The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Seeking advise to choose a processor for my T540

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by arunpr, Dec 8, 2013.

  1. arunpr

    arunpr Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi,

    I wish to buy a T540* laptop and I am looking for feedback with respect to the components to help me freeze my configuration and (ii) be aware of the drawbacks of the new design elements in the T*40 series.

    I will be working mostly on Ubuntu and I will be using this laptop mostly for general web browsing, programming, editing, power point and some matlab simulations that would not be very computational intensive. On rare occassions, I may run a matlab code that takes 4 to 5 hours for completion.

    1. I am also caught with regard to the processor. I love the Thinkpad's durability and I wish to use this system as long as possible. (I also love using a thinkpad). In this regard, I am wondering if my config has to be able to run all the software say 4 to 5 years down the line, it should not bee too out of date in terms of config. In this regard, I wish to go for a up-to-date specs in terms of processor. Among the following choices (with the associated prices)

    Intel Core i5-4200M Processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.10GHz)[add $50.00]
    Intel Core i5-4300M Processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.30GHz)[add $105.00]
    Intel Core i5-4330M Processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.50GHz)[add $155.00]
    Intel Core i7-4700MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.40GHz)[add $205.00]
    Intel Core i7-4600M Processor (4MB Cache, up to 3.60GHz)[add $295.00]
    Intel Core i7-4800MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.70GHz)[add $345.00]
    Intel Core i7-4900MQ Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.80GHz)

    my uneducated guess is leading me to believe the i7-4700QM is the sweet spot - it has more cache, cores etc.. However, as most of you would know, the 4700QM consumes more power and is slightly older. The real question is - would I be running 4 cores most times while only two cores are really computing something for me. In general with more components running, the longevity is definitely shorter and why run them if they are not needed. Or would my choice be justified three years from now when all software would demand more computational resources. I would request your educated opinion in this matter.

    Your answers are greatly appreciated. I would like to thank you for your time and for sharing your knowledge and experience.
    Thanks,
    Regards,
    Arun
     
    arunpr, Dec 8, 2013
    #1