[cyberknight]

Hey guys, I'm a bit short on time....getting a laptop within 2 days. I've got 3 questions regarding performance.

1. The two processor options that i got are i3-380M 2.53Ghz(L3 3MB cache) or i5-480M 2.66GHz(L3 3MB cache). Neglecting other performance factors, do i get a big performance gain with the this i5 compared to the i3?

2. Most HDD come with 5400rpm but i insisted on 7200rpm. How wise is this?? Or is it that the 7200rpm does'nt has much to offer compared to 5400rpm??

3. Probably the most important question...its about the GPU. These are the 2 options
> Nvidia Geforce GT 420M 1GB
(or)
> ATI mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB
I play all games at less than medium settings. Are there any other factors that affect the performance of these cards? Which of the above cards is a better choice?

[waldojim]

cyberknight, on 31 March 2011 - 12:40 PM, said:

Hey guys, I'm a bit short on time....getting a laptop within 2 days. I've got 3 questions regarding performance.

1. The two processor options that i got are i3-380M 2.53Ghz(L3 3MB cache) or i5-480M 2.66GHz(L3 3MB cache). Neglecting other performance factors, do i get a big performance gain with the this i5 compared to the i3?

2. Most HDD come with 5400rpm but i insisted on 7200rpm. How wise is this?? Or is it that the 7200rpm does'nt has much to offer compared to 5400rpm??

3. Probably the most important question...its about the GPU. These are the 2 options
> Nvidia Geforce GT 420M 1GB
(or)
> ATI mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB
I play all games at less than medium settings. Are there any other factors that affect the performance of these cards? Which of the above cards is a better choice?

the i5 has turbo boost, automatically increasing clock speed as needed, and should have hyper threading. It should spank the i3.
As for hard drives, get the 7200 rpm.
Video cards.... as far as I know, the amd is going to be quicker. Also, it should offer better battery life.

[Flashorn]

cyberknight, on 31 March 2011 - 12:40 PM, said:

Hey guys, I'm a bit short on time....getting a laptop within 2 days. I've got 3 questions regarding performance.

1. The two processor options that i got are i3-380M 2.53Ghz(L3 3MB cache) or i5-480M 2.66GHz(L3 3MB cache). Neglecting other performance factors, do i get a big performance gain with the this i5 compared to the i3?

2. Most HDD come with 5400rpm but i insisted on 7200rpm. How wise is this?? Or is it that the 7200rpm does'nt has much to offer compared to 5400rpm??

3. Probably the most important question...its about the GPU. These are the 2 options
> Nvidia Geforce GT 420M 1GB
(or)
> ATI mobility Radeon HD5650 1GB
I play all games at less than medium settings. Are there any other factors that affect the performance of these cards? Which of the above cards is a better choice?

No doubt about it. The i5 does have better potential than the i3 .

The HDD at 7200 will be the better at read and write

The ATI will have better graphics to offer.

BUT, go with what you can afford. IF you have to compromise for
price reasons, take the i5 and ATI.



FLASHORN.

[cyberknight]

Well now i'm in a fix. These are the 3 configs that i had to choose from.
Config1: Dell XPS
i3-380M 2.53GHz
Win7 Home Premium 64bit
4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
500GB (7200rpm)
Nvidia Geforce GT 420M 1GB
14" HD LED Display

Config2: Dell
i3-380M 2.53GHz
Win7 Home Premium 64 bit
3GB (1x1GB+1x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
320GB (5400rpm)
ATI mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB
14" HD LED Display

Config3: Sony
i5-480M 2.66GHz, upto 2.93GHz with Turbo Boost
Win7 Home Premium 64bit
4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1066MHz
500GB (5400rpm)
ATI mobility Radeon HD 5650 1GB DDR3
15.5" TFT (LED Backlight) display

As u can see if i choose one, i have to sacrifice the other. I was thinking the i3 would be sufficient as turbo boost for i5 depends on power supply & thermal limitations of the laptop. Config3 costs the maximum, around $1070. Config1 is for $1010 while Config2 stands at $820 at my local stores.
So which one is better? Also is that GT 420M that bad compared to HD 5650?
I was thinking of going with that XPS as i dont want to stretch my limit of $1k!

[waldojim]

Which Sony is that? I have been looking at the CA 14" in the same price range... I can also say the EA/EB is a fair machine that seems to have no trouble keeping cool.

I suspect they are also built a little better than the Dell's. As for hard drive VS processor, remember, a hard drive is an easy $50-$100 upgrade down the road if you aren't happy with it. A CPU is a $1000 upgrade, as you need a new machine.

[Flashorn]

For $70.00 dollars I would take the Sony. Definitely for the ATI as you suggested that you will play all games.
Three Gigs of ram is not enough and you "probably"won't feel the difference between 5400 and 7200 .Also,
less heat with 5400 RPM.

