Mobile Processors and GPU: Best for the bucks

Hey guys, just wondering. I wonder what mobile processor is worth the bucks? I hear the mobile i7 is a rip off. also its not that great processor like around 1.6
Ghz or something? So which mobile processor is good?

Also which GPU is better for laptops? Nvidia or Ati and is SLI or Crossfire a good idea for laptops?

This is what I plan to do:

Obviously gaming, entertainment, internet, socializing, 3D modeling, simulation, physics simulation, HE Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Data crunching, Algorithms, Programming (both High and Low Level), image/video analysis, conversion of natural algorithms (Image, Audio, Video into pure data), research/analysis maybe on the unknown/unseen/beyond (hard to explain ), being able to customize and create specialized functions, hacking/cracking/modifying, etc.

I mean really does the mobile i7 HT and Turbo really help? I mean the heating is the issue you know. Also can a quad core do better? What about the extreme dual cores. Also the Nvidia 280GT looks slick

Also, just wondering, which laptop comes with all these parts

 

If you're looking for a particular laptop config, maybe post in the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" subforum and filling out the FAQ there?

 

I did, got answers, but not satisfying...its called what notebook i should get for aerospace engineering..like i mean idk which processor and GPU is better so yeah i asked here..for some reason some guy called me a troll and im like wtd

 

"Better" is different from "bang for the buck". Bang for the buck means you're getting the most value performance wise for the price you're paying. most of the time the best "bang for the buck" isn't near the top performers, but either in the mid and sometimes even lower tier hardware.

So are you looking for pure performance or the best value for your dollar?

 

The mobile quad-core i7s aren't exactly a ripoff, but like any other line of CPUs in the history of CPUs, price increases exponentially while cost increases linearly, so the high-end CPUs are never great value for money.

The best bang for buck typically happens much more towards the low end of the range for CPUs; something like the i5-430M or even the core i3s. For GPUs, the midrange ones tend to offer the best bang for buck. However, whether or not a higher CPU or GPU is worth it to you can't be decided simply based on performance/price ratio, because there's no reason the extra performance wouldn't be worth more to you than the extra initial outlay.

 

Best bang for buck - i720qm
- ATI 5870

 

IIRC, the 520M was the threshold CPU where after that gains in performance were very minimal for the price increases in most uses(but of course heavy applications will always benefit from more horsepower).

 

Not really, no. First of all, how can you really judge which mobile GPU is the best bang for buck when you're not even sure how much they cost?
In my opinion, the HD 5650 is probably the best bang for buck because the Acer AS5740G has that card at around the $750 mark, while the cheapest laptop with the HD 5850 is the MSI GX640 at ~$1100, and then the Sager NP8690 has the HD 5870 at ~$1300. However, without knowing the individual prices of the cards I can't say.

As for the i7-720QM, well, the various QS CPUs available on eBay for the i7-720QM, from $200, are solid bang-for-buck, but the i3-330M for $125 on eBay at the moment is still quite competitive in that regard. On the other hand, in a retail system you're generally paying much more to get the i7-720QM.

 

Idk...if i need performance badly then performance, if not then back for the bucks..like i stated what i wanted to do so can u help me, cause i just don't know..i dun't wanna waste cash or get ripped off.

So the stuff i wanna do, would more cores help? and would more threads help? Also yeah quad cores are sick

So would the things i wanna do benefit from it? by heavy do u mean graphic heavy, ram heavy?

 

CPU heavy, obviously. As for quad-core, well, a few of those tasks you listed would probably be able to use four cores; a smaller number would be able to use them effectively.
In many cases, something other than the CPU is going to bottleneck you.

 

True_Sultan, you're not "wasting cash" if you're profiting from the extra power on a daily basis. However if you don't need the power, then yes, it is wasted money.

Looking at your uses, only number crunching and encoding would really profit from a stronger CPU and even then, none of your uses strike me as needing that much CPU power so much as it warrants making those things faster due to a faster CPU.

As for the GPU, well as stated, if gaming is your priority then you're looking for power more than "bang for the buck".

 

Yes now I'm getting it, also @ Forever I see what you mean, but I mean would i7 still be a good choice (my prince range for a notebook is 800-2500) so I know i might not need it, but will it help me in the future? Don't you need a strong CPU for algorithms, 3D rendering and research on HE Physics and stuff like the unknown?

Also @lackofcheese, I know it also depends on RAM and GPU, so which ones would u consider? I want to buy it at a store but as a last resort maybe at dell.com

 

If you're the one writing the algorithms, they probably won't benefit from multiple cores unless you write them that way.
3D rendering is one task where quad-cores help quite a bit.
As for HE Physics, well, that depends.
And as for the unknown... it's unknown whether that will benefit from quad-cores ^_~

As Forever said, none of these things will *need* the faster CPU, but some will take less time with a faster CPU

 

I love your reply man so funny . Anyway i see that a faster CPU will speed up process, Im actually looking for stability, power, speed, and future proof CPU's and GPU's. So do you see what I mean. So i think a Quad core should be fine, unless you find a reason for me to opt for an i7. Also is an SLI laptop a good idea or should i go for single GC laptops?

 

An i7 *is* a quad core Or were you talking about the older Core 2 Quads?

SLI/Crossfire is most effective in games that support it.

 

Well, all the i7s are quad-cores apart from the i7-620M. If you're buying a newer system and you want it to be quad-core, it will probably be an i7 anyway. The biggest advantage with the current i7s over previous quad-cores is the ability to switch off two cores and boost the remaining two up to higher clock speeds, which means they don't lose horribly to dual-cores whenever there isn't any need for four cores. However, despite this, the fastest mobile dual-core, the i7-620M, is still a faster CPU overall than the i7-720QM, which is the slowest quad-core i7.

Don't concern yourself with futureproofing, because keeping the extra money and using it to buy a second computer earlier is the best form of futureproofing anyway.

As for dual-card laptops, I wouldn't recommend it. They're generally going to be a lot larger and heavier, with much poorer battery life.

 

Isn't the 640M also a dual?

But yeah, most i7s are quad cores.

I agree that you just buy what you need now with a bit of legroom and save up some money for so-called "futureproofing"

 

If you want a good balance between power and cost (and the programs you use can utilize multiple threads), the best choice would be the i7-820QM. If your programs aren't optimized or the cost is too high, consider the i5-540M. Similarly, are you using any software that will take advantage of GPU acceleration and what games do you want to play (and at what settings/resolution)? I would fill out the FAQ to see what kind of budget you're looking at, if you want to travel and all those other details to determine the best mix of components for your budget.

 

True, there's actually a whole bunch of i7 dual-cores I forgot about - 8 of them, including the i7-640UM which is probably what you meant. Most of them are low voltage and ultra low voltage chips, though there's also the i7-610E listed on Wikipedia, which is slower than the i7-620M but seems to have support for ECC memory. It would be easiest to say that all of the i7s apart from the i7-600 series are quads.

 

I just say the core i with 700+ numbers are Quad lol

 

Nice rule of thumb. It works even for the desktop i5-750, which would be the odd one out otherwise.