i7 vs. i5 - ThinkPad T410

I decided to get another ThinkPad, this time the T410. However, I am wondering whether the $150 difference in processors is really worth.

Should I get the i7 @ 2.66Ghz or the i5 @ 2.53Ghz?

Will there be a big difference?

I do photoshop work, graphics, and some audio and video editing.

I plan on getting 6GB of ram.

 

READ

I would get the i5-540M. There is not much of a performance difference between the two and you wouldn't be able to notice it. Plus it gets better battery, cooler, and cheaper.

 

Go for the i5.

 

2 in a row, thanks.

 

Those don't seem to be photographers responding though. CS can use all those cores of the i7, in which case depending on the type of stuff you do in CS you may find there is a noticeable difference.

 

The i7 he is talking about is dual core, not quad.

 

They are both daul cores so its pointless to go with the i7 for the frequency difference. If it were the 720QM/820QM then he should go for it.

 

Honestly, I would stay with the i5-540M over the i7-720QM. I would only jump it to go for the i7-820QM but that is not necessary for his needs.

 

I thought the i7 is quad core?

Oh wait, I see...2.66...as in 620M...

 

They are, except the i7-620M. It is a higher clocked dual core.

 

Same here, i would never configure a system with a 720QM its either the 820QM or the 920XM or the basic CPU

 

i7 Dual Core is exactly the same as the i5 Dual core, the only difference is slightly higher clock speed and 1 mb extra of cache. All of which would translate to minimal performance difference.

intel is becoming quite a second hand car dealer, it would marks up product pricing on products with minor performance difference by grouping it in different category.

Lot of people gets fooled into buying their i7 dual core thinking it was somehow a huge leap in performance above the i5 dual core.

 

you mean i5?

 

yes................