Is the Ram expandable in any and all??

I have a HP dv9834 with 3Gigs ram and 5400 HDD of 320 Gigs but, would not attempt to run 64bit on it.
It could probably run it but, not to it's full potential.

i5 with TurboBoost will make a difference when playing games.

My new notebook (Asus G73JH) is also Turbo Boosted (actually, it's Twin TurboBoost) and makes a difference when I play
the latest games even with a ATI 5870. As for heat, unless you intend to lay it flat on your bed covers, I don't think it will
come into play. Just be careful and don't lay it down where it will block the vents.



FLASHORN.

[cyberknight]

waldojim, on 31 March 2011 - 07:13 PM, said:

Which Sony is that? I have been looking at the CA 14" in the same price range... I can also say the EA/EB is a fair machine that seems to have no trouble keeping cool.

I suspect they are also built a little better than the Dell's. As for hard drive VS processor, remember, a hard drive is an easy $50-$100 upgrade down the road if you aren't happy with it. A CPU is a $1000 upgrade, as you need a new machine.

The guy at the store said it was an E series Black. Actually if i ever upgrade it will be just the RAM, but not in Sony's case as both the slots are fitted with 2GB of RAM each. Also i was wondering if that 15.5" TFT was good compared to the 14" HD LED display of Dell.

[cyberknight]

Flashorn, on 31 March 2011 - 07:13 PM, said:

For $70.00 dollars I would take the Sony. Definitely for the ATI as you suggested that you will play all games.
Three Gigs of ram is not enough and you "probably"won't feel the difference between 5400 and 7200 .Also,
less heat with 5400 RPM.

Is the Ram expandable in any and all??

I have a HP dv9834 with 3Gigs ram and 5400 HDD of 320 Gigs but, would not attempt to run 64bit on it.
It could probably run it but, not to it's full potential.

i5 with TurboBoost will make a difference when playing games.

My new notebook (Asus G73JH) is also Turbo Boosted (actually, it's Twin TurboBoost) and makes a difference when I play
the latest games even with a ATI 5870. As for heat, unless you intend to lay it flat on your bed covers, I don't think it will
come into play. Just be careful and don't lay it down where it will block the vents.

FLASHORN.

The thing is i can take the XPS right now, its in stock. But i have to wait for the Sony. Also i doubt if the Sony's display is as good as XPS. What i do like in Sony is that it has got 2x2GB RAM, i don't think i will require more than 4GB & hence Sony has got it evenly distributed resulting in better bandwidth.
The XPS on the other hand has got 1x4GB RAM leaving an empty slot for upgrades, which i don't intend to use. Never the less, if i ever expand the RAM, XPS gives that option & not the other two!
Also i was guessing the 5400rpm could be a bottleneck in even mid range gaming. DO u think its better to sacrifice rpm for getting i5 & ATI ??

[waldojim]

cyberknight, on 31 March 2011 - 07:29 PM, said:

waldojim, on 31 March 2011 - 07:13 PM, said:

Which Sony is that? I have been looking at the CA 14" in the same price range... I can also say the EA/EB is a fair machine that seems to have no trouble keeping cool.

I suspect they are also built a little better than the Dell's. As for hard drive VS processor, remember, a hard drive is an easy $50-$100 upgrade down the road if you aren't happy with it. A CPU is a $1000 upgrade, as you need a new machine.

The guy at the store said it was an E series Black. Actually if i ever upgrade it will be just the RAM, but not in Sony's case as both the slots are fitted with 2GB of RAM each. Also i was wondering if that 15.5" TFT was good compared to the 14" HD LED display of Dell.

What you have there is just a difference in back lighting... led can be brighter, and with the right display, can be more accurate. Most of the time though, white LED is used, and it throws off the reds.

I'll say this much - my Samsung display uses CCFL (traditional back lighting) and looks FAR superior to any white led display I have seen. That said, led can save your battery just a bit.

Also, I hunted down a couple of rough benchies - the 5650 should prove to be about 10-15% faster than the GT420m.

The E series is more of an entry level machine from Sony, so don't expect it to be built as well as the S series for example, or a think pad. Still, I would imagine it is on par with, if not better than Dell. From what little I have messed with them, they do have little flex, a nice keyboard, fair touchpad, and screens that are of fair quality. I would also suggest you look into the CA series though. For a few dollars LESS ($1029), you get a new Sandy Bridge chip, faster ram (1333 vs 1066), a 7200RPM drive, AMD 6630 video card, and an LED display... Just a thought, from someone looking for a similar class machine.

