X220 Order

Should I get the i7 option in the X220?

Is there still problems with it or should I be fine?

Also,

Will 2.5 SATA III drives work like the Corsair Force?

 

the answer is yes

 

the answer is a question. Do you need it?

 

The i7 options are hotter than the i5 options, so be careful with your decision -- I've heard reports of the i5-2520m going to 90C+ during heavy benchmarking already. Also, I'm not entirely sure if the 800mhz throttling on the i7s has been solved yet...

 

You can look at my signature and see how I spent my money. Unless you've got a specific need to run processor intensive apps frequently, then even the i5 probably isn't worth it.

 

I think the i5-2410 is worth it just to get all of the most usefull features of that line of processors...but anything higher isnt really worth the cost if you dont have a specific need for it.

 

i think its just the speed in the 2410 isnt it?

 

Actually yeah. Looks like they didn't include AES instructions, Trusted Execution and Virtualization VT-d which is on the rest of the i5's. Big thing to me was the turbo boost. It bumps the performance up to 2.9ghz vs 2.1 with the i3. With notebooks, most people let the power management do it's thing and dont run the full clock speed full time. The cpu only reaches full speed under load, which is when the turbo boost is going to kick in anyways...so in that sort of setting, the turbo boost speed may as well be the normal rated chip speed in a way. Basicly it's <$50 for 30% faster clock at load (which is when it counts anyways). Worth it to me.

 

My logic went the other way on it. I opted for the i3 to get the best battery life. Didn't want turbo boosting to eat away battery time. I don't mind waiting a few extra seconds if I can get and extra hour out of the battery. I'm not sure my logic is right, but my fingers are crossed

 

Like what?

 

I agree with your point but the extra performance of the 2410 wasn't worth it to me, as I ended paying around £160 ($255) less for the i3 model.

I've owned both the i5-2410 and i3-2310 models and, although I still haven't tested the latter's battery life, I don't get the sense that it's better than the 2410.

On the contrary, my i3 machine seems to run a few degress warmer possibly because it's less efficient than the i5.

My findings are far from conclusive of course, but it appears that the only advantage of the i3 is cost, and not longer battery life or cooler operation.