The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Can someone please educate me on Intel Processors?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by fragments, Nov 9, 2009.

  1. fragments

    fragments Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi guys, It's been about 5 yrs since the last time I purchased a pc for myself. Now looking at the processor specs, I'm puzzled... it seems it's not the bigger the proccessing speed the better(ie. 2.0ghz>1.6ghz). there's this whole other area to consider: pentium IV/pentium M/Pentium Core Duo/Core 2 Duo/Quad/i7...and probably a bunch i havn't mention.

    I know to make anyone compare everything and explain to me is near impossible, but can someone please at least tell me(in laymen terms) the difference between Core 2 Duo/Quad/i7?

    ie. given 2.0ghz, i7>Quad>Core 2 Duo right?
    but wut about "i7 1.7ghz vs. Core 2 Duo 2.0ghz?" or "Core 2 Duo 2.8ghz vs. 2.0 Quad?"

    what's the equivalency and how do i compare?

    Thank you very very much for the help~
     
    fragments, Nov 9, 2009
    #1
  2. L4d_Gr00pie

    L4d_Gr00pie Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    579
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Here you go, a nice guide.

    Well, for duo vs quad, the quad will normally win if the application/game you are using can use multiple cores.

    The i7 is different because it has turbo boost. I would place this one on top of your list. Also consider the TDP. A 45W cpu will give you less battery life than a 25W cpu.
     
    L4d_Gr00pie, Nov 9, 2009
    #2
  3. fragments

    fragments Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thank you for pointing me to the right direction, I will give it a read.
     
    fragments, Nov 10, 2009
    #3
  4. Serg

    Serg Nowhere - Everywhere

    Reputations:
    1,980
    Messages:
    5,331
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    206
    Hi there!

    I can give you a short summary if you want. But I highly suggest to give the Guide a read, it was written by a great person ( ^^ lol ;p)

    Anyways.
    It is highly different to compare an i7 to a C2D. They are different architecture. The i7 has TB and HT on its favour. C2D has higher stock clocks. All in all, i7 beats the C2D on mostly all tasks, and also the C2Q. But the C2Q can be better in some tasks, where all cores are stressed and used at the same time, then the i7 could be slightly in disadvantage, since as a quad core it is slightly slower. But not to forget Hyper Threading (HT) which allows the i7 to process 2 threads at a time on the same core.

    It is quite complex, but in a summary, the C2D is a great performer and for most persons it is an overkill, so it is highly recommended. I suggest an i7 only if you intend to do intense number crunching and/or CPU stressing things. If not (and even with these tasks) the C2D is a better suit.

    Hope this helps!
     
    Serg, Nov 10, 2009
    #4