Comments on: Should I go with a 1.7 GHz i7 Quad Core or with a 2.3 GHz i5 Turbo Boost Dual Core Notebook?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:10:00 +0000

The Maximum Turbo frequency for this CPU is 2.9Ghz. You can find all details in the Intel specification

As for the time one can’t really say. It depends on other factors too like how much the graphics card is stressed and whether the boost is at maximum all the time or fluctuating.

By: Irkoe

Irkoe — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:09:00 +0000

for how long will the turbo boost go for on my Intel Core i5 2410m (about 2.3ghz)?

By: Kylebrickley

Kylebrickley — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 23:30:00 +0000

I would look at a HP Pavilion dv7-6103ea the new quad apu with dual gpus give you great performance and gaming with the likes of crisis 2 along with low voltage for longer battery

By: Garygary1

Garygary1 — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:40:00 +0000

dude, amd laptops last like 5 minutes on a charge. Intel all the way

By: Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:09:00 +0000

I would stay away from Intel, more expensive and the same (or worse) performance.

The performance of the i7 was really disappointing for me. The AMD Phenom II x4 is what I would recommend. I am a AMD guy, but give Intel a chance. That said, I have been very disappointed with some of the custom machine I have built with Intel in the last few years.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:24:00 +0000

Thanks for the response Mike!
This will help me get a better decision!

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:44:00 +0000

It is pretty much straight forward for the Intel Core Mobile processors.
An i7 will be more powerfull than an Core i5.

Both processors offer the Turbo Boost feature ~ for example:

Core i5-540M = 2,53GHz / max. 3.07GHz with TB
Core i7-740QM = 1,73GHz / max. 2.93GHz with TB

So basically both i5 and i7 scale up to ~3GHz using the Turbo Boost feature.

As for gaming the Core i7 will pay off in better performance while the Core i5 will simply do the job [meaning it has enough power for smooth gameplay but won't perform as good as the i7].

For the everyday tasks (email, office, movies) the Core i5 will probably be the “more powerfull choice” since it uses less power and your battery will last longer.
But that’s just the general rule ~ there are Low Voltage i7 CPU’s which will have lower power consumption than some of the i5.

So as for the CPU it’s more about high-end or good value ~ as in the money you want to spend.

What’s way more important is the Graphics Card!
For gaming you’ll have to look for discrete GPU offering at least 512MB (better 1GB) memory which is NOT shared with the RAM.