XPS 15 L502X - Best Price/Performance CPU?

Now that the Core i5 processors are offered, any opinions on which CPU gives best "bang for the buck"? Current prices on Dell Home site now:

Core i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz [Included in Price]

Core i5-2520M processor 2.50 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.20 GHz [Add $90.00]

Core i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz [Add $175.00]

Core i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz [Add $270.00]

Core i7-2720QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.30 GHz [Add $300.00]

Core i7-2820QM processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz [Add $500.00]

 

If you are looking for raw processing power (you do a lot of 3D rendering/ video editing) then the 2720QM is the best bang for the buck.

 

I always go for quad cores when possible.

Remember that the prices you stated are for when configuring the cheapest configuration. If you're looking for more upgrades, try going for one preconfigured with more, as you usually save more. For example, I started with the $1299 option and the i7 2720QM was already standard with that config, along with other upgrades that saved me a couple hundred bucks.

 

Yeah, there's some preconfigured XPS 15 models for which the jump to 2720QM isn't nearly as high as you have it listed above.

 

That's because it's already built in. Plus in a lot of those instances they're forcing you to upgrade RAM which is highway robbery in terms of what it costs to do that yourself.

What really doesn't make sense is why the 2620 to2720 upgrade is $30 (which is very close to the real approximate difference in price to buy the processor retail) but the 2520 to 2720 upgrade is $210 when the real price difference is more like $150. Creative pricing ftw.

So the retail price of the 2520 is $225. Because it's $90 more we can assume they're charging you $135 for the 2410.

The retail price of the 2720 is $378 - $135 = $343 but they charge you $300. $343 (2720) - $225 (2520) = $147 but that upgrade costs you $210 at Dell.

So apparently some upgrades are great deals and others not so much.

Am I missing something about the board needing to change with the different procs?

 

Unfortunately, this is the way Dell has always been. You should try every possible combination to find out the cheapest way to get exactly what you want. Then, remember to call in that order and tell the sales rep you want a better deal. Calling in instead of ordering online will make it worth your time.

 

My main reasons for getting a new laptop are to edit the HD videos I take with my iPhone 4 and Kodak HD cam and to edit the RAW images I take with my Rebel XSi camera. My current laptop is 6-7 years old and can't even play back the videos, much less edit them. No other regular tasks (e.g. gaming, CAD/CAM) that would require a lot of horsepower.

Will a quad core (2720QM) help with video editing more than a dual core with a higher clock (2620M)? I didn't think there were that many applications that could benefit from the extra cores.

 

It will obviously depend on your software, but experience indicates that most video editing software is moving toward multi-core support. It is not unreasonable to assume that, for video tasks, the quad core will be twice as fast as a dual core for many operations.

 

2720 is the way to go in my opinion. The 2820 is not worth the money when compared to the 2720 and the performance increase, if any, in benchmarks has been disappointing to say the least (notebookcheck)

 

$378 - $135 = $243 not $343 ;-)

 

Oh yeah damn, bad math day. So basically they're overcharging you on every upgrade then

 

What's the problem with 2630QM? Its a quad, with almost all the features of the 2720QM, but for a lot less money...
It is 0.2Ghz slower...big deal? No, 99,9% of the people won't feel any difference.
It has a somewhat slower GPU...so what, its for power saving, not for gaming...there is the 540M for that.
And it has no VT-d...needed only for virtual machines

 

Agreed. I'll take the 2630qm and save $125 anyday. The difference is a little more than 0.2ghz actually with turbo under certain circumstances but not worth the extra money unless you so badly need the extra CPU power and VT-d. If it was an extra $50 I might consider it but $125 is armed robbery.

 

2630QM definitely...

 

The only XPS-15 model I see which has possibility to add the 2630QM is the budget model which has no sales attached.

On all of the other models, it's 2620M which is a dual core, and then only $30 to move from that to 2720QM which is quad core.

As far as the budget model goes, 2630QM is fine if you're happy with the 900p screen and don't have a use for a blue ray player etc. When you start adding in some of the extras, the higher priced configurations which have a sales price attached come in cheaper and for $30 I'd upgrade to the 2720 happily.

 

Bingo.

Software & what codec you are editing. Its fair to say that most video editing programs are becoming multithreading capatible. Other factors to consider besides the CPU are hard disk speed & ram. I would go quad & spend as much money as you can. The OP states his last system is 6 yrs old so if you take 200 or whatever the cost is & break down your cost of ownership over 3-5 yrs, that is not a lot imo.

Other factors besides cpu to remember is hard drive & RAM. A large, fast HD or big external drive like 1TB for storage after its done. Video editing loves space. Quadcore capable vid software + rendering, publishing etc. = space hogs.

My situation was very similiar to yours. Outdated XPS M1210 & wanted to edit my gopro videos.
In the end, I bought the best system I could afford plus ended up adding an external monitor (U2311) , wireless keyboard set & cheap laptop cooler (amazon $20) to help. Its made the job less frustrating & sooooo much faster & enjoyable. Good luck.

 

Guys i ordered XPS 15 with i7 2630QM , Dell China i7 2720QM upgrades costs me nearly as 230 USD. Do you guys think i7 2630QM is good choice ? I don't want to spend much money if it's not worth it. i don't play much games , i don't do video editing at all

 

It'll be more than enough for your needs. It's still quite a bit faster than the fastest previous quad-core which was nothing to be ashamed of performance-wise.

 

Thanks, i was also thinking the same At least it's better than my previous configuration. i will probably stick with i7 2630QM

 

Intel core i7-2630qm vs i7-2720qm comparison and differences

Intel core i7-2630qm vs i7-2720qm comparison and differences | Starred Reviews

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in Turbo mode the gap frequency between 2630 and 2720 rise to 400MHz instead of 200MHz base.
No new AES instructions for 2630.

 

I guess I'm the only one that ordered the i5-2520. Maybe I'll get it sooner lol...