Reaserching i7 (OC) vs Core2duo (OC)

Browsing Anandtech's Site through their gaming benchmarks I did a quick comparison between the i7 stock, i7 OC and SU7300 DUO (Im not sure if its stock or OC, but I'll assume OC).

Batman AA (MAX):

i7 (Stock) : 63 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 62 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 59 fps

Crysis: Warhead (Mainstream):

i7 (Stock) : 32.5 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 36 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 31.9 fps

Dirt 2 (Medium):

i7 (Stock) : 34.8 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 361. fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 31.2 fps

Empire Total War: (Medium)

i7 (Stock) : 51 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 51.4 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 53.2 fps

Far Cry 2 (DX9 Medium):

i7 (Stock) : 38 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 40.7 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 35.3 fps

Left 4 Dead 2 (Max):

i7 (Stock) : 43.2 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 43.4 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 44.2 fps

Mass Effect 2 (Max):

i7 (Stock) : 37.2 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 38.6 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 39.9 fps

Stalker: Call of pripyat (Med. + Full Dyn):

i7 (Stock) : 57.5 fps
i7 (OC @ 160): 61.6 fps
Core 2 Duo (OC): 57.3 fps

I honestly was expecting much more of a difference, and was shocked at the Empire Total war result and Left 4 dead 2, since both are CPU dependent.

In my honest opinion, when it comes to gaming only, its not worth the extra price tag to go for the i7, and also because of the extra wattage reduces the lasting time by an hour give or take.

So I think unless u need it for Photoshop, or maybe autocad (which I dont recommend on a laptop for either of them considering my i7 @ 4.3ghz still struggles. I dont see the 300$ price tag as being an investment.

I do how ever see the optimus as being its saving grace.

Sry was just shocked, I was about to trade in my m11x for my friend's i7 for 150$ on top, but I think after I saw those comparisons i'll wait for a 14 inch laptop

 

haha what the!? Don't tell me the I7 was over-rated and we all paid 400-500 dollars extra for nothing!

 

Like I said, pound for pound m11x r1 is still the best choice, $400-500 cheaper with recommended configuration vs i7, manual control>optimus, more battery life, lesser heat, and cosmic black might show more fingerprints but it is easier to clean and wipe like a car finish compared to soft touch finish where it hides fingerprints most of the time but shows more smudges and oily marks/scuffs like on suede shoes.

 

Take a little look at the Thottlestop thead.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/524257-how-supercharge-m11x-core-i5-i7-um-cpus.html

Not saying that the i7 isn't overrated, but you really need T-stop for core i5/i7 to show an improvement over the core2duo.

 

its just shocking thats all, it seems that for that extra 300$ we could've seen much more. I can see it as a 100$ upgrade, but for the extra 4-500$ over all? Pass.

Interesting above my post^

 

I concur with this post wholeheartedly. You *must* use ThrottleStop to unlock the power of the i5/i7. Without TS, overclocking has very little effect. We need another set of benchmarks where ThrottleStop is used.

Stain

 

so with the throttlestop, should I exchange with my friend?

 

For $150 it's certainly not a bad deal. Gotta factor in other things though, like hinge quality etc.

 

I believe the hinge quality on r1 and r2 are the same, i don't think the r2 was an upgrade from r1 to get the hinge fix.

R2 3 main difference vs R1
- Optimus
- icore cpu
- Removal of VGA

 

That is correct.

 

Well I was referring specifically to his computer compared to his friend's. $150 on top for a laptop with existing hinge/other hardware issues wouldn't be worth it imo.

 

you guys obviously dont know much about game engines that rely mostly on the GPU.

the R1 and R2 both have the 335M GT which is why the scores are similar because all those games you listed are GPU intensive over CPU.

The i7 is useful when it comes to games like battlefield, starcraft, things with lots of particle physics and effects, thats where you will start to see the i7 advantage over the c2d

 

You are right, but for a decent boost from c2d to i7 640um and add $400-500bucks thanks but no thanks

for $1,100-1,300, you can get yourself a refurb m15x that has a true icore cpu or a new asus g53jw/g73jw with usb 3.0 real icore etc...

 

Yea, i am starting to wonder, i could have picked up a m15x or a G73 with an i7-720QM and with a GTX 460M easily by throwing down 200 more from my sub total of 1400 i paid for this machine. Ironic. But keeping aside that possible over price, over-rated loss, i really wanted a portable powerful small gaming beast that i can take anywhere and after speaking to a lot of people, i came to a conclusion that the I7 is by far much more superior than the core 2, which is soon to be out-dated in a few years. Think of it this way, having an i7 in a small 11.6 beast, makes you feel superior then all those big laptops that lack that CPU in the same price range.
I am happy with my i7! =P

 

I've observed HUGE increases in FPS in cpu-intensive games with OCing my i7. But as other posters in the thread already pointed out, you have to use throttlestop. It's completely pointless to OC otherwise.

 

Overclocking the i7 without using ThrottleStop will often decrease performance, which is why TS was created in the first place. Anandtech had the SU7300 OC'd @ 166 (the maximum allowed by Alienware) while the i7 was never properly OC'd.

The results are still definitely interesting though. The fact that BFBC2 performed 46% better (21.6 vs 31.6 @ medium) but Empire: Total War did 6% worse (34.5 vs. 32.4 @ High) is puzzling... Anandtech themselves said there was a possibility newer drivers were having negative effects on older games, but they no longer had the R1 when they received the R2 so it was impossible to verify.

