ULV vs Mobile vs Quad-core Mobile

So I'm shopping for a new laptop and I basically understand the differences between the different types of intel processors, but I'm struggling to decide which one I want to go with. I'd like a thin and light laptop, but I might be willing to sacrifice for a bulkier/heavier laptop with more performance. Especially since I've seen quite a few of the Mobile and Quad-Core Mobile devices get even better battery life than the ULV devices. This kind of seems to defeat part of the purpose of a ULV device if a Mobile or Quad-Core Mobile device gets better battery life.

So my primary question is, how much performance difference will I really see between ULV, Mobile, and Quad-Core mobile for various applications? I mean everything from web browsing, to programming/compiling, to video encoding. I've seen the passmark benchmarks ( http://www.cpubenchmark.net/), but heard that they're not so reliable for comparing these types of things. Is there a better benchmark out there so I can decide if I want a thin and light with slow ULV, or a slightly heavier Quad-Core mobile that has even better battery life?

 

Video encoding, programming/compiling and even web browsing is greatly enhanced with a true multi-core cpu.

Forget ULV for your usage scenario.

Get the lightest QC with the biggest battery you can find for the best price.


(Don't think that you'll surpass ULV based systems in maximum battery life when used at full tilt though...).


Good luck.

 

Depending on the usage scenario, the difference will go from minimal to much better. At the same clock speeds, I have some workloads that process almost twice as fast on a quad core, add to that the higher clock speeds and for things like video encoding, you'll be saving a lot of time. A quad core under full use will suck your battery dry very fast, but then, ideally, you're not supposed to use the battery to do CPU intensive stuff, be it on a ULV or Quad Core CPU.

 

...and then you have the GPU. A lot of video encoding software today makes use of GPGPU. If you could specify what your requirements are and what software you would use, that could help answer your question better.

 

So really I don't have any specific requirements for the processor. This computer would basically just be for personal use most of the time. So at least 75% I could be plugged in to an outlet, but battery life is one of those things; when you need it...you need it. Again the vast majority of use will probably be basic web browsing, office software, etc... but I'm an aero engineer/pilot so in the past I always seem to find myself running some complex MATLAB program, CAD software, flight simulator just to name a few. As another person mentioned, I find even web browsing experience to be better on a more powerful machine.

So I know that a ULV could run MATLAB, flight sim, etc, but I'm just trying to get a feel for what kind of performance I'd be missing. So as for video encoding, I've done some of that in the past as well, but don't really have plans to do it right now. I was using that as an example of a cpu intensive task that I may theoretically run. I don't have a need for a dedicated video card, although it seems quad-core laptops often include one, but still manage better battery life than the ULV's without dedicated graphics. For those tasks that require the full power of the computer, I'd almost always be plugged in to an outlet.

 

If you are plugged in most of the time and aren't looking to heavy gaming, you could get a mainstream 15.6 laptop with a decent quad core processor. You don't need ULV. Those are for people that you'd probably see on every one of the flights you are in charge of after you graduate.

 

Here are my 2 primary options:

Samsung ATIV Book 8:
Samsung ATIV Book 8 15.6" TouchScreen Laptop 8GB Memory 1TB Hard Drive NP880Z5E-X01UB - Best Buy

Lenovo W530:
ThinkPad W530 Portable Workstation | Lenovo (US)

Any other good ideas out there for Quad-Core mobile with solid battery life?

 

I have a M11x which has a ULV and my M18x is full out. Forget about anything with a ULV unless you just do email and surf the web, even if just the chance of running one of the programs you mentioned above is .ooo1%. You'll be there all night waiting for something to get accomplished.

 

You could also look at the Apple Macbook Pro and Dell Precision M4700 to give you other points of comparison for (respectively) a consumer product and a business workstation. Personally, I have a Lenovo Thinkpad W530 and have been very satisfied with it, both in performance and battery life. Additionally (and this is a point in favor of buying a workstation), if I wanted really epic battery life, I could get an extra slice battery and plug it in to the dock connector for double the battery life. I haven't needed to do that so far, but I like that the option is there.

