same here, as I said it's been OC'd since day one and the fan only comes on from intense gaming and even then it's not loud at all.

 

OK I'll bite.

I have an M11x SU7300 BIOS A01 using 197.72(Dell) updated driver.

Working in Integrated mode the fan is not operating and the CPU temp is currently 35C after being on for 5 hours via DC.

Current room temp is 16C (winter) and all is quiet as a mouse.

If I switch to Discrete mode and play Crysis for an hour, the temp goes up and the fan comes on. With my mini gun blazing, I'm in the zone and any fan noise is lost in the moment.

Game finished, I switch back to Integrated GPU, but the fan still keeps going attempting to get below 40C for CPU and/or 45C for GPU and nVidia is still seen within Device Manager.

Approx. 15 minutes later nVidia drops off the Device Manager list and the fan continues to keeping the temp below 40C for CPU and 45C for GPU.

Which effectively means it's as quite as a mouse again.

Please note I'm using the Dell recommended nVidia driver and A01 BIOS.

I've NEVER had the fan continuously working when in integrated GPU.

If you're in a hot climate and the CPU temp. can not be kept below 40C then you may see the fan on more than it is off.
Or maybe if you have a continuously active CPU the results may be different.

I use CPUID Hardware Monitor to view temperature levels.

These are the facts as I see it on MY M11x SU7300.

 

I have a M11 R1.... SU7300
Overclocked since I first powered it up and went into the bios.
Fan comes on during heavy gaming. I don't really notice it though. Then it shuts off a bit after I switch back to integrated.
I run all my business software, and automation programming on it, never had an issue.
I have never changed any drivers (except for the touchpad).

My M11 runs like a champ. I even dropped a shark sculpture from 3 feet that landed right next to the touch pad, didn't even make a mark.

I can't really think of anything that I dislike about it. Never had performance issues.

The only thing I want to change is to get a SSD, but other toys have priority with it being summer and all.

 

Exactly same for me except Summer in UK with day temps around 25C. I'm also on A01 BIOS and latest Dell NVidia driver. I'm also OC on the SU7300 since day one and use an Intel SSD.

 

Me too I use the A03 bios. OCed CPU. Uk summer time.

Quiet as a mouse 15 minutes after switching back to integrated after 2 hours of playing Eve online.

 

My R1 is almost always silent, but really, the i5 is the way to go. It's fast and just like Steven said on page 1, I wouldn't hesitate if I could put an i5 in my R1. I like my m11x R1, but the R2 has just that little performance boost, it's faster and better.

The i5 is clocked faster, and the technologies are better, same with desktop CPU's, I completely destroy an Intel Core Quad Q6600 (2,4Ghz) with my i7 860, it's much faster, even tho my i7 is just clocked 0.4Ghz higher.

It's like a car: A tractor with 500 horsepower just isn't faster than a Ford Mustang with 400 horsepower..

The i5 is the best, choose for it.

 

Sorry, but I am still confused...

I know the CPUs are different, so the numbers are not completely comparable, but wouldn't be a overclocked SU7300 with approximately 1700 MHz similar to a non-overclocked i5 520UM with maximum 1866 MHz? If so, I don't see the vantage of paying more than $100 for an i5...

Plus, what is the reason for having SU7300 with 1300 MHz out-of-factory if you apparently can overclock it from bios to 1700 MHz without issues? Shouldn't Dell just ship it overclocked? Or will you in fact have a problem running it with 1700 MHz in the long-run?

Thanks!

 

Cherude - I5 = turbo
su7300 = no turbo

I5 = turbo + overclock fsb
su7300 = oc only

I5 = 2.3 max potential speed
su7300 = 1.73 max speed

So hundred bucks gets you turbo, plus the potential of 500 extra mhz.

Make more sense...

StevenX

 

SU7300 also doesnt support Hyperthreading so you only get 2 cores 2 threads, whereas the i5 has 2 cores 4 threads which will make it faster on multi-thread supported applications

 

Thanks, guys, now I understand the differences better. I was just trying to figure out if SU7300 is really that bad compared with i5 520UM. It doesn't seem like that. Actually, it seems a pretty decent CPU. For everyday non-game and non-demanding softwares (i.e. office), SU7300 at 1300 MHz is more than enough. If necessary, it is possible to overclock it to 1730 MHz manually, which brings it somewhat close to a non-overclocked i5 520UM at maximum 1866 MHz speed (am I wrong?). Of course, considering the potential of a overclocked i5 at max speed, SU7300 does seem like weak, but otherwise, it is completely fine and demands only 10 watts instead of 18. It seems at least better than a i3 330UM (maybe that is why i3 is not being offered in US).

Regarding overclocking, I think that continuous overclocking may reduce the life of a CPU, but I am not sure, so a SU7300 running always at 1730 MHz may not be a good idea. That is the advantage of i5, which only kicks up when necessary and then slows again (however, if this is true, I wonder how bad for its life can be an overclocked i5 at max speed...).

