old 2010 i7 laptop or new i3?

[legende]

Newegg has HP Elitebook 8440p i7-640M for $299

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=9SIA6A320W5300 .

For the price and if I have a budget up to $350, is it better to buy a newer Haswell i3 instead? Especially if I wanted HDMI graphics. I would like to downgrade whatever laptop to Windows 7 anyway.

Can't find a site right now that will compare the 2 processors, generically. I don't know enough about cpu architecture to make a decission.

Thanks.

 

[menetlaus]

IMHO - no question you should go with the newer haswell i3.

the i7-640M is a dual core with HT and the new i3 is also dual core but is much more efficient in terms of power usage and performance/clock.

So while it might be a trade-off in terms of overall CPU performance - the new i3 will use significantly less power than the old i7 - so for a mobile solution (aka running on battery) I would definitely go for the haswell part.

 

[menetlaus]

^ that said - if will always be plugged into the wall and the battery life is not a concern (nor the fact that it could be using a 4 year old battery) then the cheaper/old i7 is not a bad option.

 

[legende]

^ that said - if will always be plugged into the wall and the battery life is not a concern (nor the fact that it could be using a 4 year old battery) then the cheaper/old i7 is not a bad option.

Thank you for the quick responses by the way. Will go with the old one for now as it will be used mostly at home anyway. But, I like your other response as well.