i7 quad in Envy 15

How does the 1/6 GHz processor stack up against the more traditional core duo? Is it roughly equal to a 2.53 GHz processor? I am just curious. I love windows 7 and might trade my Macbook Pro for one. Anywho, thanks for your help.

 

The i7 quad has 8 threads and in programs that take advantage of it, it could be almost 8x better. Clock speed a poor indicator of performance and hard to really match compared to current C2Ds, especially w/ dynamic overclocking (turbo boost).

 

I'm not even sure what most of that means. Sorry...

 

Hard to say exactly how much better it is without formal benchmarks.

But sgogeta4 is correct in his bottom line, which is that the clock speed is a poor indicator of performance (for example, it was routine to see Pentium 4's running in the 3.4+GHz range, but they were utterly destroyed by the Core Duos that ran at ~1.5Ghz).

 

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2009/09/18/intel-core-i7-for-laptops-first-review

 

hmmmm ok i see I think. Ill have to consider this all and decide what I want to do...

 

Check out Anandtech's review of the QX9300 vs. the i7-920XM.

 

Just think of a car that can go 200 mph. Then think of all the times you'll get an opportunity to actually do so. That's the i7!

 

Ok so it has the power to be super fast, I just have to get to the point to where it will let me. Ok I get it.

 

I hope this laptop owns since it doesnt have an optical drive.
If the heat isn't too much, the battery life turns out to be great, and the gaming rocks, I might still buy it.

 

It is super fast in applications that support multithreading. Most applications don't (most normal tasks like web browsing and documents). Video encoding/editing applications can support it though, making it a major advantage for people who do that type of work.

In everyday use, just multitasking, there isn't a whole lot of improvement to be had. In hardcore, CPU stressing tasks, there is a whole lot of improvement to be had. It depends on what kind of user you are.

 

hmmm ok makes more sense.

 

Any idea when they are coming?
They seem to be a little late to the market.

 

Let me make it simple for you since no one esle can. the procesor is 1.6 put its split into 8 "parts".. now when your doing simple applications video, web, etc it shuts down other processor cores and boost the working ones, for the 1.6 the maximum speed it 2.8 so most likely most of the time you'll be using that speed well at about 2.8 maybe a lil less... when you switch to apps that require more multitasking from the processor it goes into the muti-core state and lowers the speed. But performance wise its better than 2.53.... even tho core 2 duo 2.5ghz is pretty good i7 is the future.... soo dont be scared feel to upgrade from the mac... I tried mac for 4 months hated all the limitations and switched back to pc... with win7 out and envy15 you will still have good slim looks and amazing os, and super fast processor

 

Ok i get it. Sounds like it will be super fast and very good. I don't mind Macs. I've had mine for a good couple of 7 months, but I will always have a place for PC's too. Especially since I can run one soo easily and smoothly.

 

it's roughly a 3 ghz core 2 duo in older single threaded apps because of the turbo mode.
most things nowadays are multithreaded, and in those apps, the 1.6ghz core i7 is a little faster than a 4 ghz core 2 duo

 

Its more powerful but also runs hotter and uses more juice. So ultimately they are not really an even comparison, especially in a laptop.

More interesting for laptops will be the later developments in this generation of CPUs. Right now its basically shoehorning a desktop CPU in there.

 

That is untrue. It's a totally new architecture. The i7s run cooler and consume less power on idle and is more efficient in that it does more work on load, when compared to C2D/C2Qs. TDP isn't a measure of power consumption.

 

Man I wish the Envy 13 came with i7 I don't want a 15" laptop...

 

There might be a 14" Envy coming soon.
No specs yet but a member found a little info. on it.
Just speculation for now.

 

I just got Envy 15-1050CA. The i7-720's and GPU speed is fairly impressive - 32 fps in the first test in 3D Mark 06 in 1920x1080 with pre-installed drivers, some calculation / analysis running faster than C2D @2.8GHz. The power is probably difficult to cool - the fans running very loudly after couple minutes of heavier load, sometimes asymmetrically (e.g. left fan kicks in while the right fan is off). The fan noise is much louder than on Macbook Pro 15" under maximum load (which isn't very quiet already).

The full HD screen is beautiful, with some backlight bleed on completely black screen (which does not really disturb).

I am considering whether to take the computer back and wait for i7 on 32nm until Q1 2010 because the fan noise is very disturbing. I might continue my calculations on my older Lenovo T61p which is super-quiet compared to the Envy 15.

Powerful and loud computer

 

As I said, desktop chip shoehorned into a computer too small to cool it. Laptops are not the right territory for this thing.