820QM vs 920XM non-gaming?

So i was supposed to buy a new laptop in January, but got delayed again and again for various reasons.

Now i got 2 options;
-wait another month and buy a laptop with 920XM without OS (and use linux for 1 month untill i have the money for windows)
-buy now with 820QM and win7 ultimate 64bit

The main decision problem comes with the CPU.

I want to know how big of a difference there is between these two, and/or what kind of usage would benefit from the 920XM.

Some program test scores tell nothing to me really...
And with 285m gtx, gaming framerate differences from CPU are obviously way too small to make a difference. I'm not a gamer anyway though i do play modern games occassionally.

 

There isn't really much difference. You would only notice the extra speed of the 920XM vs the 820QM in EXTREMELY CPU intensive tasks, gaming would be pretty much the same, maybe the 920XM edging out slightly in the more CPU intensive games.

The only reason I see that would really require you to pay a whopping $600 more is if you are doing Folding@Home, or something else like that. And even then the performance gain over the 820QM doesn't justify shelling out $600 for the 920XM.

If you want my personal opinion, I'd save a lot of money and get the 820QM.

 

Will the 920XM be better than the 820QM? Of course.

Is it better enough that it's worth delaying the purchase of your computer and spending quite a bit more money for it? I really don't think so. I'm with Shadow. Get it now with an 820QM.

 

Agreed with CZX58

There won't be much of a performance difference between the mentioned Cpu's and the cost gap between them isn't really justifiable if you ask me.

Even in cpu intensive tasks/software like 3dsMax (which I use) for example, the speed differential between the cpu's will not be large.

I'd also save myself huge amounts of money and simply get the 820QM.

 

if you are using processor intensive work daily and a little bit late finishing your work will get you fired , get the 920XM

other than that 820QM is enough

 

For reference, the maximum Turbo Boost speeds of the mobile i7 quad cores are:
No. of cores: 720QM - 820QM - 920XM
4/3: 1.73GHz (-13%) - 2GHz - 2.27GHz (+13%)
2: 2.4GHz (-14%) - 2.8GHz - 3.07GHz (+10%)
1: 2.8GHz (-9%) - 3.07GHz - 3.2GHz (+4%)

It's up to you to decide how much money you want to spend, but considering this:

I definitely wouldn't spend so much on the 920XM if I could barely afford it...

 

The main reason why i want the best, is because i plan to use this laptop for everything for many years. I won't be getting a desktop computer or anything.

I don't think i do anything so immensily CPU intensive other than play runescape sometimes lol.
I'm just thinking that even if i can do every little thing a split second faster, it does make a difference even though i don't noticeably notice it.

I'm pretty convinced now that i should get 820QM and save the money for something more useful

Thanks for the advice

 

The thing is, you can buy a $2000 laptop every 4 years, a $1500 laptop every 3 years, or a $1000 laptop every 2 years, and it's going to cost you the same amount of money.

However, 2 years from now the new $1000 laptop you get will be better than any you could get now.

 

But i want GOOD performance for as long as possible

And i never know if i find a new fun thing to do which requires super CPU

 

what can you play with $1000 laptop for two years ahead compare with what can i play with my $2000 laptop four years ahead , is a different thing

 

The idea of "GOOD" performance is entirely subjective. In any case, my point is that (up to a point) if you spend less money on a laptop, but do it more often, you'll have a more powerful computer more of the time.

As you go to the highest-end parts, you're getting diminishing returns in performance for the price you pay. If you can afford to buy the highest-end parts from every generation, that's fine; you're guaranteed to always have the best computer possible. Otherwise, you're going to do better overall if you get upper-midrange parts every couple of generations.

 

Well, you can keep holding off indefinitely like that waiting for new tech to come out.


Go with the 820QM and use the money for something else.
For what you need and will be doing for some time to come, it will be more than adequate.

Look at my laptop (in the signature).
I got it a year and 3 months ago for £600.
I use it for 3d Studio Max, and while I would definitely prefer a quad core cpu for 3d art, this one is ok and should keep me going for another 2 years, or possibly 3.
In addition to 3d art, I use it for occasional gaming (which I'm usually maxing out).

So, while the 820QM is much more powerful in contrast to my own P7350, it will become obsolete in about a year or so.
However, it should last you a good number of years (about 3 or 4) before you decide switching to something else.

And you can always start saving up from the $600 you save now which gives you the options for a potential upgrade of existing components, or full replacement for something much better earlier on.

It's your decision, but 920XM would simply result in extra money spent on something you really won't need to begin with.

The comparison ratio would be akin to comparing a T9800 cpu to an extreme Core2Duo.
The extreme C2D was double the price tag and it's speed was a couple hundred MhZ larger.
The difference in cpu intense software, games and whatnot was really not that high.
True, it was higher, but relatively close to each other ... which didn't justify the extreme price differential.

It's a similar thing with this.
There's really no point in spending that much money on something that offers marginal improvement at best in cpu intense applications.
Games won't really notice a difference either way, and since it comes bundled with a high performance GPU, your gaming needs should be sated for the next 3 or 4 years ... if not a bit longer.

 

You want good performance? Then settle for a dual core i5 or perhaps the i7-720QM. That performance will be good enough to handle almost any computer-intensive task for the next few years.

You are making a mistake in believing that you can buy a laptop that you will not replace for many years (5+). While it is certainly possible, why would you want to do that? Computers are not just about their main components. There are a great many number of technologies built into your computer. USB 2.0 is the standard now; USB 3.0 has started to become featured in new notebooks available as of right now. In 4 or 5 years, USB 4.0 may be the standard. And you would still be stuck with USB 3.0 or even USB 2.0. You would be two entire technological cycles behind everyone else who bought a new notebook every two or three years, simply because you insist on keeping a notebook for more than two or three years.

