Looking to upgrade 3820TG with an i7 620M ES..

Hello,

I am looking to upgrade the processor in my 3820TG from the stock i3 370m to something else. I looked around and wasn't 100% sure if I should go for a cheaper i5 or look for an i7 until I came across this engineering sample:

Auctiva Image Hosting

Now this is obviously no "normal" 620M because it's clock speed is at 2.4 compared to the 2.67 it should be. And also, CPU-Z is saying, at least on the screenshot, that the CPU has got a TDP of 25W, while all other mobile Arrandale CPUs have got a TDP of 35W.

So, I am now curious if anybody has had experience with this ES before, how likely it is that the 25W TDP is genuine and not just a mistake in CPU-Z and what exactly it would mean for performance/battery life? I guess over-clocking would be impossible with that TDP?
Also, finally, where should I expect this one to come in performance-wise. Would it still be better than an i5 580M?

 

Is it significantly cheaper than the i5? Pesonally, I would go for the i5 580M due to clockspeed advantage (it should be able to sustain 3.06GHz with load on both CPU cores - same turbo speed for a regular 620M). As far as I know there isn't any difference between i5 and i7 CPUs in that generation. Also, CPU upgrades are not often needed. Do you do video encoding/processing or similar activity that produces 100% CPU usage?

 

Yes, it is. It costs me about 75€ while the cheapest i5 I could find on ebay was around 100, and even more for an i5 580m.

And I need an upgrade because I've started to use my notebook for some dual-monitoring fun. Having a game running on one monitor while surfing, watching videos etc. on the other has turned out to be quite taxing on the CPU, usually getting me to 75%+ load.

To be honest while I am going to replace my laptop at the end of this year anyway, I am just curious about this ES because it's different from a normal 620M.

 

I would say go for it. Unless it can't do turbo or something.

 

I would steer clear of ES CPUs. First of all they're property of Intel, therefore cannot be sold (technically though they are sold all the time, the rule is not enforced). A bigger issue with ES CPUs is that they are not production models. Some of them may run at higher voltages, have disabled features, or have not-finalized micro code. The odds are such that you could get a perfect CPU too, with no flaws. Just realize there's a risk.

There is little difference between the dual-core i5 and i7 CPUs as namaiki noted. The i7 has 4MB cache where the i5 has 3MB - which makes no perceptible difference - and the i7 has a slight clockspeed advantage, which again isn't noticeable. I would look for an i5-560M or an i5-580M, preferably the 580M. Neither CPU will be significantly faster than your i3-370M, which is surprisingly potent. If you are pushing the processor usage that much (100% usage for extended periods of time), then you'd be better served looking into a new notebook. Personally I would put the upgrade money towards a faster storage drive - namely, an SSD.