 

First, thanks to everyone for setting me on the right track of getting a more powerful laptop that will actually be useful to me rather than a thin and light.

So I currently have a home-built desktop that still works great for me with an i7-920 overclocked, but it is aging. I'm not a gamer, but more of an enthusiast I guess, but now that I'm growing up I don't feel the need to mess around so much with water cooling and all that. What is your take on using a laptop like the W530 or Samsung ATIV BOOK 8 to replace the desktop? I'm thinking about some type of docking station but don't have much experience using them. I currently run a dual monitor setup (no 4k displays or anything crazy) and have quite a few USB peripherals, but I'm thinking this laptop could perform just as well or better than my current desktop.

On another note, just how portable is the W530? I don't think I'll get to see one in a store before a purchase, because they are hard to find, but is this something that I could use during air travel to watch movies etc?? Surely not it's intended purpose, but I'd like to believe it would work well for this.

Ultimately, if this works, I think I'll end up with a powerful laptop to replace the desktop, and then buy a more mobile device, maybe a tablet, that I could use for consumption of movies, etc, when traveling or lounging around the house.

Other options I'm now looking into:
Lenovo T530
ThinkPad T530 Laptop | Lenovo (US)

Lenovo E531 or E431
ThinkPad Edge E531 | Small Business Laptop Optimized for Windows 8 | | Lenovo (US)
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/edge-series/e431/#techspecs

 

You don't mention how high you've OC'd but I'm pretty sure that any IB or Haswell based QC system with more than 8GB RAM and an SSD will completely change your perception of what 'performance' looks like today.

And in a W530 chassis - it will be just as usable as your desktop has been; until you decide to sell/give it away (sometime in 2018 or later...).

Especially if you're already sold on a secondary 'more mobile device' for media consumption - the workstation class W530 is the right direction imo.

See:
ThinkPad W530 Portable Workstation | Lenovo (US)


The T series gives minimal weight savings while also limiting you (max RAM, for example) in others (vs. the W530). The Edge series, while still good/great (vs. other similar notebooks for keyboard, trackpoint and screen (matte) combinations is still a huge step down from either the T or W series... If your budget is allowing considering the W series... I think you may be underwhelmed with anything less.

I would suggest though to wait for the Haswell based systems to appear before purchasing (Lenovo just introduced three desktops based on Haswell on Tuesday...) - buying last years tech at full cost is just wrong when the new generation is/will be available imminently.

Also highly recommend a higher than the standard 1x1 b/g/n wireless option in anything you buy. If an AC card (especially an Intel 7260...) is offered by Lenovo I would grab that no questions asked (note that Lenovo 'whitelists' the components you can upgrade to). Specifically; you should be looking at an a/b/g/n 2x2 wireless solution (or higher...).


Hope some of this helps.


Good luck.

 

I built the desktop a while ago but I'm overclocked to 4Ghz with i7-920, with 18gb ram and a 256gb intel SSD. I'd probably use the SSD from my current setup in the laptop (assuming it's compatible).

I'm mentally struggling to hold out for haswell, but I have no pressing need to rush into buying so I'll probably wait. Any word on when a haswell quad core will be in a ThinkPad? I've seen them in a few other vendor's consumer products.

You're not the first person to recommend upgrading the WiFi card; I'm just curious as to the reason for this? Better reception? Data throughput?

Thanks for the clarification about the other Lenovo models, I was intrigued by the docking capability of the Edge series, but the RAM limitation is really a turn-off. I leaning toward the W530 anyway, but the samsung ativ book 8 seems more mobile, although far less upgradable. Any takes on using the W530 in a mobile scenario, such as airline flights, coffee shops? As far as durability, everyone seems to say thinkpad are the way to go; how would durability compare to the samsung?

 

So I'm getting the impression that the haswell lineup may not be updated until sometime in september. I called and talked to Lenovo and they were willing to give me an extra $100 off in addition the 20% off I get with military discount for 4th of July sale. Unfortunately the sale ends today, so if I'm gonna go for it I need to decide.