It is one thing to have a functioning laptop for 5+ years, and an entirely different thing to hope that a new laptop purchase will meet your computing needs for the next 5+ years.

Oh, and the i7-920XM processors generally cost ~$1000 by themselves if you configure notebooks with them (and this is assuming that the i7-920XM is even offered in the notebook model you are configuring... most notebooks do not have that option). So the pretty $1000 notebook would suddenly become $2000 for a notebook that will be seriously outdated in the next two years.

What you will be using your computer for, and especially your processor requirements, does not indicate that you will need anything better than a core i5 or core i7-720QM. Unless you run MATLAB or Folding@Home, which does not seem to be the case, you do not need anything more powerful than what I suggested.

Forget the processor. Buy a solid state drive, which runs anywhere from $100 to $400 depending on capacity and speed. A solid state drive makes any computer, regardless of other specs, at least 25-50% snappier.

 

I guess the 820QM feels in a way a "downgrade" as i now have dual core cpu @2ghz, while the 820QM is 1.73ghz.

I know that the 820QM runs at 2.8ghz when it uses 2 cores, and has 4 cores at 1.73, but still.
It just feels much more comfortable to not have any cores clocked lower than i have now

Of course i don't want "the best, period.", but instead "the best possible" if you know what i mean
...Actually that's pretty confusing...

I guess the 820QM has atleast one technical advantage over 920XM anyway; 45w over 55w


edit:
i'm afraid of SSD:s because i read that they lose their speed over time :S so i'm just going for 7200rpm HDD
i5 CPUs are not offered anywhere for the laptop im looking to buy. Otherwise i'd get one.

 

Get the Q820M and spend the rest of the money on something better or save it for your next laptop in 2 years.

Do you really need Windows 7 Ultimate too?

 

I want ultimate or else i'll have to run a German windows :S
Even if i brought seperately from here(with 3x the price), i'd have to run a finnish version.

I've wanted an english OS so long i cant remember.

 

Well, you obviously realise yourself how silly this is. Also, you must note that clock-for-clock, the new architecture is faster. If you look at the Notebookcheck CPU charts, you'll see that the i3-330M, which runs at 2.13GHz, is faster than the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo T8300.

Just get your copy of Windows separately from the computer. I'm sure you can get an English version.

 

It just sounds like you are being picky. Get over the numbers...

And as for solid state drives losing speed over time, that does not happen with most newer generation drives. Using TRIM or GC, the speed of your SSD will be maintained. I am running a solid state drive right now with the TRIM command, and my SSD performance is perfect, and has been for some time now.

 

i suggest you to get pentium IV processor which is clocked at 3.2ghz because it is wayyyyyyyyyyyy more powerful than your current dual core

as far as the concern about which processor is worthy for your money , id say go for 820XM , save the money for a SSD

 

Well unless i can get an english windows under, let's say 120€, it's not worth it. The win7 ultimate adds +160€ over no OS in the configuration.

I know it's stupid to think the way i do. It's just if there's a chance to get the more comfortable CPU, then i will try to go for it.
That was not the main problem in deciding anyway.

Another problem with an SSD is that 320gb 7200rpm HDD adds +20€, while 160gb SSD adds +400€.
I know 80gb is not going to be enough, and it's still 160€ more than the HDD


edit
i've pretty much already decided to go for 820QM anyway

 

You are not supposed to put everything you have on the solid state drive. Put your media files that you do not access very often on an external hard drive, and put your OS and other frequently used applications and programs on your hard drive. I have my OS, programs, and a 20 GB game on my 64 GB solid state drive, and I still have 26 GB of space free.

 

Hmmm i really don't think i want to carry an external HDD with me, having more wires around and taking more space :S
It would be alot easier anyway to have everything in the same place, never having to go like "oh, those files were on the other HDD but i'm too lazy to get that now"

Or even worse "crap! i forgot my image library at home 3hour train trip away!"

 

So don't get an SSD. But don't get anything higher than an 820QM. You don't need it, you'll be spending money you don't have to. I'd even suggest that a 720QM will be quite fast for you for quite some time. Hell, I'm still running a 2GHz Core 2 Duo here at work, and it's plenty fast for what I do with it. Stop thinking in terms of GHz... ANY i7 that you get will be more than fast enough for your usage. An i5 may even be better because you'll get the higher clock speed and your usage doesn't seem like it's heavily threaded. Spend more on the display, GPU and build quality of the machine. It will be a MUCH better investment for a long-term laptop.

 

Tsun, keep in mind the 820QM contains a completely new architecture.
Clock per clock, it's going to be faster than any Core2Duo clocked at a same level, and it will outperform all of them in tasks that demand 2 cores to begin with.

You won't go wrong with 820QM, and truth be told, you don't need a slight increase in performance (and huge increase in price) the 920XM offers.
Games (all of them) you will likely be able to max out without problems years from now, and everything else will function far more than satisfactory.

You can use those $600 towards better/faster HDD, or just save the money for later use.

 

just get 820QM... the extra performance for 920XM doesn't justify the extra price... also with whatever money u save , get an SSD which trust me , won't loose performance over time with TRIM... get the intel G2 SSD after getting ur laptop and install it urself... will be cheaper and will ensure ur OEM doesn't give u a crap SSD... and make u pay way more.