Help with processor pick

[Enginerd]

Hey guys,
I am looking in the next two week to be buying a new gaming laptop. I believe that I have settled on the Sager 5797.(If there are others I should consider, except for gateway, please feel free to mention them!) I am now stuck on whether I should get the Q9000(2.0 Ghz) or P9700(2.8 Ghz) processor. I am an engineering student. Although I like to game.(And would like good performance considering I will be spending $2300 on a laptop. ) Also would the 25w vs. 45w TDP make a noticeable difference in battery life/heat? Thanks in advance.

 

[frozenlead]

The Q9000 is quad-core, and use more power than it's dual-core brother, and more heat.

For the notebook, though, I think you should get the dual. The quad may be clocked too low to feed the GPU (a 280, I think), and the dual adds in to battery life.
Most engineering applications you'll come to know and love (matlab, solidworks, CAD..) like having quad-cores, but the dual in that notebook is no laughing matter either. Your university probably has far better machines for you to use, anyway.

 

[Enginerd]

The Q9000 is quad-core, and use more power than it's dual-core brother, and more heat.

For the notebook, though, I think you should get the dual. The quad may be clocked too low to feed the GPU (a 280, I think), and the dual adds in to battery life.
Most engineering applications you'll come to know and love (matlab, solidworks, CAD..) like having quad-cores, but the dual in that notebook is no laughing matter either. Your university probably has far better machines for you to use, anyway.

How much battery life do you think I would gain from getting the P9700 vs. the Q9000? 10min? 20min? 30min? And yes the GPU would be the GTX 280m. Btw, does the 5797 use hybrid power(integrated graphics on power saver) or does it just down clock the 280 for lower power modes? Do you think that I could undervolt for even more battery life? Also I have heard of GPU undervolting, although never seen it in practice... Is this possible and would it be a good idea?
Yeah the engineering labs are pretty sweet. We have some very nice, new maxed out Alienware labs.

 

[frozenlead]

You won't gain so much. My guess is probably 15 minutes.

The 5797 does not use hybrid power - the 280 is just downclocked when put in "power saver" mode.

You can undervolt, but I've no idea how. I'm sure there's a solution though - BIOS mod or software undervolting. It's a computer. You can make it do anything if you try hard enough. As for it being a good idea...dunno. If it's stable, it won't hurt.

Alienware labs? That doesn't make any sense. Alienware makes gaming machines, not work computers. That was kind of a waste of money on the university's part. I was talking like cluster computing, maybe even supercomputing, depending on your university.

 

[Enginerd]

Anybody else?

And yes we do have cluster computing and a supercomputer. But they are only available to people with research and specific classes. Which is not me.

yet...

 

[frozenlead]

yet...

I lol'd.

 

[lostandwandering]

I agree with Frozen, I feel the faster clocked dual will win out in most case.

1) Yes it is possible to undervolt GPUs. I've never done it, but I know people who have. That being said, I'm not sure how much it will help your battery life since Windows and NV drivers do a decent job throttling the card back when on battery.