Is it worth $270?

I'm in the process of buying a laptop, its coming down to the processor, everything else the same, I can get the laptop with:

core i5-2430M Processor for $270 cheaper than the core i7-2640M?

How big of a difference would I notice in speed and processing power is it even noticable?

 

It depends on your needs (if you could fill out the WNBSIB sticky). The i7-2620M is basically a glorified i5, so you'll probably be fine with the i5-2430M. Saevt eh $270 and use it to buy a 1080p display for your laptop. You'll notice the higher resolution much more than the small benefit gained from the i7.

 

my needs out of this laptop would be everyday data entry, some photoshop and some gaming over the weekend, not really heavy gaming heaviest would be starcraft2, both of these laptops come with radeon 6630m processor

 

I agree - unless your workflow is image/video/sound editing and any extra processor performance is utilized, this extra 21% performance for $270 more is money well wasted.

I would recommend (in addition to the 1080p display above) maxing out the RAM the system can handle - this can possibly give you more performance in a multi-tasking scenario than the higher end processor with less RAM.

SC2 very processor dependant - how much do you love your gaming ($270 dollars worth?).

Good luck.

 

Haha, an extra 4GB stick is only ~$20. Maybe the two mentioned upgrades, and possibly a small SSD to speed up workflow?

 

Not really interested in 4GB 'upgrades' - was thinking more into 16GB or more if the system/platform could handle it.

 

how can I find out the max ram system can handle?

 

Definitely agreed. I wouldn't pay more than $30 for that difference in CPUs, so $270 is completely out of the question. Stick to the i5; you won't notice a difference at all.

Usually you can find out from the laptop's spec sheets. Typically, the max supported RAM is now usually 16GB, although with 8GB SODIMMs, laptops may get picky. But really, there's no need to max out your RAM. Get 4GB (or if you really want, 8GB, since it's relatively cheap nowadays) and be done with it.

 

Unless you have a workstation laptop or a gaming laptop that happens to have 4 DIMM slots, you will most likely only be able to max out at 8GB (maybe 16GB if you want to but 8GB sticks).

What laptop are we talking about here?

 

I'm looking at the dell vostro 3550, one more thing...the i5 processor say that its: Intel Core i5-2430M (2.40GHz, 3MB Cache) whereas the i7 says: 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2640M processor 2.80 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.50 GHz


Does that mean that the i5 is not 2nd gen and it won't have the turbo boost?

 

They're trying to hype up the i7 so you'll buy it. For $270, get yourself a 128+ gb SSD and 8gb RAM, you'll notice the performance improvement there much more than you would with an extra 400 mhz.

 

All second-gen i-series have a four-digit number (iX-xxxx), so the i5 mentioned is a second-gen and will have TurboBoost. According to Intel, the i5-2430M can go up to 3GHz.

You honestly will not notice the difference between the i5 and i7 in this case. You'll be better off spending that $270 on either a better display (since Vostros only come with garbage 1366*768 displays, you'll have to look at the Latitude line for either 1600*900 or 1920*1080) and/or a SSD to dramatically speed up your computer (most slow downs experienced by users are usually data storage-related).

Short answer: It's not worth $270. As Syberya pointed out, Dell just wants you to buy it for the profit margin.

 

Awesome, you guys are great! thanks a bunch everyone

 

the i7 2640M is indeed a glorified i5.
Not worth it.
For what you mentioned though, I would rather get the 2630QM or 2670QM (those are the quad cores).
And those entry level i7 Quads from Sandy Bridge lineup are effectively often cheaper in the CPU pick list than the dual core i7's (which are severely overpriced).
The difference in terms of speed though will almost be night and day when it comes to CPU intense tasks that can use all 4 cores (plus, you will partly be able to future-proof yourself, and games will love it - if you use at least a mid-range gpu for them).

Maybe you should fill out the FAQ on the main forum to give you a better idea on what you can get in your price range.