t530 with 3720QM or 3360M

hi guys,

I am a developer and I am thinking on buying the thinkpad t530.

My primary use will be for programming and mathematical simulations (think matlab).

I am also thinking of including virtualization (VMware ?) to aid my programming work.

To this end I am wondering if I will see a big difference (performance wise) by selecting the
i7-3720QM over the the i5-3360M. Their prize difference is about 170$.
( 3720QM has the VT-d for virtualization )

best regards

 

Well, the i7-3720QM is a quad core processor, meaning that you will undoubtedly see benefits to using it, particularly with matlab. The VT-d would also be a huge boost for any of your virtualization software as well.

I actually just purchased a w530 for some similar applications, although i'm using it for more extensive areas such as CAD and video editing. Personally, if you have it in your budget, i would reccomend going with th i7-3720QM for the quad cores, "future proofing," VT-d, and the other features that will be unlocked on the non-oem chips.

However, I know that you can get away with the i5 cores to run matlab, so it would easily be doable. An i7 would be nice, and if you can afford it, I would recommend going for it. if you can't afford it now, you can always upgrade it later, although it will be far more expensive.

 

Thanks for your comment esotericdesignstudio!! I will cut down on the fhd screen to the hd+ screen. With the money I will save from this move I will buy the quad core 3720QM!!!

I am thinking that I want miss the fhd screen, since I intend to buy sometime into the future an external display.

 

If you're planning on using an external display, then definitely go for the quad-core. I'm getting the 3720QM on mine, and I do similar work in grad school (lots of MATLAB), so I definitely know the value of more threads.

 

thanks formerglory!