Solved Are there any new processors that are faster than Core I7 processors

[mohab]

Why the strangeqe question?

you see I have a Dell XPS 15z laptop with a core i7 processor, 8 Giga RAM running Windows 7 Premium and I also have an HP desktop with a core two duo processor, 3 Gigs of ram running Windows 7 Professional but surprizingly the desktop runs faster than the laptop when I give them both tthe same task on Photoshop CS6 ( a processor heavy application). I feel that I have been cheated into buying the Dell laptop which at the time of purchase was expensive in the is country.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Does it use 100% cpu for a long time? (so cpu is the bottleneck)
Is it a multithreaded application, so are tasks split in many subtasks and use different cores?

 

[TheDeerDude]

It's not really about whether it has "i7" sticker on it. It doesn't mean it's any good. I've got a gaming laptop with an "i5" processor, and it turns out that some of the newer pentiums are just as good.

When buying, check the specifications properly. "i7" doesn't mean anything, just a bit of advice from my experience.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I have a Dell XPS 15z laptop with a core i7 processor, 8 Giga RAM running Windows 7 Premium and I also have an HP desktop with a core two duo processor, 3 Gigs of ram running Windows 7 Professional but surprizingly the desktop runs faster than the laptop when I give them both tthe same task on Photoshop CS6 ( a processor heavy application).

Many XEON processors are faster than any i7, but they can be quite expensive and aren't typically used in home computers.

Check the Passmark CPU benchmarks.

There's at least a dozen i7 processors that score under 4000 on that benchmark. The lowest is 1165.

The highest rated Core 2 has a score of 4822. Many of them score above 1165.

The moral of the story is that i7s come in many flavors, some much slower than others. Likewise, Core 2 processors come in many flavors.

Newegg sells a "mobile" i7 4900 MQ processor for $560. It scores 9168 on the benchmark. Probably not what you have in that Dell laptop.

Maybe you didn't pay much attention to what i7 you bought?

You don't state which processors you have, but you can easily check them here:

PassMark Software - CPU Benchmark Charts

Your laptop is also probably handicapped by a slower hard drive.

 

[AddRAM]

what i7 does it have ? That would help us out alot.

 

[mohab]

Thank you for your quick replies

Kaktussoft, how do I know if it is multi threaded or not?

My processor is a i7-2620M running at 2.70 GHz

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The 2620M is fairly puny by i7 standards.

PassMark - Intel Core i7-2620M @ 2.70GHz - Price performance comparison

What Core 2 Duo do you have?

Here's some benchmarks in comparison to other similar machines with similar processors in various tasks:

Dell XPS 15z review - Page 2 - CNET

 

[AK6DN]

Thank you for your quick replies

Kaktussoft, how do I know if it is multi threaded or not?

My processor is a i7-2620M running at 2.70 GHz

You can find/compare info on virtually any processor Intel has made here: ARK | Your Source for Intel® Product Information

This processor is a 2nd generation Core i7 series processor.

Your particular processor is here: ARK | Intel® Coreâ

Under 'Performance' it has 2 cores with 4 threads total.

 

[AddRAM]

So you basically have a pair of dual core pc`s

What Core 2 Duo do you have ?

 

[mohab]

Again thank you again for your replies.
I'll let this (buying this expensive DELL laptop) be an expensive lesson for me, next time I'll look at the processor frequencies and not thunk "since I have a core 17 then it's top of the line"

Frankly folks, will my laptop be any faster if I removed the current hard disk and put in a SSD? Ypu ccan find the full set of spcifications here: Dell XPS 15z Notebook Laptop specs

 

[LMiller7]

The priorities in Laptop design are small size, low weight, low power consumption, and reasonable price. Anything that seriously compromises those priorities must be sacrificed. A high performance CPU will consume more power and generate more heat which is difficult to dissipate in the confined space of a laptop. Those are the laws of physics. It must be sacrificed. To meet the design priorities laptop CPUs tend to be at the lower end of the performance range. The same applies to the video system. Desktop CPUs are not so constrained and can provide higher performance with fewer problems.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Frankly folks, will my laptop be any faster if I removed the current hard disk and put in a SSD? Ypu ccan find the full set of spcifications here: Dell XPS 15z Notebook Laptop specs

An SSD is usually the best upgrade you can make to improve "snappiness" and overall satisfaction.


BUT:

1: You now have a 7200 rpm hard drive, not the slower 5400 rpm drive that is typically found in portable machines. Although there is not a night and day difference between the two.

2: An SSD will NOT help in many operations. You would notice clear-cut improvements in boot time and application opening time, but may otherwise be underwhelmed. CPU horsepower is still critical and you have a Shetland pony, rather than a quarter-horse or thoroughbred---neither of which are found in notebooks for the reasons LMiller7 noted.

3: SSDs are very expensive relative to hard drives. I don't know how much space you need, but a similar size replacement for your 750 GB hard drive will cost you at least $250 or $300.

You need to decide how much of an aggravation your low performance is and whether or not you are willing to move to another class of machine that places more emphasis on performance, rather than small size, low heat, long battery life, etc. There's not much you can do beyond an SSD with what you have right now and even that change may be inadequate.

 

[mohab]

LMiller7 and ignatzatsonic, a wealth of information there.

I guess I'll wait till my desktop machine becomes unbearable then I'll look for a 64 bit machine with a top of the line processor and lots of RAM