It's worth reading the summary that wasn't included in the OP:
Alienware M11x R2: A Legend Reborn - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

When you see posts here about the "hybrid" drivers, they're referring to the special drivers required for the m11x R1 due to the lack of Optimus. Nvidia will never release a driver for the R1 (only Dell/Alienware will), but they will continue to update drivers for the 335m, and R2 users will be able to install them directly from Nvidia.

That being said, it's been several months since R2 owners have been able to play BFBC2 online due to Optimus issues. Nvidia promised an update by the end of November and it looks like they might finally have it ready, but who knows... there's nothing simple about buying electronics these days

 

In my experience with my i5, Throttlestop has increased my MINIMUM FPS by 5-6 FPS in shooter games. The maximum FPS increases by much more. And the i5 has a couple of frames on the C2D already. I would easily pay $150 to push my games up from 19 FPS up to 25-27 FPS. That makes all the difference in a shooter or RPG (and remember that these are the minimum FPS I am referring to). It is a large percentage increase. The i7's FPS gains are even more, but albeit not that much more.

Stain
(sorry, I do not play RTS games though)

 

For the record, the m11x is incomparable to any other notebooks you've just mentioned (asus g series,etc) because it cannot compare to the battery life nor the graphical power, and now with the R2 the cpu power. The m11x is everything ive every wanted in a notebook, I just wish it only came out 3 years earlier so I wouldnt have bought my other piece of laptop before hand. And I dont know where you are looking at prices for the m11x but in the Canadian Dell site its only $150 for the i7 upgrade from the C2D.

Well put. I never seen this post before thanks

 

Wow.. glad I bought the R1 after ordering I kept second guessing myself that maybe I should have forked out the extra $$ for the i5 or i7...but for a few extra FPS even with TS its really not even going to be noticable.

 

L1qu1d, to answer the original question, in my opinion, it is a no brainer to upgrade from the R1 to an i7 for $150. The decision gets a lot tougher when comparing $600 for a Black Friday R1 to $1100 for an R2. Then it comes down to your own finances and what you are using it for. Really, how much cost per FPS is acceptable to you.

Cheers,
Stain

 

I use it mostly for school work and minor gaming. Usually COD and L4d, nothing big

 

In that case, if you are not frustrated by the performance of your R1, there is no reason to change.

Before ThrottleStop on my R2, I was getting frustrated by what my laptop could almost do well. Add a few more FPS on my games and now it does everything that I need it to very well. If you are not hitting the threshold of where the R1's performance limits what you do, then there is no reason to change.

There is a performance increase going to the R2, but if you do not need it, you do not need it.

 

That's pretty much how I felt when I found out about this.

Oh, remember, us R2 i7 owners get LESS BATTERY LIFE too! Congrats!

 

Forum rules reminder -

 

R1 > R2 easily as far as bang for your buck goes spending extra $500 now that the SU7300 is now on sale for $500 is not worth it unless your just rich and can spend the money.

 

It is also important to notice that game performances and fps depend on the driver versions of graphic cards and how well the laptop systems are managed. I honestly don't think that this test is THAT credible.

By the way, I also don't think that it is correct for one to judge whether R1 or R2 is better because they have their own advantages and disadvantages. This kind of judgement may just make some R1 or R2 users feel bad and regret buying.

 

At the same time it is important for a prospective buyer to have all the information available before the sale.

Do you think I'd have bought an m11x if I knew about the hinge problem? Would I have paid a few hundred dollars more for a processor that gives me less battery?

I'd rather have known, than care for the "feelings" of those who already bought one.

 

ok but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.. I have both and R1 C2D and an R2 i7 and I cannot play black ops on the R1 but it works fine on the R2.. so while it is a big difference in price and the battery life on the R1 is awesome.. I bought this so I could game when I needed to get my frag on.. for that reason alone I am an R2 fan.. otherwise if you are looking for an awesome laptop that can handle most of what you want to throw at it.. than an R1 is by far the best bang for your buck..

 

So the R1 can't play block ops?

 

Seems to run fine:
YouTube - M11x - R1 - Call of Duty Black Ops - 1080p External Monitor

I don't have one so don't know for sure.

 

Black Ops is running perfectly smooth on my r1 so i don't know what you are talking about

 

for the price they are selling the new c2d. Starting at 599 for a brand new r1. I'm sorry but at these prices the r1 is a much better buy then the r2 especially considering you get more battery life and much less heat on the r1.

Also I remember the r1 being able to be ocd to 1.73ghz it's only 1.6ghz max?

 

My i7 goes to 2.8Ghz in single threaded apps (2.3Ghz with both cores).

 

I was having trouble with my r1 couldn't play black ops I don know if someone found out something that I didn't but it really wasn't playable

 

Yea optimization patch was just released. So now it works but t was garbage for me before that.

 

The only games that will show a diference are RTS games and those that require extensive cpu math. FPS games do not require that much and that why there is really no seeable difference between the 2 revisions.

 

Actually, BFBC2 runs at a 70% higher framerate on the R2 and TF2 is significantly better as well. Those are two of the most popular first-person shooters out today, and I've read here that Black Ops is noticeably better on the R2.

So, you were saying?

 

You also read that black ops runs well on on the r1. TF2 is such an old game that it shouldnt have any issues on either. Cant say anything about BF.

 

ok well i grabbed the R2, I think I'm going to toy around with it a big, it does seems noticably faster for photoshop thats for sure.

Blops, the frames are about the same, minus 1-3 frames here and there where there are alot of particles. Over all the same experience. Although I will note that for some reason it did boot up faster on the i7.

Left 4 dead 2 ran about the same. Crysis did seem smoother, Starcraft 2 is def smoother.

In the end though, I doubt I am going to keep it, just because I need linux.

I can't live with out it!!!