Sandy Bridge - Quad core vs Dual Core for 13" notebook

I'm about to configure an asus u36sd which is known for its slim form factor (0.75"). The configuring options available are an i5-2410m, i7-2630qm,
i7-2720qm, i7-2820qm and i7-2920xm. I want to upgrade to quad core, however I've read that 13" notebooks cannot handle the quad cores heat emissions... especially if the notebook is a 0.75" casing. Should I risk getting the upgrade? Will battery life also be affected if i go from an i5-2410m to any of the i7 quad core processors? Will heat be an issue?

 

Yes heat will be an issue, specially with the u36, go with the duals. if you want a quad in there go for the LG P series

 

Considering they only offer one dual core and four quad core options, then quad shouldn't be a problem, not to mention they offer the i7-2920XM which is a 55W TDP CPU, 2630/2720/2820 45W, and i5-2410m 35W.

You will most likely get best battery life out of the dual core, however with turbo boost it may not make much difference when running idle or doing basic windows tasks, because quad runs at a slower speed at idle. If you're taxing your CPU anyhow, battery life will take a toll whether dual or quad core.

 

I beg to disagree, the dual cores in the last iteration of the U36 couldnt maintain such a thermal headroom for the quads to be a good choice, the temps under load were as always in the safe area (80c+), however I would very much like to be wrong though.

 

Heck, my 17" Sager can barely maintain 80C for my CPU. If they can do that in a 13" chassis, I'd say kudos, good job. I just find it hard to believe they'd make the most power hungry CPU available in the laptop if it couldn't manage the heat. Sandy Bridge runs cooler as well, and turbo boost should help matters too.

 

I think it would be rather unwise getting such power hungry/hot running CPU's in such a slim notebook. The cooling system is probably struggling to cool those CPU's or the fan is probably going to work overtime 24/7 causing the bearing to prematurely fail. Standard 13" laptops maybe, but I still think unwise. Very few 14" if any business laptops offer quad cores for a reason, they have problems even then cooling them.

 

I never understood why companies offer such high end componants in such small systems. They say something along the lines of "maximise your experience with intel core-blah", the truth of it is that if you tax it enough for things like processor speed to make a difference then the whole thing will probably grind to a halt after ten minutes because the cooling system can't handle it. It's even at the point with some laptops where you can get better performance from a lower end processor simply because it doesn't throttle back to monolithic periods due to heat.

 

Marketing 101! Your money = their profits!

 

All great points. Agreed, 100%, monk

 

I don't know. Until I see evidence (i.e. a couple benchmark / thermal results) to the contrary I wouldn't discount it just yet. People are too quick to make assumptions.

 

Alright here are some temperatures of an i7-2820qm inside a 13" chassis.
(click spoiler to see images)

Spoiler

Idle:


Under Load:


Vent Temp:

Personally, 54C seems to high for me at idle.. under load it's not bad.

*Credit GentechPc for pics*

 

@vongola27

I am impressed of the load temperatures. An i7 2820QM under 90c in a 13" chassi is really very cool.

Thanks for sharing this. + Rep for you

 

Im speechless

 

Would the i7-2630qm perform better in temperatures compared to the i7-2820qm since it has a lower clockspeed? Or is that just crazy talk haha

 

I would say yes, if nothing more that a few deg C but yes. In any case a good repasting with a better material would probably do wonders too, maybe even drop load temps by 5-8C.

 

If there was a throttlestop window running at the same time then I'd be more convinced.

 

is this laptop available in the usa?

 

The Asus u36sd is up for preorder at GentechPc and XoticPC. The laptop shown tested with the quad core i7-2820qm is the Asus
u31sd (also a 13" notebook, less than 1" thick) and is available and in stock now at GentechPc. Both have the options upgrading to a quad core cpu.

 

It's the sports car syndrome: Do we really need 450 hp out of a 4 cylinders turbo charged car that seats only two? We are just compelled to push things to the limit.

On the other hand, there is a trickle down of knowledge from creating such beasts.

 

Wonder how your U31SD with quad-core would handle ambient temps of 35+ degrees like seen in some of the Asian countries? That would surely tick it over Tjmax and cause a shutdown OR see it start throttling to lower temps.

 

But sports cars are built to be able to handle the power they have instead of crying when you put your foot down for more than a second.

I'm not entirely convinced that it wasn't throttling already. There's nothing to say it wasn't under heavy chipset modulation.

 

Those countries also like turning the AC up so high that it's freezing indoors and you have to wear a jacket. It usually takes something like a nuclear meltdown to convince them that turning down the AC a little is a good idea.