i7-620 vs i7-840 (In a laptop)

Hi all,

I am looking to pick up a new laptop and I am trying to decide between these 2 processors. This is a gaming/programming machine.

My main concerns with each are:

620 - only dual core. I don't want the laptop out dated in 6 months. Is this a reason for concern?

840 - Power and heat. Will it make that much of a difference?

Thanks for any help!

 

Does cost matter? Do you care about battery life? For CPU intensive programs, the 840QM will perform noticeably faster but of course it will cost you higher power consumption and hence heat. How much heat you feel depends on the abilities of your laptop's cooling.

 

Cost does not matter, it is only 200 bucks more. I am looking at getting a Sager NP8690. I more often then not will have a plug handy when using it and will be getting an extra battery also.

I just do not want the power to drop for say 90 min of juice to 45 min or something like that. As for heat/cooling, I was going on just the stock fans in the laptop. Maybe one of those coolers if needed but prefer not to. especially when traveling with the lap top.

 

you will not need a cooler on the 8690 with an 840qm
if price is not a concern then definitely go with the 840.
in term of the i7 quads i think the 840 gives you the best bang for buck.
the 620 is also a very capable cpu and wont be outdated in 6 months; could be a different story though if you consider its viability in a year or so.

 

If you're looking for battery life, this is not the unit to get. These were built with cooling and performance in mind first. Even with a 620, I doubt you get an hour of actual use. My w870cu gets about 40 of actual use before completely draining the battery.

 

I am not SUPER concerned with power. As I said most of the time I will be plugged in. That being said I don't want to have to be plugged in 24/7 and burn my lap/table from heat.

 

the i7-840.. best option.. and really ur laptop will not burn.

 

Dude these newer chips are super efficient.Dont sacrifice a beasty quad core for power and heat.Dual core will not last more than 6months(as u said).
I wud easily recommend a quad core over dual core anytime!

 

Actually, the i7-840QM is still old 45nm technology (it's just a speed bump of the i7-820QM from last summer).

ParityBit, if $200 means little to you, then go with the quad-core. It's going to be a little slower at single and dual threaded applications, a little faster at applications with 3 threads and a lot faster at those with 4 or more threads. You won't get much battery life out of that machine either way.

 

I know its a 45nm chip,but its not an i5 to have 32nm,btw newer chips means the way they work is EFFICIENT-dont worry your single/dual threaded apps will also work better and efficient than a comparable core 2 duo.