Best CPU for W150ER/6165 w 650M 1GB GDDR5

Been an lurker for a while and decided to sign up and post a message. I've decided I'm going to get a W150ER (built-in 650M 1GB GDDR) and the last decision I have to make is what CPU to get.

I'm looking at the following CPU's as options (but open to other suggestions)

1. 2540M
2. 3610QM
3. 3520M (June)

Laptop Requirements:

• Plugged-in gaming (D3, SC2, and some FPS games, but not super intense graphics)while connected to power.
• Long Battery life for DVD/MS Office for long plane rides
• Bonus: Unplugged gaming battery life

I've got two main questions I'm looking to figure out:

#1 What's the slowest/lowest power consumption CPU I can to make my GPU the bottleneck? Since I can't upgrade the GPU and I don't have any CPU intensive requirements, there's no use for the CPU to run around in circles around the GPU.

#2 If I do light gaming and force the discrete GPU off, does it actually save power or does it use the same because now the CPU is working harder? The reason I ask is because it influences my decision to go with a SB with HD3000 vs IB with HD4000.

Thanks!
-Hung

 

Just for gaming and office, the i5 would perfectly match. GPU is the limiting factor on notebooks, i would choose an i5 and spent the saved money for a ssd.
I'm not sure when the IVB dual core will come, i think it will be after summer - july or august.

 

I would definitely wait for the 3xxx series of CPUs to come out, you have no reason to get Sandy Bridge this close towards the next release date. If the HD 4000 is powerful enough, it can probably handle some of your older games by itself without toggling to dGPU, saving you a ton of power. The best processor for your needs would be the 3520M, since quad is a bit excessive for gaming.

 

There's absolutely no reason to wait for the i5-3520M, and there's even less reason for any intelligent gamer to choose a dual core CPU in mid-2012.

Go with the available i7-3610QM now and you'll be a happy and smart person.

 

Only for gaming there is no need for a quad core cpu. You will get the same fps because the gpu will be limit.
But if your budget is high enough and you wanna spent all your money, then go with a quad core.

 

That is not true, at all.

Just from recently, Witcher 2, Skyrim, Deux EX:HR, Dawn of War 2: Rretribution, Alan Wake, Shogun 2 and more all benefit from having four cores.

It's ridiculous to explicitly recommend a dual core, in this age of gaming. They'll be mandatory soon, when the new consoles hit next year.

Plus, it's only a $70 upgrade here. That's crazy value.

 

I agree go with the quad core CPU.

 

Quad core. Why? Because it uses TURBO BOOST when some games are dual-core or single core optimized. So its faster than dual core CPUs.

Other games take full advantage of quad cores. That means - better performance than dual core again.

Price...3610QM is almost the same price as 3520.

More performance: Encoding videos with it.

Do I need to list more reasons to go quad???

 

This is a great point, sir.

In other words, the quad core can be a great dual core, when you need it to do so. But can the dual core even be a mediocre quad core, when that time arises? Nope.

So you're cheating yourself if you choose the two over four.

 

Do these games still benefit from a quad core CPU even with a "mid-range" video card like the GT 650M GDDR5 1GB? My thought was that the GPU would be so limiting that a faster CPU or more cores wouldn't make a meaningful difference.

Do quad and dual cores have (roughly) equivalent power draw during low power tasks? My concern would be that quad cores consume extra battery while doing light tasks and that the dual core would be a better overall fit for me

 

Do games still benefit from a quad CPU despite your mid-level GPU? Yes. Its still better for some games. And better if you encode videos, convert stuff, work with Photoshop, etc. Multitasking is on a much higher level, since you get 2x cores.

Dual cores have a TDP of 35W. Quad cores - 45W (exception with 3612qm and 3920xm). So the power draw wont be that much higher.
When on battery, all CPUs can be throttled to meet your needs, thereby extending battery life. Now here's the thing: You can always throttle a quad core to lower speeds. But you cannot make a dual core perform like a quad core can. Buy the more powerfun CPU and throttle it all you want for the sake of battery life. When plugged in, you will have more power in everything you do.

 

Thanks for the all the great input! I'm going to order my W150ER with a 3610QM when I do actually order it.

When you mention throttling, is it just the battery/performance management settings on the computer or is there a different way to throttle the CPU?

 

You go to Control Panel->Power Options->Manage Power Plan->settings for the CPU when on battery. You can set it between 5% and 100%, so you can slow it down to conserve battery.