Windows 7: Core I7 did not make that much of a difference after all

I have a Pentuum D Core 2 Duo desktop with 4G Ram ( 3G in use) running Win 7 32 bit. I needed to buy a new laptop so I got a Dell XPS 15Z 8G Ram core I7 with Windows 7 64 Bit.Both machines are running identical software. I thought I should notice a clear speed difference between both machines due to the superior laptop hardware, but my desktop is as fast as the laptop, sometimes faster. Can I configure my Windows 7 64 bit for faster speed. BTW, on both machines I only have the internet security sw running at startup and have indexing disabled.

If you are not using software that taxes the desktop then you won't see a noticeable increase on your laptop.
Try encoding a video file and see if you notice a difference.

Hello netadict,

Have you tried out very own tutorial on getting the best out of your very own Windows 7 system?

Optimize Windows 7

Here's another great tutorial to get rid of manufacturer bloatware that may be hindering your laptop's performance:-

Clean Up Factory Bloatware

Hope that helps!

solarmystic "How to Optimize Windows 7" is amazing, I have seen the tips listed here scattered all over the net , this tutorial is the first comprehensive list with all the important points in it.

Zepher, so what you are saying is that if I run a program that will challenge the system, I will notice a difference. Actually Photoshopp CS6's more demanding functions runn a bit faster on my laptop

A really stupid question coming up, drum roll please...
Are Windows updates a good idea? I ask because with XP updates installed a lot of unnecessary stuff that slowed the system down

"Are Windows updates a good idea? I ask because with XP updates installed a lot of unnecessary stuff that slowed the system down"

in my experience (with both XP and Windows 7)--windows updates=bad--could slow down system and even stop some apps from auto updating.

I'm running Windows 7 ult 32bit--hardware firewall in router, Windows 7 firewall on machine, Comodo 'free' AV and Malwarebytes Pro--have had NO security problems or malware infections since original install nearly 3 years ago

Windows updates (the ones marked as critical/important at least) should be applied on your system judiciously, especially if you intend to bring your computer onto the the Wild Wild West that is the Internet.

The right way to do it is to set the updater to inform you of new updates (not download them), and then pick and choose the ones you want, install them yourself, a one or a few at a time, to determine whether they have any negative side effects on your system.

Do not allow Windows to just dump all of its updates on your system at one go. Unless it's a rollup of updates, like a Service Pack for example

solarmystic, congrats on your new Avatar

What I used to do on my XP system was I disabled the update service and and Windows firewall service and totally depended on my Interbnet security software. When I found an issue with the system, I went online and looked for a solution instead of allowing MS to "dump" all their solutions to problems that haven't happened yet

That's what i used to do when i had Windows XP too; that was because I felt the Update Process in XP was very cumbersome and involved actually using IE 6 to run the microsoft update website, and downloading the updates via the website itself!

Oh one more thing before i forget, in that list of steps to optimize your performance, there should be an entry for forcing High Performance in your Power Options.

I found out that most laptops, by virtue of being portable devices and needing to save up battery power are by default set to balanced or power saving... This can seriously hamper your laptop's true performance...

Your desktop may well have a superior and faster hard drive, which counts for a lot and may compensate for the desktop's inferior CPU.

For a task that relies on CPU horsepower, I'd expect the laptop to wipe the floor with the desktop---but maybe you aren't doing many such tasks.