i7 720QM vs 820QM

I wonder if it's really worth it. Is it only going to affect such a small percent that it's not very noticeable?

So you use a program that stresses the CPU, will you notice very much difference?

Also, what about the 8mb vs 6mb thing? What does that really help with?

 

What applications are you using on your notebook? Unless you know that your programs are CPU intensive and multithreaded, the difference isn't worth it.

 

Overall, the 820QM is ~15% better than the 720QM(factoring in the Turbo Boost too) according to some benchmarks posted in one of the various i7 threads here on NBR(which I am too lazy to check, but will post back with the actual benchmarks later).

Therefore, IMO the 820QM isn't worth its upgrade price in terms of performance increase for most manufacturers offering it.

 

For some people 15% might not be worth it. For others, 15% makes a huge difference. I will be paying for the 820QM, because to me, it is worth it. As sgogeta4 said, it depends on what you're doing with the notebook.

 

There was clearly an "IMO"(i.e. an "In My Opinion") stated before that sentence. Therefore, I am not stating it as fact, but as my own personal opinion that 15% boost is not a justification to the exponential price tag. If he needs it, then by all means, he can get it. But honestly, 15% is rarely something one needs more so than it's something that will ease or help. I doubt there are tasks which would bottleneck a 720QM and suddenly work on a 820QM. Therefore, it's not a "need" so much as it's helping in being more productive(ex: shaving off time for certain processing tasks).

To me, price increases have to somewhat reflect performance increases which is ironic considering half of upgrades aren't this logical. The 820QM will outperform the 720QM, I have never said otherwise. I agree that it all depends on what the end user is doing, but I also know for a fact that lots of people buy without actually knowing their needs.

 

Until high-end Arrandale takes over the 720QM.

 

And I dont see a dual core outpacing a quad core on heavily threaded apps IntelUser. Arrandale is dual-core only.

The Clarksfield refresh will kill the current ones, but not for now.

As for the OP question. The 820QM indeed is faster, better, and pricier. Now, if you ask me, is it worth it? I say no.
The 720QM can do the same but slightly slower, and for A LOT less money, but this is just me speaking.

If you really need the extra CPU power, go for the 820QM.

 

Whoa there.. Relax buddy, I agreed with you. I know it was your opinion, and I was just stating mine. For me it's worth it. For most people, probably not. It's all good!

 

We are talking about a 1.6GHz quad core vs a 2.66GHz dual core. That 65%+ clock speed difference between the two is more than enough for Arrandale to be at worst, on par with 720QM. There's a reason the high end Arrandale SKU will cost as it will and at the same time, not see a quad core 32nm on the roadmap.

OP: If the laptop manufacturers only charged you the extra costs Intel's pricing would have had for 720QM over 820QM, it would have been worth it to get the 820QM. The problem is most of them charge more than twice the difference, don't they?

 

But the 2.66GHz+TB it could be, but for what they are meant to do, I dont see Arrandale outrunning Clarksfield on heavily threaded apps, and thats the reason to get a Clarksfield.

An i7q (my naming, for quad core and i7d for dual core) will not beat on single threads or dual threads, but on heavy threads it does outrun the i7d. It has 2 more cores, and 2 HT cores more.

The Clarksfield refresh is with Sandy Bridge.

 

The 820QM costs $350 as a step up from the 720QM. It is not nearly worth it for most people. And don't forget how fast technology grows, newer faster processors will show up and the current processors will shoot down in cost$$$

 

This depends on your reseller, assuming you're talking about ordering new. For most Sager resellers the upgrade is only $200.

 

Well I know Dell and HP charge $350 to upgrade from the 720 to the 820.

 

Yep, I agree, if it was $350 I wouldn't be upgrading either.

 

Thats a rather large sum of money,

Q9000 FTW. I dont think the i series duals will last 10 seconds against the quads, + the quads sport core shut downs with overclocking so its basically going to end up a higher clocked single/dual/quad anyway depending on what your doing.

 

i7 dual cored can do the same in fact.

But I agree, an i7q will beat an i7d most of the times.