CPU choice

I am not very good at technology and it might be a very stupid question...

Which CPU is better?

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9900 (3.06 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)

or

Intel® Core™ i7-820QM, 1.73-3.06GHz

Also, in i7-820QM, is turbo mod bad thing? It sounds like it will make the CPU overrun and make it die soon.

Thank you in advance.

 

Intel® Core™ i7-820QM, 1.73-3.06GHz by far.

More info about Turbo Mode: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_nehalems_turbo_mode

 

i7 820QM by a long way. The i7 is a quad core, with an extremely efficient architecture, and the T9900 iis an older dual core.

 

i7 is much better and don't worry about the Turbo mode. It's put in there by Intel and they know the limitations of their chip. Be assured that Turbo mode will do no harm.

 

I've had a T9800 (1 step down from T9900) and now have an i7-820QM. The i7 is better on paper and in performance, both with much better multitasking (quad core with HT support) and better single-threading performance (I read that, even if the newer chips are clocked slightly lower, it'll perform better because more is done per clock cycle).

I'd go with the i7. I've had it and am loving it, and currently notice not any battery life issues.

 

The Core i7-820QM is definitely the more powerful and advanced processor!

Here's a quick explanation of what Intel Turbo Boost does-

Prior to Core i7, quad-core processors were only beneficial when using software that could fully utilize all four cores. In reality, there were very few programs that could do so. Otherwise, a 2.0GHz QX9000 Core 2 Quad performed more like a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo.

Turbo Boost allows the i7 Quad-Core to offer much better performance even in programs that can utilize a single processor core! The 820QM runs at a maximum clock speed of 1.73GHz when all four cores are being used. But when it detects that an app is only using a single core and that core is being pushed near 1.73GHz, Turbo Boost kicks in to give that core more power. It will shut down the unused cores and increase the clock speed of the single core in use up to 3.06GHz! If two cores are being heavily utilized, then it shuts down the two not in use and boosts the others up to 2.8GHz. When the boosted core is no longer being used at the higher speeds, it will revert back to 1.73GHz and stay there until you need it again.

It's a concept that is commonly called "performance on demand". It's kind of like a vehicle with an on-demand all-wheel-drive system. The system constantly monitors the speed and traction of all four wheels. When it detects a wheel spinning or losing traction, it will reduce power (and possibly even apply braking force) to that wheel. Simultaneously, it can determine if the opposite wheel has traction and send more power to that wheel to compensate.

Another neat feature- if Vista's Power Saver plan is activated, Turbo Boost is disabled and the clock speed drops from 1.73GHz to 1.2GHz for all cores. It will also continue to deactivate unneeded cores to maximize battery lfe!

It's a very cool feature and the i7 chips are AMAZING! Just to give you an idea of the punch it has, I looked up the PassMark CPU benchmarks for the T9900 and 820QM-

T9900- 2.342
820QM- 3,985

While it's only one of many benchmarks, a score increase of about 72% is major! It's also worth mentioning that the 1.73GHz 820QM has an identical score to the 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad Q9450 (proof that Turbo Boost works)!

 

Hey! That's my desktop CPU!

I guess this will be my minimum for my next notebook then, there! Research done!

 

Damn. Old faithful Q6600 is beaten by a mobile processor...

 

I've got my eye on the base model- Core i7-720QM-1.6GHz, 6mb cache

It's the "slowest" one, but I'd learn to cope with it. It has a PassMark score of 3,347! The 2.26GHz Core 2 Quad Q9100 only score 19 points higher with 3,366.

Those numbers are INSANE! My 2.4GHz P8600, which is hardly a slowpoke, scores 1,594 on PassMark. That's not even HALF the score of the base i7-720QM!!! My P8600 is practically a Pentium M in comparison....it's an obvious sign that I need to go ahead and buy a Core i7 laptop....

 

Even that slowest of i7 processors is going to blow away all but the highest clocked Quad "Extreme" processors.

Get the i7. Period.

Edit: Damn I'm slow.

 

allfiredup, I guess my lowly P8400 then should be put out to pasture.

These leaps and bounds are insane... I love it!

 

Dude my P8400 is perfect for multitasking! As long as I am not playing a game or video encoding.

 

or, converting RAW images to tiffs/psds/jpgs...

 

Core i7 ... it blows away everything except of the core i7 desktop processors.

 

Can mine come with?

Hell, if my P8400 has to go out to pasture, then I hate to think what my 3650 would get.