Solved! Intel core i7 720QM

[techmaniack]

hi friends i wanna buy a new laptop and while googling, i stumbled upon this:

Dell(TM) Studio 14 Laptop (T540530IN8)

Intel® Core™ i7-720QM (1.6GHz, 4 Cores/8 Threads, turbo up to 2.8 GHz, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit (English)
4GB (2GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
14” High Definition 720p WLED (1366x768) Display with TrueLife™
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530
Now with Microsoft® Office Starter 2010!

Price Rs.50400/-


what i care about

-Video editing/converting
-Web Designing (Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Flex, )
-XAMPP
-Multiple OS's
-VMWare(a couple of virtual machines)
-a lot of coding as i am an engg student. (i.e keyboard and mousepad should be friendly)

What i don't care about

-Weight
-Looks


i doubt about only one thing that this Core i7 720QM has a clock frequency of 1.6Ghz would this affect the performance, as compared to a 2Ghz Core i5 or Core2Duo? coz if i go for a Corei5 or Core2Duo, i get more of RAM plus more Graphics memory...

and one more thing, does this 1.6Ghz is for individual core i.e. 4 cores = 4*1.6=#@#@#Ghz Aha! I hope this is true LoL

 

[WR2]

Hello techmaniack;

No - that 1.6Ghz is just 1.6Ghz for all four cores. But there ARE four cores. If only 1 core is needed that core can reach 2.8Ghz with TurboBoost. Review of the Core i7 notebook CPUs

If your #1 task is going to be Video editing/converting the i7 720QM is probably right for you if your video software is multi-theaded. VMWare is also a good reason to use a quad core CPU. But you'll also want 4GB of RAM.

Otherwise the Core i5 430 2.26Ghz (TurboBoost 2.53Ghz) might be better for Web Designing and XAMPP.
Core i5 430 review

 

[techmaniack]

hmmm but it does have 4GB of RAM..
neways thanks for ur reply.

i have a couple of other questions too:
1)Is the Graphics card good enough OR i have an other good option?
2)i've heard there are some issues with the DVD RW and Speakers of Dell Studio series???

 

[sierraguy]

I have that same machine but in a 15" model. In fact, I have had 4 such machines in the past 7 weeks.

Summary:
The current Dell laptop case design doesn't allow for proper cooling of the I7 CPU. Dell has admitted to this in their Bios Update A06.

Dell hasn't been able to resolve the heat issue for me yet. I've been researching other manufacturer's models and, after being a loyal Dell customer for nearly 10 years, am looking at ASUS, Toshiba and Samsung.

1) Coming from 15 years of IT experience, avoid the Dell Studio line. DO NOT get sucked into their problem by falling for a low sale price. For slightly more, you can get a far better machine.

2) Dell's customer and technical support quality has plummeted to new lows since I started buying their machines and recommending them to clients. I have wasted 80+ hours on this current Studio 1558 issue alone.

Summation:
Do not make an expensive mistake and buy that machine. I have no bones to pick with Dell as I still have half a dozen of their machines in my immediate family. Unfortunately, those were built before Dell got too big and greedy.

Buying that machine will be a mistake. If you need hard facts to make your purchase decision, I can and will supply temperature readings of the CPU core and laptop case/chassis. the chassis alone makes the machine impossible to use as it reaches temps that can and have burned the skin!!!!