Which CPU for M17x?

Hi, I'm considering getting an M17 but I need a little help choosing the CPU.

The options available are:

i5 520M (2.4Ghz, 3MB cache) - included as default
i5 540M (2.53Ghz, 3MB cache) - £20 extra
i7 720QM (1.6Ghz, 6MB cache) - £40 extra

I was under the impression that the i7 was the better chip, but as it's only £40 more than the i5 yet alienware still opt to use the i5 as the default/headline chip for the M17, then it got me wondering if the i5 was actually better.

Which chip would you go for?

Thanks alot

 

No 620m? Bases on what you have their, the clear answer is the 720qm, unless of course you plan on buying an OEM 920xm in the future in which getting the lowest CPU would save you some cash.

 

620m is £160 more. I didn't think a price jump like that could be justifiable.

thanks for the advice, just struck me as kinda weird that they would strip the i7 from the headline build just to save £40. I guess they think all people care about is the pure Ghz?

 

Hey whats a £160 quid in UK you spend that out easy on a Friday night out

 

Every little bit of saving helps to cut down the starting price. It's like saving weight in special racing cars; I remember this racing Porsche (the GT3 RS, I think) that actually had a sticker for a badge instead of the normal enamel, just to save that little bit extra weight.

It all adds up. Every little option that starts lower will help to bring the price down.

After all, that's why anything has options. If everything-computers, cars and others-came with all options maxed as standard, then the 'starting' price would be much higher and few people would want to buy it.

 

is the 620 that much better than the 720?

 

I tried both the i5-540M and i7-720QM. The i7 is really fast. The i5 is not as fast, but still fast overall. If you are just going for gaming the i5 is my choice, unless you do a lot of video editing and etc.

 

Depends. IIRC, the 620 is a faster dual core, the 720 is a slower quad core. (Although in reality it shouldn't make much of a difference; the 720 should turbo in dual core mode up to nearly the speed of the 620.)

People who still prefer dual core processors will probably prefer the 620 over the 720.

 

I-5 is fine then get the 920XM later when it drops in price!

 

well, I got the I7 720 and sold it for 260 (which netted me a gain towards the 920xm) And picked up an oem not es i7 920xm for 644 after bing on ebay. You just have to watch and act quick when you find the right deal! So, basically the i7 920xm oem cost me about 400ish as I got about 20% off the upgrade price (and the rest of the laptop)on the processor and epp pricing. If you are savvy and know how to work the system you can get a great deal.