i5 vs i7 ulv question

[BlueThursday]

New here, and searched around forums a bit. Sorry if this has been recently covered.

I'm configuring a notebook that has an option between the i5-2537M and i7-2617M. $70 extra. My demands are fairly low, but I don't mind spending a bit for some breathing room with regard to cpu power. Wondering just how significant/insignificant the difference in capabilities between them. 1.4ghz/2.3 turbo, 1.5/2.6, 4mb cache vs 3, respectively. I don't mind the money, but if the difference is tiny I would just as soon pass.

Many thanks, and hi. =)

 

[MrMaestro]

I'm weighing these up as well, as I'm looking at the new Lenovo E220s. Unfortunately these SNB ULV chips are brand spanking new and there aren't any reviews out yet, so you'll just have to compare the options yourself.

The i7 doesn't look like it would be that much more powerful, with only the extra cache and a couple of hundred MHz clock speed bump. The laptop's intended purpose is uni-orientated, I don't need much horsepower - I have a desktop for games and demanding software.So myself, I'm leaning towards the i5.

 

[dma0991]

For a laptop and if you are not running multithreaded programs, the Core i5 and the Core i7 will perform just about the same. The 4 extra 'virtual cores' that you get from the Core i7 with HT will only be beneficial to multithreaded programs.

If money is not a matter to you then you can choose the Core i7. If you disable HT on the Core i7 you can theoretically consume less power than a Core i5. They both have 17W TDP.

 

[MrMaestro]

The low-end and ULV mobile i7's are dual-core + HyperThreading, same as all the i5s, so there's no advantage there.

 

[dma0991]

Hmm how odd it totally diverges from the normal setup that desktop SB processors are :hmm:.

Since they are both the same then the obvious choice would be the Core i5. The performance difference should be minimal at best as ULV processors do not focus on performance. That $70 could be better spent on more RAM unless the laptop already comes with 8GB.