Which Laptop?

witch · July 19, 2011

I need a laptop for my daughter to take to uni - it needs to be 17in screen, with a good dedicated graphics card (she is studying product design engineering and so needs good graphics).

We were looking at the Dells but the difference between i5 and i7 has been blurred, it seems, with new versions being released by intel. See here: Core i5 vs. Core i7: Differences Between Intel&#39 s i5 and i7 Processors

I am very confused now.

We were looking at an XPS L701X i7 which looked quite good but then we saw that the processor was slower than the i5 which confused us.

We can't afford much more than £700 tops - not with all three kids at Uni next year - so any advice gratefully received!

Steve21 · July 19, 2011

I am very confused now.
We were looking at an XPS L701X i7 which looked quite good but then we saw that the processor was slower than the i5 which confused us.

What makes you say i5 is faster than i7? Remember a lot of the i7s have double the i5 cores/threads

Steve

jcollings · July 19, 2011

It's well worth looking at the Dell Outlet for a good price.

Dell Outlet - Refurbished Computers/PCs: Laptops, Desktops & Servers | Dell UK

One of the guys here bought a 17" one for a bargain price from there. Saved a good bit on the price

witch · July 19, 2011

The spec says so - mrwITch's i5 is one of the newer ones - sandy bridge? - 2.6ghz whereas the i7 we were looking at was 1.73ghz.

mrwIT says the double cores/threads is only any use if the software you use can deal with that.

The article confused me...

Just want a decent spec machine!!!

I bought a machine from Dell Outlet last year for the last child to take to uni - a very nice i5 There hasnt been much on the site lately and the current one that is there is actually cheaper if you buy it new after you add in VAT and delivery.

Edited July 19, 2011 by witch

July 19, 2011

mrwIT says the double cores/threads is only any use if the software you use can deal with that.

Yes and no. IME most software now will utilise 4 cores. Even just sat on edugeek with a few apps in the background 5 of my threads are being utilised. Also clock speed has got little to do with it unless comparing same family CPUs, and even then thanks to the way intel label their CPUs it's still very confusing.

Personally I'd be aiming at the sandy bridge series - tbh anything in that range and you can't go wrong.

What about the Dell "New Inspiron 17R" or XPS 17 ranges?

Edited July 19, 2011 by Guest

witch · July 19, 2011

Yes and no. IME most software now will utilise 4 cores. Even just sat on edugeek with a few apps in the background 5 of my threads are being utilised. Also clock speed has got little to do with it unless comparing same family CPUs, and even then thanks to the way intel label their CPUs it's still very confusing.

Personally I'd be aiming at the sandy bridge series - tbh anything in that range and you can't go wrong.

What about the Dell "New Inspiron 17R" or XPS 17 ranges?

It is the XPS17 we are looking at on the site wasn't a sandybridge - so that is the issue. MrwITch's i5 sandybridge has 2 cores and therefore up to 4 threads, whereas the XPS i7 is a clarksfield and has 4 cores and up to 8 threads. So is that better? Or not?

The New Inspiron appears to be an i3 and anyway doesnt have enough graphics

Steve21 · July 19, 2011

It is the XPS17 we are looking at on the site wasn't a sandybridge - so that is the issue. MrwITch's i5 sandybridge has 2 cores and therefore up to 4 threads, whereas the XPS i7 is a clarksfield and has 4 cores and up to 8 threads. So is that better? Or not?
The New Inspiron appears to be an i3 and anyway doesnt have enough graphics

Well generally sandys give more performance per core/thread as you mentioned, But unless I'm mistaken, It's still "worse" then double cores, if that makes sense (in a sense: 4x2.6 vs8x1.7~ (Not exact, but example))

Only main advantage of sandy I can see, is it's lower power. But compared to what the rest of the laptop will use (17" etc) minimal imo.

Steve

witch · July 19, 2011

Well generally sandys give more performance per core/thread as you mentioned, But unless I'm mistaken, It's still "worse" then double cores, if that makes sense (in a sense: 4x2.6 vs8x1.7~ (Not exact, but example))

Only main advantage of sandy I can see, is it's lower power. But compared to what the rest of the laptop will use (17" etc) minimal imo.

Steve

Don't think I understand that - so...should I go for the 17in clarksfield?

(I just want to break into song.."Take the last train to clarksfield (yes, I know) and I'll meet you at the station")

July 19, 2011

Heres the inspiron The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

I would have thought a 525m would have been fine, it seems to play games ok

Which i7 is it? I can't find any i7s on the dell site which arn't sandy bridge.

This is the XPS I was looking at. Same spec as the inspiron near enough but with a GT550 http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n00x7m03&c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&model_id=xps-l702x

Edited July 19, 2011 by Guest

witch · July 19, 2011

Looking at a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 740QM which according the Intel website is a clarksfield

configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=n00xl706&m_30=322462

It has to be a 17in and it has to have a lot of graphics, probably at least 2GB of non-integrated due to the extensive 3D software she is going to have to run at Uni (they have told us that)

Edited July 19, 2011 by witch

Steve21 · July 19, 2011

Looking at a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 740QM which according the Intel website is a clarksfield
configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=n00xl706&m_30=322462

Don't suppose you know which I5 you were comparing it to? or which your partner has?

