Core i3/5 v Core 2 Duo

danielf · 15-11-2010, 19:50

Hi guys. I'm a bit out of the loop here, so I could do with some advice.

I'm thinking of getting a new laptop, as the old one is getting a bit long in the teeth and the keyboard is playing up. No point replacing a keyboard on a 3 year old machine imo.

Looking at new processors, I'm a bit surprised at the relatively low processor speeds. My old laptop (Dell Vostro 1700) has a 2.0 Ghz C2D, my Macbook Pro (work) has a 2.9GHz C2D. Core i3 and i5 processors in laptops I've looked at typically have speeds of 2.1 Ghz with apparent innovations going into hyper-threading and the 'turbo boost' option. Now my understanding is that hyper-threading is nice, but that there are actually very few applications that are capable of hyper-threading.

Am I right in thinking that these new processors are hardly going to show an improvement over a 3 year old 2GHz C2D for applications that are not multi-threaded or am I missing something here?

15-11-2010, 20:06

The i range cpu will be a lot better than a C2D

danielf · 15-11-2010, 20:08

But does that include non hyper-threaded applications?

DocDutch · 15-11-2010, 20:10

it does Daniel....whats the budget you are thinking of spending for a new lappy?

15-11-2010, 20:10

its more about multi tasking than multi threaded. It can still run 2 threads at once ( virtually lol) even it not the same app.

danielf · 15-11-2010, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch

it does Daniel....whats the budget you are thinking of spending for a new lappy?

Budget is flexible. £500-£700 ish. I'm looking for a 17" screen desktop replacement. I'm not too bothered about graphics as I don't game. Processing speed is more important as I can run some power-hungry apps (not hyper-threaded) for work.

Oh: I'm not too keen on Acer as the last one I had fried my HDD. Dell is looking a bit suspect too with the keyboard failure and phono out on the side of the machine which lasted no more than a couple of months. Good build quality would be nice...

15-11-2010, 20:22

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshi...EN/version.asp

DocDutch · 15-11-2010, 21:19

thats a nice lappy oogemaflop... was looking at that at Ebuyer and its a bit more £££ there.

desktop replacement with decent spec is going to be hard Daniel....what is the main purpose of it?

danielf · 15-11-2010, 21:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocDutch

thats a nice lappy oogemaflop... was looking at that at Ebuyer and its a bit more £££ there.

desktop replacement with decent spec is going to be hard Daniel....what is the main purpose of it?

The usual: Watching pr0n on the intertubez, word processing, the odd video de-muxing, and occasionally running my own poorly written software that'll seriously strain the processor.

That laptopsdirect machine does look nice. Shame my own machine won't qualify for the £100 cashback included in that price.

15-11-2010, 21:31

there is a similar model £100 less on the site still Tosh

---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:30 ----------

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshi...n.asp?PID=1051

danielf · 15-11-2010, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop

there is a similar model £100 less on the site still Tosh

---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:30 ----------

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshi...n.asp?PID=1051

Cheers

Is that spec correct though? The main differences with the 18F that I can see is 1GB less memory, and the processor on the 14P is quoted as 2.5GHz (2.4 for the 18F). According to the Dabs site the 14P has a Core i5 430M 2.26 GHz.

Edit: Looks like Dabs is correct.

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.c...eries/1084892/

popper · 15-11-2010, 22:10

getting bored of this "It appears that you have not posted on our forums in several weeks....." message SO.....

dont go looking at just the GHz speed of CPU's , look also at the actual CPU spec Inside , AND take note of the actual speed tests for x264 encoding with them.

if it can encode with x264 faster then it's better for other purposes too is the general rule.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1169/7/

that's a Core i5 540 processor rather than the Core i5 430M linked above.

But id Keep in mind, Sandy Bridge i3,i5, and i7 Intel chips said to be 30% faster than current models are just around the corner now, and you get a free Video hardware Encode/Decode Engine inside all of them due to the new re-design etc, and potentially a x264 Patch being worked on right now inside Intel to make use of it soon after....too, within 2 to 6 months you may regret not waiting and checking them out...

roger skillin · 16-11-2010, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielf

Looking at new processors, I'm a bit surprised at the relatively low processor speeds.

It's not just the speed it's the architecture of the cpu's that makes the difference, i have an E8400 3ghz core 2 due cpu but a 2.1 core i3 will beat mine.

Wait until summer next year when both the new intel Sandybridge and AMD Cpu's come out, Yes i said AMD but i think they are finally going to get back on top of intel in 2011, have a search on google for the new cpu's coming next year to get an idea

**Rob** · 16-11-2010, 10:30

With IT there will always be something newer, and potentially potent "just around the corner". If we all kept waiting for the stuff just on the horizon then we'd never buy any IT kit. It reaches a point that once you've decided your current stuff isn't up to it anymore, that is the time to buy and you must choose from within the current available tech, and of course your budget.

popper · 16-11-2010, 20:03

sure "just around the corner" can mean anything in IT, but we already know Intel and their OEM's always do their product releases Jan 3 through 6 usually, which i find rather odd actually given they would sell more if they moved their dates back 4 weeks..., But this time around there actually is something really new worth waiting for.

it seems a little daft to pay Full Price now for last January's product when you Know they will reduce the price within weeks.

no word on Intel 4 port 10 Gig 'Ethernet Over Lightpeak' Fibre PciE cards yet, that could be interesting too.

"Am I right in thinking that these new processors are hardly going to show an improvement over a 3 year old 2GHz C2D for applications that are not multi-threaded or am I missing something here?" one thing i forgot to mention too, its well known that Intel always optimise their CPU cores for single threading throughput, whereas amd dont, being more work station focused.
http://www.realworldtech.com/page.cf...1810191937&p=1

LOL, The President of NVIDIA company "CONSIDER SANDY BRIDGE AS BEST PROCESSOR ON THE PLANET" and intend's "to obtain system on base Of sandy bridge for personal use, as soon as this will become possible."

http://xtreview.com/addcomment-id-14...he-planet.html

---------- Post added at 20:03 ---------- Previous post was at 18:39 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by roger skillin

Wait until summer next year when both the new intel Sandybridge and AMD Cpu's come out, Yes i said AMD but i think they are finally going to get back on top of intel in 2011, have a search on google for the new cpu's coming next year to get an idea

"The Sandy Bridge clients will go into production later this year, with products for 1Q11. This is substantially ahead of AMD’s competing Llano processor, which also integrates graphics on-die, but shipments are delayed till 1H11, with products likely a quarter later. "

its going to be a little longer than 6 months/summer for AMD and their OEM's to ship real product it seems...

and i cant see any AND matching Sandybridge on real life app throughput, never mind beating it clock for clock in 2011, even their current 'dual socket' 8 real core's 'work station' gets beat by the current generation single Chip ,4 core (8 threads) intel i7, never mind the 6 real core's (12 threads version). in 9 months or so, I may look again, and change my Opinion Once they are actually here OC, we shall see!.