New Intel Processors for M4400 ?

Hello guys,

I've been following notebookreview's threads for quite some time since I'm planning on replacing my good-old veteran Inspiron 8600 with a Precision M4400, which currently suits my needs best

I was just about to order the laptop from Ireland (which is the cheapest and most secure way of getting the M4400 to where I live at the moment - Bulgaria) but a couple of days ago I saw a piece of news about five new processors - T8700, T9550, T9800, Q9000 and P9600 Processors for the Centrino 2 platform. Now I'm waiting for the P9600 which is a bit faster (2.66 GHz)but most important for me is that it has a lower TDP rating than what I initially planned to order - T9400. I travel a lot so battery life and power drain are important for me.

Does anyone have information if the M4400 will have a P9600 option in the nearest future so that I wait a bit more? I remember that some time ago the P9500 was available within the M4400 configurator but then Dell misteriously discontinued offering it

It is also romoured that Intel will reveal the new i7 mobile processor versions soon which makes me think it all over again and maybe wait a bit more. My only doubts are that the mobile i7s would have a higher TDP which will eat up the battery in no time

Any comments are most welcome and I thank everyone in advance for them.

 

You can always wait a bit more. If you keep thinking like that, you will never buy a laptop!

There are other available options if you want a low TDP: 2.4 GHz and 2,53 GHz are available. Be advised that when the P9600 shows up, it will probably be expensive (as the P9500 is now).

Also an advice, Dell have discounts on the E6500 which, as far as I know, is very similar to the M4400. Take a look at that one to see if it suits your needs. I originally wanted an M2400 (14-inch version of the M4400) and changed to an E6400, which saved me over 300 euros. Everything was just the same (warranty, CPU, RAM, graphics, screen, etc).

To access these discounts, go to Dell's site and look for a dark orange part of the webpage with "Smart Base Value" offers scrolling in it. Or just google it

 

Ehm...graphics are NOT the same between latitudes and precisions, it's probably the only major difference

 

Exactly, replacing the Quadro 770M with 160M is way too low for my work demands

 

You may need the more powerful GPU but will the performance difference between the 2.4GHz P8600 and the 2.66GHz P9600 be noticeable? (The cost difference will be noticeable). My last CPU upgrade was from 2GHz to 2.4GHz and I would be pushed to noticed the difference. The platform change with features such as better memory bandwidth probably contribute more to overall smoother operation.

John

 

Sorry about that, I was completely wrong. I mistook this for the difference between the E6400 and M2400 (14-inch versions of the E6500 and M4400), where the GPU's really are very similar.

So to change my original statement, and in accordance with John Ratsey: waiting for the more powerful CPU is probably not wise, and unless graphics are a concern, take a look on the Latitude instead of the Precision.

 

Yes, I see your point, John.
The price gap is a bit high (about 100 to 150$ for P8600 and P9500) but as long as it doesn't cross the 200$ boundary it suits me fine. By the way, the P8600 has just 3MB L2 cache vs 6MB with all of the other models we're discussing. Some applications gain a lot from that cache difference, not just pure frequency. You can take a look at this comparison article. Some tests show a 10-15% performance difference between these two CPUs The new P9600 would be much more productive. That is why I am planning on buyng a P9xxx based processor, no matter if it's P9500 or P9600. I just hope Dell begin offering these two soon or else I'll continue waiting for a loooooong time as HerrKaputt already said I guess I'll wait a month or two and go for the T9400 if no P9xxx is available by that time.

 

OK. You've done your research and think you will get enough benefit from the extra speed to justify the cost. I have my reservations about how representative synthetic benchmarks are of real world performance.

John

 

I ordered my Dell E6400 about a week ago and the P9500 was available then. Are you sure about this? (note: I ordered from EU)

 

its not available with the M4400 even though its available for the E series.

good luck with your precision, im sure you'll like it. I upgraded from a inspiron 8600 too. (although i was using a D410 as work machine)