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    i7 vs T9900

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by iamthealex, Jul 30, 2009.

  1. iamthealex

    iamthealex Newbie

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    Intel® T9900 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 3.06GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt
    OR
    Intel Core i7 Quad (Nehalem) 920 2.66GHz 8MB Cache 130W

    So..
    Quad > C2D
    or
    3GHZ > 2.6GHZ

    I understand that most applications don't use 4 cores, but will most processing not even hit the 2.6ghz ceiling anyway? If my computing/video-editing/gaming won't be bottlenecked by the 2.6ghz, then I will go with the quad.
    But, if the missing .4ghz is a big loss, then... I don't know.

    Is it smart to "Future-proof"?
     
    iamthealex, Jul 30, 2009
    #1
  2. 1chaoticadult

    1chaoticadult Notebook Consultant

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    i7 Quad. i7 not only has four physical cores but also hyperthreading similar to the old p4.
     
    1chaoticadult, Jul 30, 2009
    #2
  3. Kamin_Majere

    Kamin_Majere =][= Ordo Hereticus

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    With the exception that it uses almost 4 TIMES THE POWER the i7 is superior to the t9900 in every single way.

    The 2.6 quad will more than make up for its 400mHz lack of clock with better efficency and hyperthreading and its lack of FSB. Its generally just better.

    But then again its a Desktop CPU stuck in a laptop, so go figure its better :p
     
    Kamin_Majere, Jul 30, 2009
    #3
  4. iamthealex

    iamthealex Newbie

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    I don't want to simply give into the "megahertz myth".
    While clock rates are a valid way of comparing the performance of different speeds of the same model and type of processor, other factors such as pipelines and instruction sets can greatly affect the performance when considering different processors.
    And honestly, I don't know anything specific about these processors.
    Will the i7 superior technology compensate completely for the lower clock speed?
    EDIT: Didn't see the above post.
     
    iamthealex, Jul 30, 2009
    #4
  5. TevashSzat

    TevashSzat Notebook Deity

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    Yes by a mile. There is a reason you don't really compare Core 2 Duos to Pentium 4s.
     
    TevashSzat, Jul 30, 2009
    #5
  6. iamthealex

    iamthealex Newbie

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    Thanks so much!
    Going with the Sager NP9280 (Built on Clevo D900F) with the i7.
     
    iamthealex, Jul 30, 2009
    #6
  7. davidkneiber

    davidkneiber Notebook Consultant

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    Just get a desktop that way u can upgrade later and with the money saved grab a netbook
     
    davidkneiber, Jul 30, 2009
    #7
  8. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    With gaming there will be little difference.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jul 30, 2009
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  9. ramgen

    ramgen -- Morgan Stanley --

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    Desktop CPU in a laptop? That sounds like a truck engine in a car. :) I would never consider to buy that...


    --
     
    ramgen, Jul 31, 2009
    #9
  10. JDELUNA

    JDELUNA Notebook Deity

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    Here is your Truck engine in a car. Enjoy and God Bless :)

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015
    JDELUNA, Jul 31, 2009
    #10
  11. bense

    bense Notebook Geek

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    nissan puts the same 3.5 dohc v6 in many cars from trucks to 350z
    most gm sports cars have v8s that are found in trucks
    i'm not familiar with the latest mustang 3valve/cylinder engine, but ford used to put the 302 in EVERYTHING.
     
    bense, Aug 1, 2009
    #11
  12. SoundOf1HandClapping

    SoundOf1HandClapping Was once a Forge

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    I wonder how many tickets that car gets a week.
     
    SoundOf1HandClapping, Aug 1, 2009
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  13. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    i7 is the king right now with everything maxed out. Noway to compare Core2duo and i7.
     
    spradhan01, Aug 1, 2009
    #13
  14. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    While the i7 is superior to the Core 2 architecture, the differences are not staggering and also there might be only 1% of users that would truly appreciate the benefits. Unless you're doing mathematical calculations, video editing or CPU intensive work majority of your time (ie. work, research, etc.), you won't really feel the benefits of the i7. Most users who game, do day-to-day tasks, study, will not take advantage of the i7 and hence it's not going to be something that requires an upgrade for those who have a relatively recent platform.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 1, 2009
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  15. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Atleast, GTA fan will be happy with their Corei7 as well as to be future proof better get i7.
     
    spradhan01, Aug 1, 2009
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  16. TehSuigi

    TehSuigi Notebook Virtuoso

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    The i7 also has this thing called Turbo Mode that will allow it to overclock cores in 133 MHz increments as long as thermal limits are maintained.
    So that i7 could also top 3 GHz by overclocking itself automatically, thus rendering the argument moot.
     
    TehSuigi, Aug 1, 2009
    #16
  17. ajreynol

    ajreynol Notebook Virtuoso

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    i7 = epic.

    that is all.
     
    ajreynol, Aug 2, 2009
    #17
  18. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Personally, I think Core was way more epic (over Pentium) than i7 was to Core 2.
     
    sgogeta4, Aug 2, 2009
    #18
  19. Undertaxxx

    Undertaxxx Notebook Consultant

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    the i7 is easy to overclock too, so doesn't matter
     
    Undertaxxx, Aug 2, 2009
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  20. anothergeek

    anothergeek Equivocally Nerdy

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    Conroe was epic.
     
    anothergeek, Aug 2, 2009
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  21. IntelUser

    IntelUser Notebook Deity

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    The current i7's only increase by 133MHz in 4 cores and 266MHz in 1 core so its not a lot. And its not conventional overclocking since there are restrictions based on how many cores are active.

    This is essentially the easier to implement version of the "reverse HT" rumor that was going around.
     
    IntelUser, Aug 2, 2009
    #21
  22. newbiecomp

    newbiecomp Notebook Consultant

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    On the other hand though, I wonder how long "thermal limits" can be maintained in a laptop though, no?

    Just my 2 cents :D
     
    newbiecomp, Aug 2, 2009
    #22
  23. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    If they have more aggressive turbo modes like the i5 it could be as much as 400 or so MHz.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Aug 2, 2009
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  24. IntelUser

    IntelUser Notebook Deity

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    First I'll mention that i5's are the quad cores with no HT but dual cores with HT, and in Notebooks, even dual cores will be named i7 depending on the SKUs.

    Now back to the topic. The baseline clock speeds of the quad-core, i7 Clarksfield is pretty low. The speeds are.

    Core i7 920XM-2.0GHz/8MB L3
    Core i7 820QM-1.8GHz/8MB L3
    Core i7 720QM-1.6GHz/6MB L3

    The secret behind this low clock is of course, Turbo Mode. The 2.0GHz will be able to clock up to 3.2GHz in single core operation, and I'm thinking max dual core operation will very likely be 2.93GHz, with max quad core at 2.4GHz.

    And unlike Bloomfield, Lynnfield/Clarksfield/Clarkdale/Arrandale will ALL be able to power gate the cores, I/O, and the L3 cache to turn them off in idle. In Bloomfield, only the cores are power gated and rest are not.
     
    IntelUser, Aug 4, 2009
    #24