Processor Differences

Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.4-3.5GHz

and

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz

Is there a noticable performance difference between these two processors?

 

for gaming... no, because your vid card will be the bottleneck for 99% of games

The 2760 is a gen 2 sandy bridge while the 2630 is a gen 1. The 2760 will be better power optimzed and will stay in turbo longer so its definitely the better CPU. But you don't need it as the 2630qm is already quite powerful for most tasks

 

also the 2670qm support 1600mhz ram

 

20% faster is a whole generation difference - everything including the video card, the RAM to the HDD/SSD will work better and more efficiently.

What will you use the system for? For how long?

If the price increase is less (%-wise) than the performance increase: don't ignore this 'easy' upgrade, imo.

 

Sorry was at work

I'll be using the system for Maya 2012, Mudbox, Photoshop, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Swtor, Possibly Skyrim.

The price of those two processors is almost 200 dollars on Malibals website I know that I could get it for much less via ebay (shurlyfu-Thanks to slickdude), if i really wanted to get more bang for my buck. Which who doesn't?

https://www.malibal.com/boutique/pc/Reconfigure.asp?price=2517&idproduct=283&idconf=7403&act=placeOrder

This is a link to my current Malibal build, which is the company im currently learning towards since I get the lowest price labtop w/ warranty and free shipping.

 

Its not entirely correct: both are the same technology and the same generation (there is no 2nd gen sandy bridge).
There is no difference in efficiency.
The main differences are:
- 2.4Ghz instead of 2.0Ghz on 4 cores
- 11x turbo instead of 9x turbo on max
- +200Mhz on the GPU
- TXT and VT-d support
- 1600 Mhz RAM support, if the mainboard supports it
- a bucketload of money

Will you feel the difference: if you don't need the VT-d support, in one word: NO. The 2630 is insanely fast.

 

No, no noticeable performance difference whatsoever. The past 15 years of computing have shown that small incremental changes in CPU clock speed do not affect real-world performance.

If you want better gaming, the bottleneck will be the GPU. If you want better application performance, the bottleneck will be at storage system (HDD / SSD). If you could get this CPU upgrade for free, certainly get it. But if you are asking whether it is worth the money, the answer is "no". Save that money and spend it somewhere else that will actually make a difference (like an SSD).

 

Thanks i'll get the 2670 and save my moneyzzzz

 

ok, let me restate...the 2670, 2760, 2860, and 2960 are the refresh of the sandy bridge processors. Features and faster speeds aside, They are better power optimized than the original sandy's (2630, 2720, 2820, 2920).

 

I noticed you went with the 485m. Just a headsup...dell has dropped the price of the 580m to only $75 over the 6990m. This may be something to look at

 

What power optimizations do they use and what are your sources? They are from the exact same silicon...

 

Yeah slickdude I noticed that. Currently after reading around I'm back to leaning towards Alienware again as I can get the system I want for about 2500 dollars with aftermarket SSD /16 gb ram and the 2 year advanced warranty. Oh that also included the 580m.