help buying a laptop, 6MB cache VS 8MB cache

Nodferatu · 26-01-2011 08:21PM #1

i am looking to buy a dell laptop and on their website customizing a laptop there is one thing that baffles me, i dont understand the whole processor cache thing!!

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 720QM (1.60Ghz, 6MB cache)
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 820QM (1.73Ghz, 8MB cache)

whats the difference between a 6MB cache and an 8MB cache. apart from the €300 difference? is this another way of saying RAM?
sorry im not very knowledgable of technical end of computers.

Alanstrainor · 26-01-2011 08:37PM

Chances are you wont notice any difference at all. It's not RAM, generally the more cache the better, but for 300 euro it's not worth it at all.

Voodu Child · 26-01-2011 09:37PM

The main difference is the clockspeed.

i7 820QM: 1.73GHz base/2.0GHz 3 cores/2.8GHz 2 cores/3.06GHz 1 core
i7 720QM: 1.6GHz base/1.73GHz 3 cores/2.4GHz 2 cores/2.8GHz 1 core

The difference in performance is pretty much what you would expect by comparing the clockspeeds. I would not pay big bucks to upgrade to the i7-820qm.

They are both late 2009-era processors at 45nm, I wouldn't buy one in 2011 unless you are getting a good discount.

The new Sandy Bridge platform was launched earlier in the month and the quadcores are faster, run cooler and use less power. I think they are all 32nm.

Nodferatu · 26-01-2011 09:49PM

ok i see, however i was looking at the dell studio xps ones, the reason i was going for them is because with dell you can customize the laptop the way you want exactly,
this is the one i was looking at: do you think it would be outdated to buy one?

link: http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Dell-Laptops/laptop-studio-xps-1645/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-1645&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&~oid=ie~en~510295~laptop-studio-xps-16_n00x6501~~

Voodu Child · 26-01-2011 10:09PM

Nodferatu wrote: »

ok i see, however i was looking at the dell studio xps ones, the reason i was going for them is because with dell you can customize the laptop the way you want exactly,
this is the one i was looking at: do you think it would be outdated to buy one?

Its a bit outdated alright, personally I wouldn't go for it at this stage unless they were knocking a fair bit off.

But I just looked at the customise options and the RGBLED screen is standard. That sweetens the deal a lot, its a really great display, one of the best on any notebook.

x in the city · 26-01-2011 11:09PM

cache is memory on the cpu itself, as pointed out you wouldnt notice much of a difference in general usage.

cache is basically a very fast temp memory. thats why its expensive, but its not too important in the general scheme of things

Nodferatu · 26-01-2011 11:13PM

ok thanks to you all for the info, i might wait a few weeks/months for this new processor to be rolled out in laptops

Voodu Child · 26-01-2011 11:46PM

Nodferatu wrote: »

ok thanks to you all for the info, i might wait a few weeks/months for this new processor to be rolled out in laptops

The i7-2630QM is the base mobile quadcore for the new platform. I'd expect it to be in laptops at the same kind of price range as the previous i7-720QM. Just do a search in somewhere like Amazon and you'll already see 2630QM models showing up.

To give you an idea of why its worth waiting for, the new entry level quad (i7-2630QM) is about as fast as the very highest-end XM quadcores from the last gen.

The Black Pearl · 27-01-2011 03:15PM

Voodu Child wrote: »

The main difference is the clockspeed.

i7 820QM: 1.73GHz base/2.0GHz 3 cores/2.8GHz 2 cores/3.06GHz 1 core
i7 720QM: 1.6GHz base/1.73GHz 3 cores/2.4GHz 2 cores/2.8GHz 1 core

The difference in performance is pretty much what you would expect by comparing the clockspeeds. I would not pay big bucks to upgrade to the i7-820qm.

They are both late 2009-era processors at 45nm, I wouldn't buy one in 2011 unless you are getting a good discount.

The new Sandy Bridge platform was launched earlier in the month and the quadcores are faster, run cooler and use less power. I think they are all 32nm.

