I need your knowledge! Mobile Core i7 Vs Normal Core i7 in laptop

[coppatop]

Hey everyone. I am planning on buying a laptop to use as a Desktop Replacement. I need this laptop to do pretty much everything, and last me at least 4 years (my desktop is 6.5 years old and still runs fine).

I do a lot of photo editing, I am a professional photographer, and an avid gamer, and a music/movie whore. I need power, speed, and space. I don't necessarily need a large battery life. I need this laptop to LAST, and not burn out on me.

Sager makes laptops with the normal core i7 chips in them, but I heard that while these are more powerful, they can fry the system, and may not last as long.

My Budget is $3100, here are the two systems I am debating between:

System A: http/www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=654

Screen Size: 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) Glossy Widescreen
Video Card: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M 1GB GDDR3
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-950 Processor (3.06GHz) 8MB L3 Cache, 4.8 GT/sec QPI, LGA 1366
Memory: 6GB (3 SODIMMS) DDR3/1066 Triple Channel Memory
Disk Space: 500gb 7,200 RPM x2, 320gb 5400RPM x1 (1320GB)
CD/DVD/Blu: 2x Blu-Ray Reader/8x Super Multi Combo Drive
+ Other Misc stuff (OS, WiFi, Batteries, case, etc)

Price: $3100

Pros:
+Faster Processor
+Blu Ray
+Much more HD Space

Cons:
- Slower/Less Ram than System B
- Low Battery Life (assuming this based on the processor + 3 HDs)


System B: http/www.powernotebooks.com/configure.php?special=683

Screen Size: 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080) LED Backlit LCD
Video Card: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M 1GB GDDR3 (same)
Processor: 7-820QM (1.73~3.06GHz, 45W) w/8M L3 Cache - 10Gb/s DMI I/O BUS (what is this variable processor speed? 1.73 - 3.06 ghz?)
Memory: 8GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3/1333 Dual Channel Memory
Disk Space: 500gb 7,200 RPM x2
CD/DVD/Blu: Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
+ Other Misc stuff (OS, WiFi, Batteries, case, etc)

Price: $3030

Pros:
+ Better/ Faster/ More RAM
+ Slightly Wider Screen
+ Better Battery Life

Cons:
- Less Space
- Variable / Slower Processor
- No Blu Ray



I hope you can all give me some insight here. Order of imporance to me is:
1. Photo/Video Editing
2. Gaming Ability
3. Durability (how long it will last)
4. Everything else


Thanks!

 

[lostandwandering]

The variable speed means that the CPU will adjust it's speed depending on what is happening. Under normal situations it will run all 4 cores at its stock 1.73ghz. When you fully load a single core up it will adjust the speed to the 3.06ghz they are advertising. It's like Turbo Boost in the desktop i7's just that all 4 cores can't achieve the full 3.06ghz boost speed.

Anandtech did a good job of explaining everything: http/anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3647&p=1

They do some benchmarks in there and compare a mobile i7 920XM vs a mobile QX9300 vs a desktop i7 975.

 

[coppatop]

Thanks for the read.

 

[lostandwandering]

Yup, hope it answered your questions.

 

[coppatop]

Well, it looks like there is little difference in battery life, and gaming performance, but a big difference in video/photo editing in favor of the desktop chip. The desktop chip, and system A have Tri-channel memory, so I think I'm going to go with that.

 

[lostandwandering]

Ok, good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[El_Capitan]

Well, it looks like there is little difference in battery life, and gaming performance, but a big difference in video/photo editing in favor of the desktop chip. The desktop chip, and system A have Tri-channel memory, so I think I'm going to go with that.

Good decision.

I'd recommend buying from http/www.rjtech.com/, they've got better cost.

Don't buy an i7 950. Not worth it. Also, don't buy the CPU, Memory, Hard Drive, Optical Drive (Blu-Ray), and Network card from them, buy from searching on the net. You'll save a lot of money.

CPU: Get the i7 920 or the W3520.
Memory: 6GB (3 SODIMMS) DDR3/1066
Hard Drive: Corsair P128 or the Crucial CT128M225 - You'll notice the difference in performance and your notebook will be lighter and use less power.

 

[coppatop]

Why i7 920 and not 950? I can get the i950 with minimul cost upgrades, and it is faster.

 

[El_Capitan]

If you're going to go for CPU speed, get the 975 instead, but otherwise, you'll see more of a performance boost with a SSD drive than .4 GHz extra CPU Frequency. With a 975, you can overclock. Or, you can get an X9550... lower base frequency but also lower 95W instead of 130W, so lower temperatures.

 

[coppatop]

The i975 is substantially more money than I can afford, unfortunately.

 

[butcher]

you will most likely find that a 920 is more than enough speed for pretty much anything you will do and it cost a lot less

grab a sinlge ssd and 2X 500gb for speed and space (go for an intel 160gb or 128gb Falcon/vertex/ random barefoot ssd)

 

[lostandwandering]

If you're going to go for CPU speed, get the 975 instead, but otherwise, you'll see more of a performance boost with a SSD drive than .4 GHz extra CPU Frequency. With a 975, you can overclock. Or, you can get an X9550... lower base frequency but also lower 95W instead of 130W, so lower temperatures.

Wow, I wouldn't recommend the 975 at all. Not for a $750 upgrade price. You should be able to overclock the other processors as well, and the 920 can easily obtain 975 speeds should you need them. And the X9550 isn't even offered for that laptop so I'm not sure where that is coming from.....

 

[El_Capitan]

Wow, I wouldn't recommend the 975 at all. Not for a $750 upgrade price. You should be able to overclock the other processors as well, and the 920 can easily obtain 975 speeds should you need them. And the X9550 isn't even offered for that laptop so I'm not sure where that is coming from.....

Good, because I didn't recommend the i7 975. I recommended the i7 920. If he was intent on getting a faster CPU, then I'd say get the i7 975 rather than the i7 950.

I meant the X5550, not the X9550 (there is no such thing). The X5550 is the extreme Xeon version, which has an unlocked multiplier.

 

[lostandwandering]

Good, because I didn't recommend the i7 975. I recommended the i7 920. If he was intent on getting a faster CPU, then I'd say get the i7 975 rather than the i7 950.

maybe I'm reading your last post wrong. Either way, I'm not going to argue over it since it's not productive. I do agree that the 920 is the best choice, since he can overclock it anyway.

Anyway, I wouldn't bother adding in all these upgrades after the fact anyway. You're going to be tossing more money into an already expensive piece of hardware. It's not even worth it to upgrade RAM on your own since memory prices have gone up in the last few weeks.

 

[coppatop]

I probably won't have the funds until december/january anyways.

 

[El_Capitan]

Well, once December/January hits, there'll be sales a dozen. Also, you won't be able to overclock the i7 920 on the notebook - not that you'd need to. You can't softmod using setFSB, but you could hardmod the PLL (though I'd not risk it). For any extreme processor (hence the i7 975 and X5550), they have unlocked multipliers you can raise in the BIOS.

 

[terset]

www.eurocom.com ... Tom has been using them in a few of the articles recently and I do have to say, their products are very well priced. The new D900F can be upgraded to xeon processors and also the video card can be upgraded. Your budget would work with a slight down grade and also there is a trade-in program they have. Check it out. this is the ultimate desktop replacement.

 

[terset]

Tho...now looking at it. Its the same clevo model. Just don't know if the mother board is the same. This happened with one of the earlier models... i think it was the D900T. they looked the same but some differences. but like i said, the "Trade-in" program knocks off up to another 20% if you meet the guidelines. Good luck either way.