Any last tips? Do they do sales like this often?

 

If you can wait; wait.

Rushing into a new (but already old platform) purchase is never wise.

Sales? Yeah - they offer them almost continuously - the trick is to be able to coincide the sales to your needs.


Myself? I would be waiting for a Haswell based platform at this point in time (which is exactly what I am doing - and have recommended many clients to do too).

 

Like Tiller said, Lenovo has sales pretty much constantly. What differs is what's on sale and how much the discount is. I purchased my W530 during a 25% off sale, which is pretty much the best deal they have on a rotating basis. Regarding the upcoming Haswell systems, there's one bit of design change that Lenovo did for the T440s that they might carry over to their other Haswell systems: getting rid of physical touchpad & trackpoint buttons. Personally, this would be a dealbreaker for me as i can't stand clickpads, but your preferences may vary. Haswell is likely to increase the battery life while keeping performance around the same, so it's worth it for that reason. However, if you want physical touchpad & trackpoint buttons, I'd stick with the W530.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. I went ahead and jumped on the deal and purchased the W530; the customer service rep told me that I had 30 days to return it if the Haswell update gets announced during that time. Otherwise I definitely like the physical touchpad buttons and I doubt any Haswell performance difference will be noticed by me. More battery life is always nice, but I haven't seen many people talk about great power efficiency of the Haswell quad-cores; more so for the ULV's.

Next I'll be intending to install my 250gb samsung 840 ssd in the laptop, and probably replace the DVD drive with a hard drive bay. Most importantly I'll need the docking station; if anyone knows the best place for a good deal I'd appreciate it. The slice battery is also something I'm interested in, although I'll wait until I feel like I need it. I don't normally buy extended warranties, but any tips on whether I should extend it? I used american express, so they should cover it for 1 additional year already.

My only regret now is that I still have a perfectly great desktop rig that I don't know what to do with. I could try to sell it, but I doubt I would get much for it (i7-920, 18gb ram, 1TB Hdd, XFX Radeon 5850, liquid cooled in large Thermaltake case). I don't think it would make a very good HTPC, which is something I'm planning on in the future. I guess I could give it to my not so computer savvy parents?

 

As a real note here, you wouldn't be able to notice the performance difference between Haswell and IVB for CPU-bound activities. It's, at best, a 5% architectural gain.

Congratulations on your purchase! The W530 is a great machine, and you can pick up a Slice Battery later if you need to extend the life to 10hrs+.

And, you could sell your desktop, but you're looking at around $600. Probably less, unfortunately. Following your HTPC idea, why not get a mITX board and case, and just sell those? Underclock the 920 to make it run super-cool and quiet on air, and you're laughin'.

 

For a hard drive bay, there are cheaper options, but i got one from NewModeUS, since it perfectly matches the design of the notebook and also has an activity light.

At any rate, I hope you will be as happy with your purchase as I am with mine, and feel free to stop by the Lenovo forum to see a lot more about the W530.

 

Thanks for the tip about the HDD bay, are there any other options for the docking station? The best I've found is on ebay for around $175.

 

Someone will have to confirm, but if it's like Dell, docks for previous W series will work. It's at least worth checking if it's the case. Also the dock you saw might come with an extra PSU.

 

You need to have the correct power supply rating, so that means the dock for 170W power supply. And @bmather9, I see one selling on ebay for $160, which is the least expensive I have seen it. Lenovo's price is $270 and Amazon has it for $207.

@tijo, it is the same dock as for the W520 & W510. It's just still expensive.

 

Wow, yeah, that is expensive, considering you can get a Dell dock for a lot less on eBay, sure it won't be the latest model and won't have USB3.0, but still, I paid 40$ + shipping for mine.

 

Any chance I could buy this dock that comes with the 90w adapter, and use my 170w adapter with it? Or is there actually something different about the 90w dock vs the 170w dock other than the power adapter it comes with?

Lenovo ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 433815U New Now with USB 3 0 | eBay