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    anyone can help on cpu's available for X220?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by ColMaki, Apr 22, 2011.

  1. ColMaki

    ColMaki Notebook Consultant

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    I'm trying to sort out the best combination of price/performance/energy consumption on X220 cpu, and I can't find a comparison of all the cpu's available and their characteristics.
    anyone know where can I start looking?
     
    ColMaki, Apr 22, 2011
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  2. sml

    sml Notebook Guru

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    notebookcheck.com
     
    sml, Apr 22, 2011
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  3. ColMaki

    ColMaki Notebook Consultant

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    Great, this helps a lot. Any thoughts on the battery life using i5 vs. i3?
     
    ColMaki, Apr 22, 2011
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  4. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    As tested in a NotebookCheck test a while back, the Core i3 processors used a bit less power than the i5 processors, which in turn used a bit less than the i7 processors, at idle. At full load, the power consumption differences were a bit more marked. Overall, though, there's little overall difference in power consumption between the standard voltage Core i_ dual-cores.

    If you're looking for the best price/performance/battery life combination, buy the cheapest processor that still meets your needs. With CPUs, there's a very marked law of diminishing returns: a Core i7 will cost a whole lot more than a Core i3, but I'm willing to bet that you can't tell the difference during 98% of your usage.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 22, 2011
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  5. ColMaki

    ColMaki Notebook Consultant

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    I will be happy with a i3, but can afford the extra for i5 and will be happy with the performance boost. But if it costs me in much more battery life, then I would be less satisfied. if the same configuration with i3 vs i5 on a 9 cell battery comes to a 20min battery life difference that's negligible. if it's 40 min and up, that's something to consider.
     
    ColMaki, Apr 22, 2011
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  6. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    Hard to say and measure, seeing as realistic usage will be mixed, but I imagine the difference would be 20 minutes at most. The difference is really quite negligible.

    Also, obviously the choice of how to spend your money is yours alone, but I would suggest using the extra money elsewhere instead of for the i5 processor. You won't be able to tell the difference: it's much more worth while to spend on an SSD (perhaps an mSATA drive) or just save up for your next computer.
     
    MidnightSun, Apr 22, 2011
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  7. ColMaki

    ColMaki Notebook Consultant

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    totally agree with you. on desktops I always recommend friends to avoid the pricey processors and get a better keyboard and mouse for example.

    maybe needed to wait and see what are real life differences in terms of battery life from users. thx for all the help!
     
    ColMaki, Apr 22, 2011
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