i7-720QM versus P8700 for audio production

Hey,
I'm trying to find out which laptop cpu will be better for what I'm going to be using it for. I'm looking at 2 machines, one with an Intel i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB) and another with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3MB cache). I'm going to be using this laptop for professional audio production, running a large number of vst's within the programs Cubase and Ableton. I'm not sure if the turbo boost technology will be better or not for this type of application. Is it better to go with a faster dual core for music production or will the slower quad core work as good or better even if the program doesn't utilize the turbo boost? Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks in advance,
Scott

 

Turboboost should work no matter what, since the i7 will clock itself up the less cores it uses.

For any kind of encoding or editing, an i7 would be the worthwhile investment.

 

720QM hands down. As Forge said, turbo boost is automatic, it'll work even if the program doesn't know it exists.

 

720QM third(ed?).

 

Thanks guys. I'm still getting my head around how different aspects of processor technology work together. What about between the i5-520M processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93 GHz and the i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz? I would guess the i7-720QM is better but I don't know how to compare them. Is it better because the L2 cache is twice as large? Thanks again.
-scott

 

The less-than-"720"-ix CPUs are dual-core or single-core. While they have hyperthreading which makes them a faux quad or dual, they're not as good as a true quad core like the 720QM and its betters.

I don't understand it completely myself, but the newer technology incorporated into the i7s make them superior clock-for-clock over the C2D/Qs.

For your use, which is power-dependent, I'd still saw the quad i7s are the best bet for you. The dual-core i7s are more balanced for power and ease-of-use (lower TDP, integrated graphics, etcetera).

 

i dropped (on the desktop side) a quadcore 4x2.4ghz in favour of an i5 dual core. thanks to the hyperthreading and overclocking, it balances very well to any audio production needs. audio production software is often bad at multithreading (or can't, for logical reasons, if stuff depends on each other), and the overclocking on singlecores is great, then. it dances around my quadcore now well, not now, as i killed it's mainboard

instead of an i7, maybe consider an i5, if it can clock higher. at least in my case (ableton live), that helps for quite some situations.

another thing important for audio production: imagine some audio effect, some plugin, vsti or what ever using for a very short stroke "too much cpu". it would result in a short stutter/drop out of the audio signal. in case of the i7, it might be able to overclock that short time to give enough juice to still handle it well. very nice in a live performance setup nobody in the club likes drop outs

 

Thanks guys. I think I'm going with an HP Dv7t (i7-720QM).

 

I'm still too tired to explain but I'm fairly sure a i7-620M would give fairly similar if not better performance than a i7-720QM in Ableton Live. But yeah, if your choice is really just P8700 or i7-720QM, go for the quad.