C2D T5470 vs. C2D T7300

how much differcence does the better processor make? is it worth 200 dollars more? and how much diffecence does 4mb L2 cache make over 2mb L2 cache. to be more specific, i have set my eyes on dell vostro 1400, ill be using it for university work plus some light gaming and some 3d modeling for engineering. thanks for your help

 

3D modelling is both CPU and CPU bound, so the more power, the better. Dell usually overcharges on upgrades, though. How much does the T7100 cost=

 

If your looking to do heavy CPU intensive tasks like 3D modelling and engineering design then the T7300 is a very good choice plus the extra 2MB of cache will help you a lot.

If all you wanted to do was word processing and surfing the web then I would say save the $200.

 

Your needs sound like more CPU would be nice. But the T5470 will do fine. The reason is because they were doing this stuff b/4 a year ago. Not everybody even has dual cores(I know, hard to believe). The performance point on the T7300 is nice w/400Mhz more and twice the L2 above that you only get clocks. The tests I have read indicate that 4MB L2 is a 10% increase in cache intensive apps at the same clock. If you are going with the $799 that is 25% more cost for T7300, that's a lot.

 

As has been said, the T7300 will offer improved performance in the tasks you mention. However, $200 is a lot of money for one cpu upgrade. The T5470 would probably perform pretty well, so the question is, are you prepared to spend $200 upgrading from pretty good to very good? How much does that amount of money mean to you?

 

What about the T7100?

 

200Mhz faster than T5470 same L2, but what is the question? Good CPU like the other 2. Interesting question would be a L7500 1.8Ghz 4MBL2 $50. But not on point.

 

Faster FSB, 800MHz vs 667MHz. Not that much performance gained, but still it adds some.

 

Best compromise of the two since it is cheaper than T7300 and better than T7450.