Processing Speeds

PinkBabieGirl13

PinkBabieGirl13

New Member
Is it "fair" to compare a dual core processor against a quad core processor with the numbers it refers too.

For example, I am going to be buying a new laptop soon and my processor choices are:

Intel i7 620M @ 2.66 GHz and 3.33 GHz w/ Turbo Boost

or

Intel i5 540M @ 2.53 GHz up to 3.06 GHz w/ Turbo Boost

or

Intel i5 520M @ 2.4 GHz up to 2.93 GHz w/ Turbo Boost

Regardless of price and user opinion the i7 seems to be only faster by 0.13 Ghz compare to the higher end i5. But is it really fair to judge it by the number considering the i7 is a quad core processor. I have an Intel Core 2 Duo processor now and it runs at 2.4 GHz.

Thanks so much!
 
The disadvantage of having a quad-core over a dual-core in a laptop is battery life. The quad-core is going to lessen battery life. If battery life isn't an issue I would get the notebook with the i7 620M Quad-Core Processor.
 
The difference are cores. Whereas, core 2 duo has two cores and i7 has 6 cores and much more faster than previous versions of Intel.
 
*sigh* I wish people that have no idea what they are talking about would not respond.

The I7 620m is still a dual core, only the I7 700, 800, and 900 series are quads. And it is rated the same 35 watts as the I5 540. The only difference is the I7 has 4mb of cache and the I5 has 3mb, and of course as you already see the I7 has higher clocks.

The choice here is simple, the I7 is the best option even though it's still a dual core. A dual core with hyper threading is a good option for a laptop, should have all the processing power you'll need and then some. It's a strong CPU with really high clocks for a laptop especially with turbo at 3.33ghz thats really good.
 
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How baffling. Intel loves to throw people off with all the different processor labels. I didn't even know there were any Core i7 Processors that were dual-cores. Everytime I see a new Intel processor I will need to look up the specifications on it. Thanks for the useful information 87dtna.

Oh and Isarodriguez, the only i7 Six-Core I know of is the i7 980X Processor. Most of the other i7 Processors are Quad-Cores.
 
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