What difference is there between these 2 processors?

So I looked on notebookcheck but yeah.. I don't really understand most of the technical talk about processors for laptops, lol. I was planning on buying either the Malibal P151HM1 or P150HM, but not really sure which processor I'd be better off with. I'd rather not spend extra if it's not really going to improve a whole lot.. I'm mainly planning on playing games, email, browsing the internet, forums, etc, but really want to be able to play newer games at higher detail(like Battlefield 3 when it comes out, etc).

Is there a large difference between the i7 2760QM and the i7 2630QM? I mean the 2760 is $160 more, which would configure the P150HM to about $1,500 with an upgraded graphics card as well. Is it really worth the $160? I don't know how much processors effect game performance but I'd rather make sure with the pros ! Thanks!

 

2760 is just clocked higher than the 2630, that's it, they're both Sandy Bridge quads. I wouldn't spend 160 on it.

 

Ahh that's it? Well I guess I'll just stick with the lower one in that case! Thanks a bunch

 

The other difference is that the 2760 has a bunch of extra virtualization and security features. Nothing you'd ever use normally, but I have a friend who refused to buy a CPU without them for his home server.

 

2630QM = 2ghz base, 2.9ghz single, 2.6ghz quad
2760QM = 2.4ghz base, 3.5ghz single, (3.2ghz quad assumed)

That's a fairly hefty clock difference especially in 4 threads.

 

For his usage, I doubt it will be a significant difference despite clock speeds.

 

CPU clocks aren't really important in gaming though...

 

^If we only bought for "need", why would anyone get anything above an i5?

"Want" is a big factor, and if it's reasonable and not a total rip off, why the hell not?

Not supporting a particular side in this example per say, but merely pointing it out many factors are in play past the very simple "need".

 

There's a difference between something that will provide a tangible benefit that you don't need, and something that will not provide a benefit.

 

Depends on the game (and also the 'base' clock we're considering too).

 

Indeed.
For example, I need a decently powerful cpu because I work in 3dsMax (and thankfully they decided to start putting GPU accelerated rendering capability into it as well), so the more cpu power I get, the better.
Plus certain games thrive on faster cpu's.

The 2760qm is by 20% better compared to 2630qm... and while that's not exactly 'huge' (and I think the price differential should be smaller), it's worth it if you need extra cpu power for a relatively moderate price increase (though I personally wouldn't charge more than $80 for that kind of increase).

 

It's a level of machine and graphics card that it may actually help. Especially going forward if he updates his graphics card.

 

i think it is worth it

 

The CPU won't be the bottleneck and having quad cores makes much more of a difference than higher clocks on those cores. It's just not a big enough boost to justify the price jump. When he has a need for those clocks, he'll be able to get them cheaper.

 

Wish I got a chance to reply earlier! I do plan to play upcoming games, which are probably quite intensive(Battlefield 3, maybe Tera/ArchAge/Guild Wars 2(if I ever get a chance to play an mmorpg), probably Crysis 2 since my current laptop just can't play it, etc).

I really hope that my next laptop purchase lasts quite a while, since I just have too many other things I need to use my money for. I don't especially need/want a super good computer but I'd like it to be above average in the future.

Maybe I could contact the reseller for a discount or something on an upgraded processor, I've heard a bunch of people say they've gotten discounts on things

 

Save the money on the CPU and get the fastest GPU you can afford. In games, the bottleneck is often the GPU. You can always upgrade the CPU later if necessary.

 

Might I suggest you purchase the i3 model and get a i7-2920XM ES instead for US$295-delivered? The i3 would sell for around $110 on ebay so another $185 gets you a CPU with unlocked multiplier goodness * as long as the bios allows it. Even better if you could buy the system without a CPU altogether.

 

oops; wrong thread...

 

Don't know about the brand you're researching, but some laptops, such as the Lenovo W520, have different numbers of memory slots depending upon the processor ordered. So, on a W520, ordering a low end processor will get you a laptop with TWO slots, while ordering a quadcore proc will get you a W520 with FOUR memory slots. Big diff, depending upon memory needs.

Lots of little details when you're researching laptop configs.

 

Clevo's all ship from the factory barebone and are configured by the shops, they are not going to save 2p for removing the slots and gaining the problem of figuring out how much they are going to make of each.