Steve

July 19, 2011

BTW I'm getting "your message is too short..." while trying to post back to you. I believe it's because of the auto replace on youtube URLs

July 19, 2011

Looking at a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 740QM which according the Intel website is a clarksfield
configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=n00xl706&m_30=322462

Well according to benchmarks the sandy bridge is slightly faster. Plus it has better graphics and is £50 cheaper.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

EDIT // No sorry the graphics are a bit slower - blooming nvidea product names!

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

Sack it, just get a mac, it's easier!

Edited July 19, 2011 by Guest

witch · July 19, 2011

Where are you looking?

Can't get a mac - can't afford it, don't need it, and yes I am one of those mac haters...

Actually the uni has said that they have more pcs with the software on than macs so a windows machine would be preferable.

witch · July 19, 2011

mrwITch has a Dell XPS 17 with an i5 2540M

Steve21 · July 19, 2011

Aye seems that does beat i7 by a bit.

Not sure what pricing difference is like on them, personally would go with whichever has the better graphics. Did a lot of 3d design at uni and was always my graphics that let me down IMHO

Unless you'll be wanting hours of rendering etc doubt the diff in the two CPUs will matter

Steve

witch · July 20, 2011

Well after a quick look at Dells site you could get a Sandy Bridge i7 based system for just over your £700 budget. £750.14 would get you

Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM

Windows®7 Home Premium (64 BIT)

Memory 6GB (1x2GB, 1x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM

Video Card 3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card

Hard Drive 1TB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Dual HDD - (2x500GB)

Optical Devices DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write)

Wireless Networking Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)

Service Standard Service - 1 year

Primary Battery 9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery

LCD 17.3"(44 cm) HD+ WLED True-Life (1600x900) with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Use this code at checkout for 15% off CGJ1CJ721GVXFC

That's quite a long way over the budget - even with the 15% off but thanks

She will be doing lots of rendering, I think. This is true product design where you are actuallly designing real things, and the idea is to produce a working object

Armando3 · July 21, 2011

I'd go for i7. i7 > i5

witch · July 21, 2011

AAARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH Thanks Armando3 but if you read the whole thread you would see that was where this all started - is i7 really better than i5?

The problem is budget. With three offspring at Uni next year and no maintenance loan even paying accomodation costs never mind food etc, we are on a tight budget. She is allowed a better laptop than her brothers as the course requires it (last year bought one for the son - i5 - £450) but too much better and they will not be happy!

July 21, 2011

Just to muddy the waters even more, you might want to consider a FHD Screen is design is going to be it's main use.

Must say I agree. Whats the point in a low resolution 17 inch monitor? IMO anything over 14inch has to be 1080p or better.

That's quite a long way over the budget - even with the 15% off but thanks
She will be doing lots of rendering, I think. This is true product design where you are actuallly designing real things, and the idea is to produce a working object

Unfortunately I think if you want a decent graphics card in a laptop you will be looking at a lot more than you are budgeting, especially since you require a 17 inch monitor - could she not use an external monitor when needed and get a 15inch laptop?

Personally I think a good compromise would be this; (using sysmans 15% coupon)

Base 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2540M processor 2.60 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.30 GHz
Microsoft Operating System English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory 3072MB (1x2GB, 1x1GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Video Card 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M Graphics Card
Hard Drive 500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Optical Devices DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write)
Wireless Networking Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
Cables UK 250V Power Cord
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference N05X7M02
Service Standard Service - 1 year of Collect & Return 10 day coverage included with your PC
Extended Service 1 year of coverage included with your PC
Integrated Mobile Broadband Mobile Broadband Not Included
Order Information XPS L702x Order - UK
Primary Battery 6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion battery
Carrying Cases No Carrying Case
Dell System Media Kit XPS L702x Resource DVD
Color Choice Silver Anodized Aluminum Cover
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Protection
Online Backup DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence
TV Tuner and Remote Control TvTuner Not Included
LCD 17.3"(44 cm) HD+ WLED True-Life (1600x900) with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
DataSafe Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Protect your new PC McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
Power Supply 130W AC Adaptor
Operating System Recovery Options OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included

£682.13 delivered. Maybe up the ram mind.

Graphics card is decent for a laptop. The CPU I've speced is pretty god damn good tbf

Edited July 21, 2011 by Guest

AlfaTech · July 21, 2011

Looking at a Dell XPS 17 with an i7 740QM

I have an XPS 15 with a similarly powered processor. Its a Core i5 560M - dual core, hyper-threaded to quad, running from 2.66 (to 3.2 GHz with turbo boost). Which is comparable to the i7 720QM in terms of performance, and it's plenty powerful enough. Especially combined with a dedicated NVidia GeForce 420M 1GB so it plays all the latest games satisfactorily and simply roasts PhotoShop.

Check out the comparison of the 740QM to other processors here:

Intel Core i7 740QM Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech

(Look down at 'Surrounding CPUs')

Edited July 21, 2011 by AlfaTech

jerryeight · July 22, 2011

well you know i7 cpus are under clocked to save power but it could be ramped up with turbo boost for high perfornmance

witch · July 22, 2011

Thanks all. Advice from uni is that it really has to be a 2GB graphics card. I know a desktop would be preferable but not really possible as she will need it in the holidays and carrying a desktop back home could be a bit problematic!

witch · July 22, 2011

Solidworks pro and some bespoke software especially created for the Uni, apparently.

jerryeight · July 22, 2011

honestly if you need a system with 2gbs video memory and at least 4gbs of ram it is gonna be hard to keep it under 600£

Which Laptop?

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