Dual vs. Quad core Decision?

For primary and extensive remote wifi Internet, and Word and Excell usage, is there a valid reason to order a laptop with quad core?

 

Nope, not if you don`t see yourself or someone in the family gaming or doing heavy multitasking with it later.

Just buy a fast dual core and you are settled with a fast performing notebook, ready to open textfiles and internet in a heart beat

 

Thanks. That simplifies things a lot. Going with the i5 OK?

 

More than ample. For your stated usage, you probably won't notice any difference at all between a Core i3 and Core i5. A Core i7 quad core would be a further waste of money.

 

I'm on the "customize" site at Lenovo.

What is the difference between the following for $50?

Intel Core i5-2520M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)

Intel Core i5-2540M Processor (3M Cache, 2.60 GHz)

 

you dont need i5 with it's potential heat problems when the turbo boost hits.

I'd go with i3 and buy me decent SSD if I were on your place.

 

The difference is the 100MHz higher clock with the 2540M. Even the turbo only goes 100MHz higher. Impossible to notice in terms of performance other than benchmarks tools where you see slightly different scores with those two CPUs. Go with the 2520M and save yourself the $50.

And if you have the money for it, buy yourself a SSD. You will have an extremely fast notebook, shutting down and starting up the notebook very fast, opening the programs and the text documents in seconds. Doesn`t matter if it is 40GB/60GB/160GB whatever. One of the few hardware upgrades where you can feel the difference very good

 

I'm sorry but what?

Heat problems caused by turbo that wont even kick in if the processor is hot and is also TDP restricted?

 

If this is the T420, T520, or X220, the first thing you should do is upgrade the display. This should be a consideration before the processor, especially given your CPU-irrelevant usage requirements. Post your entire configuration here so we can look at it. The processor is one of the least important things to consider. Your usage will see absolutely no benefits even between an i3 and an i7. Go with the cheapest processor available, and use the saved money to upgrade your display and either a faster hard drive or possibly an after-market SSD.

Spoiler

T420: Upgrade to the 1600x900 display. The 1366x768 display hinders multitasking by making things onscreen large. Quality isn't great on either, but the larger realestate makes a difference.

T520: Upgrade to either the 1600x900 or 1920x1080 display. The 1366x768 display hinders multitasking by making things onscreen very large, and it has much worse image quality than the 1600x900 or 1920x1080 display.

X220: Upgrade to the 'Premium' (IPS) display. The default display has rather mediocre image quality, but the upgraded display has excellent image quality (contrast and viewing angle stability).

 

Dual core definitely ok for your use, and Intel i3 or i5, hyperthreading will help a lot. I don't think i3 or i5 will matter much, but for longevity sake, I'd say grab the fastest i3 or i5 you can realistically afford. But as edit1754 states, look at other things first like display and SSD first, then whatever your budget allows get the i3 or i5 that you can afford.

 

too lazy right now to provide links of normal users disabling the turbo boost due to heat problems. Maybe later ...

 

QFT. Display and SSD are the keys to a nice snappy media usage machine. Also consider the audio options available on the machine.. Something like an HP Envy or similar might be a good option.

 

you don't really believe that do you?

his workload is nowhere near enough to even bother a single sandy bridge core.

 

Compared with an AMD dual core? Yes it will.

 

dual v. quad core?

It depends on two things:

1. Will you actually need to use the extra physical cores (apps/services that take advantage of this)?

2. Will your computer have overheating issues due to the extra heat and energy consumption (insufficient cooling, degraded battery life if mobile)?

If its justified then by all means get it, otherwise spend the cash elsewhere. As mentioned, a quality display, responsive keyboard and optimal design must also be considered in this equation.


Any SB dual core i5/i7 would be great. Don't forget the SSD though! I'd also consider a discrete gpu if within budget, otherwise current A Series AMD Radeon integrated graphics trump Intel's HD Graphics 3000. AMD has a 35w quad with better graphics than Intel's solution but in fewer laptop choices. Sucks!

 

@OP

how complex are those excel spreadsheets/databases/macros you use?

if you are doing some heavy accounting, cost planning, database operations, etc. you may not want to get the weakest cpu.

