XPS 16 C2D P9700 or i7 Processor 720QM

Hi Guys,

I am planning to purchase Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop and confused in following two processors. Could you please guide me which processor would be best for this hardware. Thanks

Option 1
Intel Core 2 Duo P9700 (2.80GHz,6MB Cache, 1066MHz)

Option 2
Intel Core i7 Processor 720QM (1.60Ghz, 6MB cache)

Thanks.

Jit

 

Depends on what your uses are.

 

I would create two VMwares machine running under Linux on this laptop and will create clustering between them.
And I may use it for gaming as well.

Thanks

 

If money isn't an issue I'd go with the i7.

- Newer
- 4 physical cores + 4 virtual cores (C2D has only 2 physical)
- Same TDP (35 + 10 = 45 W)
- Sounds cooler

From what I've learned, i7-720QM can match and beat a P9700 (and even a T9800) in single and multithreaded performance. From your VMs I'd think multithreading should be a factor in your work, and same with games.

Also I think getting an i7 socket sets you up for future upgrades. C2D is discontinued from Intel I think.

 

Agreed w/ above. For your usages, i7 FTW.

 

I love my C2D T9550 but I wish I could upgrade to an i7...If I were you and could afford the i7, I definately would get the i7. It will be able to everything you ask and quickly. I run CPU intensive programs and the T9550 has limits, I would love to see what the i7 would be like.

 

Thanks Guys. It really helps.

Only worry is about the heating. Are there any heating issues in i7 which requires extra cooling fans?

 

As no one has actually got an XPS 16 i7 yet people can't say for sure but if you look at people with the i7 in the Studio 15 they say t gets warm but not hot so hopefully this will be the same.

 

Thats funny. Everyone thinks that the latest and greatest CPU is '"future proof" because it will always be upgradable two years from now. A little history from someone who has had machines since 1995. There will be a new CPU, it will make your current one look like a Celeron, and it will have a different pin socket. It will not work in your machine, the way the hot new quad processors won't work in older laptops. They always design them not to fit for obvious reasons. And your video card...lol it will be a joke. That's just the way it is. Just get the best available at the time and enjoy it.

 

Point was i7 is more future proof than C2D, no? C2D you can upgrade to T9900 for performance, but i7's end of the line hasn't been seen yet for its current socket.

 

the price difference between the p9700 config and i7-720 is not so huge, so I would go with the i7.

If I were you and if you have the patience, want to save a few hundreds, I would wait a bit for the first deceived guys to send back their new i7 and try to snag one fron the outlet. we shoudl find some of them before christmas and I bet they will go fast. It would also allow you to know the fedback from the owners and know if they suffer from any major design flaw like heat, etc...

 

I'd say that it depends both on uses and if you want a portable computer or a desktop in a nice case. I can say that with the P8700 and RGBLED and 4670 video card, this computer is terrible on battery power. It can barely scrape 3 hours with the 9 cell. If you upgrade it a T processor it will go down more, obviously, but if you go past that to the i7 I doubt you will be able to get more than 2 hours. I obviously could be wrong, since I don't know for sure. So, if you don't need to use it away from a plug, then you might as well go for it and get the i7 due to future proofing and such; however, if you want to be able to use it on battery power for a reasonable amount of time, then either stock up on lots of batteries or don't get the i7. Just my take on it

 

On idle power, the i7 is very efficient and should match the C2D/C2Q in terms of power consumption since it can shut cores off. We'll see for sure when more reviews come out but that's how it's looking so far.

 

Something is wrong with your laptop because my old T9800 and ATi 4670 can get over 2.5 hours of web and work on Balanced with a 6-cell. The only way what you say applies is for gaming, but who does that on battery?

 

C2D is not discontinued and won't be for some time. Intel has stated this many times. They expect to keep C2D and C2Q's going until the end of 2010. Just how it is.. Just like P45's and Core processors in desktops are not discontinued.

There is nothing a Core processor can't do, and this won't change for a good long while. Hell my Q6600 has yet to EVER even slightly slow down in the least.

However... If it's just a matter of a couple hundred it would be worth doing - but don't expect a major difference between the Core processors and i7. Especially with the current gen laptop video cards.

 

Has anyone got i7 yet to write a review.

 

I do, what do you want to know? Give me a list of stuff you want (games to try, stuff to talk about) and I'll upload a video review.

 

Thanks buddy.

I dont have a list of questions at the moment. Only worry part is "How is i7?"

I am planning to buy xps16 and have 2 options either to but it with C2D P9700 processor or i7 720QM. Could you wirte your experience with i7 interm of speed, performace, heating up, noise Thanks.

Second question - Is it worth to spend extra money to buy 16" screen or 15.4" screen would be good enough.

Thanks.

 

i7 is great, I mean it performs well ... Kinda a vague question lol. 4 cores, 8 threads, means better multi-tasking, so better performance in multithread apps. It overclocks when only 1, 2, or 3 cores are being used, so you don't lose the speed for single-threaded apps. No NB/FSB now, so faster data transfer. I'd go with the i7, sets you up for future upgrades. I've had a T9800 (a step up from P9700/T9600) and

Value: T9800, i7-820QM
Idle temps: 37 C, 50 C
Game temps: 70 C, 70 C

i7 is definitely faster than my T9800 (and your P9700), because not only does it support multithreaded apps better, it also performs better in single threaded apps with the turbo boost and whatnot. Noise, the fan spins more often since it's hotter, but CPU itself doesn't make noise.

And yes I think the RGBLED screen is worth it over the 15.6" WLED screens. Better colour, more screen space.

 

i have the i7, and it only ships (in canada anyways) with a 9 cell battery, which lasts while playing HD video from my ssd hdd, ~3 hours. for normal usage, surfing etc, ~4 hours. thats at max birghtness. with dell power profile. turn it to power saver, and lower the screen brightness, and you can stretch it out even longer. don't forget, there is no north bridge with i7 vs c2d.

 

I am not saying this is bad ... but keep in mind ... looking at max420's signature ... he has the 1600 x 900 screen ... folks with a 1080P screen (WLED or RGB) may get different results ...

4 hours though ... I'm okay with that!