Anyway, I am not a specialist at all, just a curious amateur trying to make a conscious purchase taking into account my budget and my needs (a portable laptop able to play non-last-generation games which will also be my main computer for office stuff and some mathematical/statistical regressions).

 

"close to a non-overclocked i5 520UM at maximum 1866 MHz speed (am I wrong?)"
sort of wrong. overclocked the i5 will do 2490mhz i believe. keep in mind, like madchild pointed out, ghz is a bad measure of speed when comparing two different model processors.

as for continuous overclocking, many people here have done that with their su7300s since the day the r1 was released, so i really wouldn't worry about it. it stays nice and cool and doesn't use much energy, cooler and than the r2 when it's not overclocked. i believe some people have even reported bettery battery life afterwards.

all that said, for what you're doing, i would definitely get the su7300. the i5 is indeed faster, but you won't necessarily need it's extra speed as you predict, and with the su7300 comes a temperature drop in the double digits and a few more hours of battery life. Even if they were the same price, I'd say go with the su7300, yet the su7300 is cheaper.

 

Yeah, I am still deciding, but so far SU7300 seems better for me, also because of the extra VGA port... I don't even play online multiplayer games, which I believe are the ones that demand more CPU.

Regarding the above point, there is some confusion with these new processors because of turboboost. According to Notebookcheck, i5 520UM goes from 1060 to 1866 MHz because of the turbo stuff (it doesn't have a fixed speed like SU7300). So, a manually non-overclocked i5 520UM "overclocks" dinamically/internally until 1866 MHz (that is what I could understand). On the other hand, a manually overclocked i5 520UM "overclocks" dinamically/internally until more than 2000 MHz, as you said. It seems to me a little dangerous to overclock something that already dinamically/internally overclocks. It becomes easier to make a mess.

 

That definitely makes sense, but actually Turbo Boost is pretty clever. Before it kicks in, it checks the voltage and temperature of the CPU against what Intel set as its maximum for both of those. If it's at or past either maximum, it won't "boost". Further, while Turbo Boost is kicked in, it keeps checking the temperature and voltage, and if/when it goes over either maximum, it will drop back down. In case I explained poorly, here it is direct from Intel:

 

Just correcting myself about the watt thing...
TDP (Watt)

 

Okay, in order to make my mind between SU7300 and i5, I have a question for those with a M11x R1: can you guys play smoothly Dragon Age Origins, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect 1? If so, I will be pretty much convinced that a SU7300 is enough for me.

 

Can't tell you about the rest, but Dragon's Age: Origins plays very well. Just installed it and checked it out. It played well even though I was downloading large files in the background.

 

ME2 works well, I haven't tried ME1

 

ME1 is playing bad on the m11x R1, ME2 runs great, Fallout 3 runs great. Other games you can play on it:

Operation Flashpoint
Dirt 2
Grid
Fuel
Burnout: Paradise
CoD4
CoD5
CoD6
Portal
L4D
L4D2
HL2
CS:S
Metro 2033 (low and medium run ok)
Oblivion
Dawn of War 2 (and Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising)
Rainbow 6 Vegas (1&2)
Just Cause 2 runs properly too.
Anno 1404

These games will do fine on the m11x.

 

ME1 played great for me as is ME2 I'm now playing. The Witcher has some slowdown but still easily playable. Only game I tried that is a complete "No No" is GTA4.

 

I recently bought Fallout 3 game of the year from steam sales.

I have it set to high setting.. runs very smooth

 

Thank you for the reports. I decided to go with SU7300. It provides me with more control, more battery and that vga port that I am still using. It should be enough for my needs during some years. Moreover, I am not planning to buy new games and the two most demanding I have are Dragon Age, Witcher and Mass Efect 1.

As a matter of fact, more than processing power, I would love to see a M12x (12 inches) with matte screen and dual touchpad (with trackpoint), plus the missing vga port coming back. That is, a portable "business" (?) machine with cool external design (hey, I am not that business serious person ) and great 1 gb gpu.

 

I've had a bad experience with it inside the Citadel, so I decided to play ME1 on my desktop and ME2 on my m11x.

 

Did you play ME1 in a M11x R1? Sorry, It was not clear for me if you was using a R1.

Wouldn't the problem be solved by decreasing settings in the game?

 

I've only played a bit of ME1 maxed on the R1 at native res but so far there is absolutely no framerate issues whatsoever. Seems to run as smooth as what i've played of ME2, which as you all know is very smooth.

 

Yes, also did that, didn't really work. It wasn't that bad btw, the beginning of the game and a couple of missions were pretty smooth (as smooth as ME2, and that is 99% of the game 30FPS+ maxed).... ME1 is playable, but I just wanted it completely smooth so I decided to play it on my desktop.