Thermal of i3-540(73W) > E7600(65W) ???

[bupkus]

I've been scouting out a new budget laptop comparing CPUs.

I was very surprised to find Intel's E7600 Core2 Duo (45 nm) was rated to have a 65W thermal whereas Intel's i3-540 (32 nm) was rated to have a 73W thermal. Both clock at 3.06GHz out of the box yet the smaller/newer cpu is warmer?

What am I missing?

 

[Markfw]

I think the 540 also has video card included in that thermal ?? Ther 7600 is cpu only ?

 

[bupkus]

I got the numbers from Newegg, both were desktop CPUs with retail packaging.

 

[dbcooper1]

The i3 has HT in addition to the video; the e7600 has neither.

 

[khon]

In addition to the HT and video which other have mentioned, it should also be pointed out that the TDP rating is anything but exact.

All the i3s are rated at 73W, even though the 3.33GHz i3-560 will obviously not use the same amount of power as the 2.93GHz i3-530.

The same is true for the 3.07GHz E7500, which is rated at the same TDP as the 2.53GHz E7200.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

The posts above pretty much cover it.

 

[Termie]

The e7600 actually uses about 2w less than the i3-540 at both idle and load: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-mainstream_10.html#sect0. This article compares the e7600 to the i3-530 and i3-550, but you can extrapolate the data for the 540.

 

[Spikesoldier]

i3 eats more power becuase it has the cpu and a northbridge in there. e7600 obviously does not. but when you factor in the northbridge's power, you will realize that the i3 is the more power efficient platform.

 

[IntelUser2000]

i3 eats more power becuase it has the cpu and a northbridge in there. e7600 obviously does not. but when you factor in the northbridge's power, you will realize that the i3 is the more power efficient platform.

Termie's link is showing otherwise. Of course the difference is little but its not in favor of the i3.

A Northbridge's TDP is rated with every feature of the chipset active, like the PCI Express slots, the DMI, memory controller, and whatever is in there. That's unlike a CPU which at some point nearly every unit is used. If the two platforms have same TDP but one moves chipset TDP to the CPU I'll bet that the one with the chipset integrated into the CPU would use slightly more power.

Any advantages of moving the Northbridge to a more advanced process is offset by the significantly better bandwidth and latency offered by the new one, not to mention the faster communication to the CPU.

In addition to the HT and video which other have mentioned, it should also be pointed out that the TDP rating is anything but exact.

Correct, but maybe not in the way you describe. It used to be that Intel specified power parameters for each and every SKU they had. 2.0GHz Pentium 4 might be 73W, and 1.8GHz is rated at say 65W. At some point later they moved to a "Family TDP", where every CPU in the same power bracket is given a fixed TDP rating. They may have moved to "Family TDP" for two reasons. One is that newer processes are more unpredictable in leakage and dynamic power and other is the chips with the same TDP rating is binned all similarly.

 

[bupkus]

For everything that applies to the i3-540, how much of it doesn't apply to the i3-370M?

 

[bupkus]

I think the 540 also has video card included in that thermal

I thought the first cpu to provide video functionality was SB.

 

[Markfw]

Well, if newegg wasn't hosed I could link what I am sure is true. All the I3 and some of the I5 processors all have integrated video in the CPU chip.

 

[ydnas7]

wait for a SB laptop, dual core, low end.
SB is faster than clarkdale, has more power saving technology and appears to be cheaper than clarkdale (why else is intel going to sell 3 pentium lines in SB, its gotta be cheaper than clarkdale.)
if you want a budget laptop now, the dual core celerons are surprisingly good, for anything better than a dual core celeron, get a SB.

 

[bupkus]

Well, if newegg wasn't hosed I could link what I am sure is true. All the I3 and some of the I5 processors all have integrated video in the CPU chip.

I just went there and man was I surprised. Newegg's Advanced Search within Desktop Processors offered an Integrated Video filter option.
There they were, 10 all built on the 32 nm scale offering video.

Ok, so what then does SB offer aside from a tweeking of those 10 processors?
Don't both offer memory controllers? Is the SB video a nice update?

 

[ydnas7]

The e7600 actually uses about 2w less than the i3-540 at both idle and load: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpu-benchmark-mainstream_10.html#sect0. This article compares the e7600 to the i3-530 and i3-550, but you can extrapolate the data for the 540.

the link is showing power draw at idle and at full load, what it doesn't show is the average power draw. the quicker the task can be completed at full load, the quicker the system can switch back to idle.

 

[bupkus]

if you want a budget laptop now, the dual core celerons are surprisingly good, for anything better than a dual core celeron, get a SB.

Which of those dual core celerons would you recommend? I ask concerned that some may be dogs to be avoided.
Also, do any have integrated video via cpu? If not won't that drain power and overall value away from the other components of the system or drive up price? Although I don't know if I can wait for a dual SB, how hard should I try?

 

[StrangerGuy]

Which of those dual core celerons would you recommend? I ask concerned that some may be dogs to be avoided.
Also, do any have integrated video via cpu? If not won't that drain power and overall value away from the other components of the system or drive up price? Although I don't know if I can wait for a dual SB, how hard should I try?

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37258

Celerons doesn't have speedstep, which make the battery life pretty miserable I suppose.

 

[Markfw]

OK, check this out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834200061

I3, 500 gig HD,and only $650 ?? You could probably beat that with a little research

 

[bupkus]

OK, check this out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834200061

I3, 500 gig HD,and only $650 ?? You could probably beat that with a little research

I'm in MN where MicroCenter is offering a Tosh i3 for 500. I should walk in there to look it over.

 

[bupkus]

Picked one up and so far it looks good.

 

[betasub]

^ Sounds like you got a bargain. Hope it performs up to your expectations.

 

[Zap]

What am I missing?

Besides having Northbridge (most power hungry part of motherboard) and graphics onboard like some already pointed out, you're missing the part about the mobile versions BOTH having the same 35W TDP (comparing non-ULV versions).

I thought the first cpu to provide video functionality was SB.

Wasn't it the Cyrix MediaGX?

 

[PlasmaBomb]

I thought the first cpu to provide video functionality was SB.

No Arrandale offers video functionality on chip - Arrandale the larger of the two is the 45nm GPU.

I just went there and man was I surprised. Newegg's Advanced Search within Desktop Processors offered an Integrated Video filter option.
There they were, 10 all built on the 32 nm scale offering video.

Ok, so what then does SB offer aside from a tweeking of those 10 processors?
Don't both offer memory controllers? Is the SB video a nice update?

SB offers a GPU integrated with the CPU (so one die rather than two), so the graphics are 32nm rather than 45nm, the graphics can also clock higher (turbo) depending on the requirements and thermals.

 

[bupkus]

SB offers a GPU integrated with the CPU (so one die rather than two), so the graphics are 32nm rather than 45nm, the graphics can also clock higher (turbo) depending on the requirements and thermals.

Thanks for the reminder. Now I recall the 2 chip on one module solution that predated SB.