Showing posts with label laptop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laptop. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2011

i7-2620M vs i5-2410M comparison: Dell XPS 15z

UPDATE: An update for Dell XPS 15z users: Read it if you have some time
XPS 15z: Why you should not buy a premium Dell laptop
http://techienetizen.blogspot.com/2012/02/xps-15z-why-you-should-not-buy-premium.html 


Dell XPS 15z processor configuration options available are: i7-2620M and i5-2410M; both dual cores. So a comparison between them and to one of the top available processor (i7-2820QM ) would be interesting. See the table below to access how these processors fare in comparison to top-notch quad core i7.

i7 vs i5 specifications
Basically i7-2620M has more clock speed, Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency, cache and Bus/Core Ratio. One feature to note;  i5-2410M does not support Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). This technology is useful for running virtual machines with VMWare, Xen, VirtualBox etc. So if you want to run, say Linux or Hackintosh as VMWare virtual machines, go for i7 version.

More details here: Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d): Enhancing Intel platforms for efficient virtualization of I/O devices

Product Name
Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM Processor (8M Cache, 2.30 GHz)
Intel® Core™ i7-2620M Processor (4M Cache, 2.70 GHz)
Intel® Core™ i5-2410M Processor (3M Cache, 2.30 GHz)
Processor Number
i7-2820QM
i7-2620M
i5-2410M
# of Cores
4
2
2
# of Threads
8
4
4
Clock Speed
2.3 GHz
2.7 GHz
2.3 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency
3.4 GHz
3.4 GHz
2.9 GHz
Cache
8 MB Intel® Smart Cache
4 MB Intel® Smart Cache
3 MB Intel® Smart Cache
Bus/Core Ratio
23
27
23
Max TDP
45 W
35 W
35 W
Recommended Channel Price
$568.00
$346.00
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type)
16 GB
8 GB
8 GB
Max Memory Bandwidth
25.6 GB/s
21.3 GB/s
21.3 GB/s
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency
1.3 GHz
1.3 GHz
1.2 GHz
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Yes
Yes
No
Intel® Trusted Execution Technology
Yes
Yes
No
AES New Instructions
Yes
Yes
No


Well, I saw this as an option for XPS 15 configuration (not XPS 15z).

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz [Included in Price]
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz [Add $95.00 or $3.00/month]


That means, Quad core i7-2630QM is $95 cheaper than i7-2620M dual core processor?! Okay, that Quad core has slower clock speed than dual core. (2.00 GHz vs 2.70 GHz) 

Now this YouTube video explains the logic:  
Intel i7 dual core more $$$ than an Intel i7 quad core???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqM4OMKCjx0
 I'm still not clear about i7 vs i5 battery life. I'm willing to sacrifice a small increase in processor speed for a longer battery life.

Processor comparison link to Intel Website:
http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=52227,52231,52224

Now what configuration to select from the available options? It's always good to know where your money is going.

The price vs performance difference on available Dell XPS 15z models from Dell.com

All these have Elemental Silver Aluminum 15.6" 300-nit FHD (1080P) WLED Display with Webcam
Highest configuration
Next best option
Lowest config
Processor
Intel Core™ i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz
Intel Core™ i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Intel Core™ i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Memory (RAM)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
Hard Disc
750GB2 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
750GB2 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
500GB2 SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
Video Card Memory
2048MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT525M
2048MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT525M
1024MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT525M
Warranty
1 Year Advanced Service Plan
(Free 2 Years Advanced Service Plan if you have a coupon code that I used; valued $210.00 extra at the Dell.com)
1 Year Basic Service Plan
1 Year Basic Service Plan
MS Office
Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook 
Extra $119.00 for  Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010

Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook;
Extra $119.00 for  Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010
Price
1499.99
$1299.99
$1099.99
In a nutshell, this means: 
250 GB HDD upgrade + 1GB VRAM upgrade + Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010 = $200
i7 processor upgrade + 2GB RAM upgrade   +  1 yr Advanced care Warranty upgrade - Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2010 = $200


My opinion: The basic $999.99 model is only 720p. Pick $1299.00 one if you are looking for a stylish, sleek laptop for quality multimedia, browsing and office work (MS Office 2010 license included). But if you already have MS Office license and you want to run some virtual machine with full hardware virtualization, go for the $1499.99 option.


Final update:- June 5th 2011
Okay, after a week of research, I'm going for the $1499.99 option, which I feel suits my needs and worth the money. 

Config: i7 processor, 8 GB RAM, 750 GB 7200 rpm HDD, 2GB Nvidia GPU,  2 years Advanced warranty (damage/spill/screen break all covered for two years), higher and instant customer service with direct Dell rep phone number (no wait time for support).
 


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Link to Dell.com:
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