Voodu Child wrote: »

The i7-2630QM is the base mobile quadcore for the new platform. I'd expect it to be in laptops at the same kind of price range as the previous i7-720QM. Just do a search in somewhere like Amazon and you'll already see 2630QM models showing up.

To give you an idea of why its worth waiting for, the new entry level quad (i7-2630QM) is about as fast as the very highest-end XM quadcores from the last gen.

Thanks for that. I've been looking for some info on the new sandy bridge processors. Any idea when they'll be freely available here? HP Ireland hadn't a clue...

lynchie · 27-01-2011 03:44PM

I've been waiting on Dell to refresh their laptops too with the sandy bridge processors. The new XPS 17 is due for release Feb 1st in the US, with other regions following after. There is a refresh of the 15 and 16 on the way too after the 17. HP in the US dont have a clue when their updated envy and pavillion ranges with Sandy Bridge are to be released so dont expect HP Ireland to know anything for a long time yet!

The first Sandy bridge laptop that is actually on sale right now (bar the Alienware mx17r3 which wont start shipping till this week / next week) is the MSI GT680r (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152239) Not sure what it will retail here for though.

The Black Pearl · 27-01-2011 03:51PM

lynchie wrote: »

I've been waiting on Dell to refresh their laptops too with the sandy bridge processors. The new XPS 17 is due for release Feb 1st in the US, with other regions following after. There is a refresh of the 15 and 16 on the way too after the 17. HP in the US dont have a clue when their updated envy and pavillion ranges with Sandy Bridge are to be released so dont expect HP Ireland to know anything for a long time yet!

The first Sandy bridge laptop that is actually on sale right now (bar the Alienware mx17r3 which wont start shipping till this week / next week) is the MSI GT680r (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152239) Not sure what it will retail here for though.

Cheers for that...

Im ready to buy right away, either an xps 15 or 17 but Im gonna resist the temptation and wait and see what Dell want for the new versions.

Even if they are out of my price range hopefully their release will see the "old" i7's drop in price....

Give you laugh, ask someone in PC world the above

Jonny7 · 27-01-2011 04:10PM

and don't get too hung up on spec.. honestly, its not that important, aesthetics, nice keyboard/trackpad, portability, battery life, etc usually play a larger role in the long run than having the fastest processor

Nodferatu · 27-01-2011 06:22PM

yeah im the same im gonna wait until dell refresh their laptops, hopefully very soon!!!

lynchie · 28-01-2011 10:33AM

Jonny7 wrote: »

and don't get too hung up on spec.. honestly, its not that important, aesthetics, nice keyboard/trackpad, portability, battery life, etc usually play a larger role in the long run than having the fastest processor

Fair point but sandy bridge processors have built in GPU so any laptop that uses the inbuilt GPU over a discrete one will have a longer battery life than existing laptops, so in this case using the newer processor will have a bearing on battery life. There was a recent test of the i7-2820qm in a test notebook that pulled 19 watts on idle compared to the current i7 which drew 44!

The Black Pearl · 28-01-2011 10:36AM

lynchie wrote: »

Fair point but sandy bridge processors have built in GPU so any laptop that uses the inbuilt GPU over a discrete one will have a longer battery life than existing laptops, so in this case using the newer processor will have a bearing on battery life. There was a recent test of the i7-2820qm in a test notebook that pulled 19 watts on idle compared to the current i7 which drew 44!

I just hope they get the finger out and release them asap....

Jonny7 · 28-01-2011 11:27AM

lynchie wrote: »

Fair point but sandy bridge processors have built in GPU so any laptop that uses the inbuilt GPU over a discrete one will have a longer battery life than existing laptops, so in this case using the newer processor will have a bearing on battery life. There was a recent test of the i7-2820qm in a test notebook that pulled 19 watts on idle compared to the current i7 which drew 44!

yah, hence I mentioned how important batt life is

Laptops are like cars, you can have all the horsepower in the world, but it can be an utterly **** frustrating car

Desktops however - horsepower is everything

help buying a laptop, 6MB cache VS 8MB cache

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