Question about Intel 2.8ghz Quad Core processor?

Question

I'm usually very good with computers, but this has got me stumped. I'm buying a new Studio 15 (1555) laptop from Dell (specs are below). I have a question about its processor, the "Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor @ 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)". I'm sure this'll sound dumb, but will I get constant 2.8GHz performance out of the processor, or will I have to go into "turbo mode"? What *is* turbo mode? And would anyone recommend the dual core 2.8GHz processor instead of this one? (I plan to use this computer for everyday use, mild gaming and moderate video editing).

Specs:
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor @ 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
15.6” Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
320GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) (I dont care much about storage)
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Dell 1520 Wireless-N Card
Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
Back-lit Keyboard
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 (Not as good as Nvidia, but its their only option)

Answer 1

Turbo mode is like, Factory overclock when there is temperature to spare.



so, it runs at 1.6 stock and 2.8 when in turbo mode.



I have a G72GX (MXM 3)

I went out of my way to get a P series CPU in there instead of the stock Quad.



Why?



When I overclock my Dual cores by just a little, 15% I get 2.9GHz, so in reality I get faster performance, MUCH lower heat (so I have spare cool air to overclock GPU just a drop) and the P series only needs 25 watts to run at stock 2.53 (More then planty to surf the net and play some movies or whatever).



If you want NUMBER one overall CPU with Gaming as primary concern, I suggest you go head and try for a P9600 (P9700 could be problematic with Dell), you could OC that bad boy to i9 speeds and still maintain that 25 watt TDP.



Have you ever by any chance tried ASUS?

Dell isnt very recomended for any gamer, EVER, I highly advise you look into this here Make and model laptop many times over and again many times over any gaming Dell:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Blue/Black/9556072.p?id=1218124204092&skuId=9556072



AVOID BEST BUY, shop them only if its your last resort.



I know Nvidia is in deep doo doo, but I want to point out that the GTX260 in fact MXM board and most importantly ASUS is world renown for their cooling solutions and I can personally vouch for that!

ATI is in its over priced stage right now the 4570 is simply a higher clocked 4530 (its OK mid range)

but the GTX260 and GTX280 is rated right up there not far off from the not yet released 5XXX series cards from ATI



http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-260M.14559.0.html



although, you will get better mobility with the Dell laptop if you go with a P series CPU in there since the 4570 DX10 only needs 12-17 watts compared to the 75 watts by the GTX260 DX10



But, I dont think this is even a choice, man that GTX in an asus for 1K pretty much spells it all out on what your choice should be.



the G72GX is a machine to love, but dont buy it before considering:

next month, late into next month for about 1600-1700 (pre-order) a new G model will be out with that oh so elusive ATI 5870 PLUS i7 just so you have the heads up on the coolest upcoming gaming laptops.



G72GX plows through Crysis warhead on Ultra settings and some BTW comes with chicklette light-up keyboard but im not sure of the 16 inch model has the same, might wanna double check.

Answer 2

The i7 is better than the Quad Core/Core 2 Duo no doubt, but a LOT more expensive (2x).



The core 2 duo is good enough for the items you have listed you'll be doing. Considering the future I would at least go for the Quad Core.



However, the boards that support Core 2 Duo also support Quad Core if you want to upgrade to Quad Core in the future.



Go for 4GB RAM at least with the above mentioned specs.



As for the graphics card Dell only has 2 options with 512 ATI with C2D and C2Q,a 1GB GeForce with i7. But you can always buy a better one later since thay all have the PCI x 16 slot.



As for the turbo mode question, the turbo is the latest technology that auto overclocks your CPU when you need max power out of it. Technically distributing the available idle cores power to the cores that are being heavily used.



P.S.: Later this year the i9 is being launched that'll be worth an upgrade with 6 cores. The i7 with 4 cores is really not a very big hit considering the huge price tag.

Answer 3

Personally, I would go for the Intel system. Intel make processors that are faster in almost all areas than AMD. Besides, no mainstream program can use all 6 core of the Phenom, and the y would benefit from the higher clock speed. Remember that the K edition of the 2600 is unlocked, so you can overclock it anyway. The difference between the 6970 and the 6950 is so negligible its unimportant. If you want, you can use AMD/ATI's Catalyst software to overclock it anyway. Finally, the Intel system has a larger hard disk at the same speed. If I were you, I'd add a cooling system to both of these builds. Hope this helps. Aaron

Answer 4

Normally, the processor will run at 1.6GHz and it will speed up to 2.8GHz when it needs to and when the conditions like temperature are right. Doing this increases battery life and makes the computer run cooler.



I will get this processor over the dual core for your purpose unless cost is an issue.

Answer 5

When the cpu needs to be faster to do more stuff/run different things it will change its frequency. The CPU won't always be running at 2.8GHz because when you aren't doing a lot of stuff the cpu will run at a lower frequency to save power. Also, it is pointless to have an i7 Intel processor when your gpu is only a slow 4570GPU. The gpu will totally bottleneck the cpu. I would recommend the slower cpu because with what you will be doing, you don't need all of that overkill pc specs.



Good luck