 

Why are you guys even thinking about overheating? lol seriously, this guy is buying a laptop from Lenovo. They don`t just offer 1000W CPUs just for the heck of it

 

Iron power

 

Maybe if the laptop has poor cooling, but any decent laptop can handle Turbo Boost.

 

LOL total epic fail.

I can only imagine the total morons engineering the laptop. Care absolutely nothing about the official specifications and thermals that Intel have made. Do their own measurements of the system. Find out that the CPU frequency is 2.4 GHz and that a certain cheap fan is enough to cool it down. Put in a weak GPU just to save money so that they don`t have to buy a bigger fan, and to be shure they can cram everything in a tight little 12" chassis. Don`t want to invest in a larger chassis with more expensive materials. Na-a. Or the other way around, put the baddest GPU inside the laptop just to the limit of what the fan can handle.

Release date. Angry customers calling because the fan is going 100% and is really noisy. Some customers have measured the system temperature or the CPU temperature. Up to 100 degree celsius.

"Impossible". "How could this have happend?"
"Boss, you might want to come here and take a look"
"What is it?"
"You see boss, the CPU have a turbo boost. It clocks the CPU from 2.4 to 3.2 GHz"
"So it gets hotter than what we measured?"
"Yes sir. We forgot to stress the system properly to see the CPU turbo"
"You %¤"#!¤"! morons."

 

There, fixed it to meet reality...

 

hehehe yes exactly

 

Would it make a difference for IE9 and Flash performance, both for videos and those annoying flash ads?

 

Not at all, an i5 will do just fine.

 

For general purpose tasks and what you actually mentioned in the initial post, an i5 will do just fine.
Quad is recommended if you use games and/or software that are heavily multithreaded or if you do video editing.

 

Wow! Interesting discussion.

In answer to: "Post your entire configuration here so we can look at it."

Based on all the comments, this is what I ordered: [Feel free to tear the configuration to pieces - I just want the truth.]


1 SYS.4177CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM $1,384.20 $1,384.20
The above product code consists of the following component(s):
4177CTO THINKPAD T420 - 1 YR
0B06593 SBB INCOI2.50GHZ,3MBHDGR3000
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
0A68355 SBB GW7 PR64 US ENGLISH
75Y0162 SBB M W7 XP MD- E
0A68252 SBB 14.0 HD+ (1600 X 900) LED
0A68248 SBB INTEL HD GRAPHICS 3000
75Y0829 VBB 6GB PC3-10600 SODIMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
0A68253 SBB FINGERPRINT RDR
0A68288 SBB 720P HD CAMERA I MCR
0A68285 SBB I 160GB SSD SERIAL ATA
0A68277 SBB DVD RC8XMXDLLRULT E ATA
0A68291 SBB EXPRESS CSL4IN1CR+SCR
45M4816 SBB 9CELLLI-ION BATTERY
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
0A68261 SBB BLUETOOTH 3.0
0A68264 SBB IEEE 1394A PORT
45M4804 SBB IN.CENT.ULTIMATE-N 6300 3X3
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
0A68293 SBB LPUS ENGLISH
75Y1544 SBB MOHST2010NA ENGLISH

Qty Product Code Description Unit Cost Total
1 41U5008 THINKPAD BLUETOOTH LASER MOUSE $39.99

Qty Product Code Description Unit Cost Total
1 57Y6566 LENOVO WIRED KEYBOARD K4803A(WW-B) $10.50

Payment Terms: Credit Card
Ship Type:
Merchandise Total $1,434.69
Sales Tax $60.83
Shipping / Handling $25.00
Total $1,520.52

Thanks for the comments.

 

that i5 is more than enough for basic/light workload like you described. Difference between 2520 and 2540 is when they could be produced, if you stumble upon old batch 2520 it will heat up more, but probability of that is negligible, so save yourself some money.

Also from my point of view, few bucks more for i5 over i3 is a great investment for i5's turbo ability, as any single threaded app will do it's job way faster, but I notice that every day because of my work, for word, excell, ie and vlc, you probably won't notice, but it would improve longevity of the machine.

quad core on the other hand would be a waste of money.

 

This is one of those discussions where the best bet is to set a budget and just find the best PC for that budget.