[waldojim]

cyberknight, on 31 March 2011 - 07:55 PM, said:

The thing is i can take the XPS right now, its in stock. But i have to wait for the Sony. Also i doubt if the Sony's display is as good as XPS. What i do like in Sony is that it has got 2x2GB RAM, i don't think i will require more than 4GB & hence Sony has got it evenly distributed resulting in better bandwidth.
The XPS on the other hand has got 1x4GB RAM leaving an empty slot for upgrades, which i don't intend to use. Never the less, if i ever expand the RAM, XPS gives that option & not the other two!
Also i was guessing the 5400rpm could be a bottleneck in even mid range gaming. DO u think its better to sacrifice rpm for getting i5 & ATI ??

Also, just because the ram slots are filled, doesn't mean you cannot expand. The Dell, you pretty much need to add more ram to, to hit the full potential, while the Sony will already be there. I cannot think of much that can use more than 4 GB of ram, and still work well on a dual core 2Ghz machine...

Also, none of the machines you listed have the new Sandy Bridge chips, was this intentional?

[cyberknight]

waldojim, on 31 March 2011 - 11:09 PM, said:

What you have there is just a difference in back lighting... led can be brighter, and with the right display, can be more accurate. Most of the time though, white LED is used, and it throws off the reds.
I'll say this much - my Samsung display uses CCFL (traditional back lighting) and looks FAR superior to any white led display I have seen. That said, led can save your battery just a bit.
Also, I hunted down a couple of rough benchies - the 5650 should prove to be about 10-15% faster than the GT420m.

Ok just for an idea..... whats the best/latest game that a GT420M could comfortably handle?? Consider it being played at medium settings. Also i got this info about the card...
96 Cuda cores, 1000MHz processor clock, 800Mhz memory clock & 128-bit memory interface
Anything else to add to these specs to help me compare with other cards??

[cyberknight]

waldojim, on 31 March 2011 - 11:12 PM, said:

Also, just because the ram slots are filled, doesn't mean you cannot expand. The Dell, you pretty much need to add more ram to, to hit the full potential, while the Sony will already be there. I cannot think of much that can use more than 4 GB of ram, and still work well on a dual core 2Ghz machine...

Also, none of the machines you listed have the new Sandy Bridge chips, was this intentional?

Well i do know that the sandy bridge wipes out the arrandale on transistor count. But sometimes frequency also matters. I don't think i can get an sandy bridge i5 on my budget, but this is what they had to offer for an i3
Yet another Dell XPS
i3-2310M 2.1GHz
Win7 Home Premium 64-bit
4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 1333MHz
500GB (7200rpm)
Nvidia GT 525M 1GB
15.6" HD WLED display

As u can see its just 2.1GHz, 3MB cache. I was guessing one should get atleast 2.5GHz for some decent gaming. Thats why i left this out. May be the GPU is great but it costs around $1070, same as the Sony config which i gave earlier. SO what do u think of this lapp??

[waldojim]

cyberknight, on 01 April 2011 - 05:50 AM, said:

waldojim, on 31 March 2011 - 11:09 PM, said:

What you have there is just a difference in back lighting... led can be brighter, and with the right display, can be more accurate. Most of the time though, white LED is used, and it throws off the reds.
I'll say this much - my Samsung display uses CCFL (traditional back lighting) and looks FAR superior to any white led display I have seen. That said, led can save your battery just a bit.
Also, I hunted down a couple of rough benchies - the 5650 should prove to be about 10-15% faster than the GT420m.

Ok just for an idea..... whats the best/latest game that a GT420M could comfortably handle?? Consider it being played at medium settings. Also i got this info about the card...
96 Cuda cores, 1000MHz processor clock, 800Mhz memory clock & 128-bit memory interface
Anything else to add to these specs to help me compare with other cards??

All I can say is that notebookcheck pins it at being 10-15% faster.

10% in 3dmark 05, 17% in COD Black Ops (medium detail) - 15% at high detail. At high detail in COD BO, the AMD pulls in 40 FPS - enough that you don't have to worry about the low points, where as the 420 pulls off a 34fps average... just barely enough...

In battle field BC 2- the ATI pulls in 30FPS average, just enough to be playable, while the 420 pulls an unplayable 23fps. COD MW2 shows very similar numbers: 38 avg ATI, 29 Nvidia (at high settings)

Crysis warhead is a virtual tie: 51 AMD vs 47 Nvidia.

So the question here, is what games do you play, would you prefer high details, and what is "playable" for you.

[waldojim]

Another machine worth looking at is the new XPS 15 direct from Dell.

This build works out to $969! The 525M should work out about the same speed as a 6630 give or take.

Quote

REVIEW MY SUMMARY
Congratulations! You have finished personalizing!
We have some recommendations for you highlighted below.
PROCESSOR 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit

Dell Recommends
Get everything you need for work and home. Windows 7 Professional offers the features you need for business along with the great media and entertainment features of Home Premium.
Upgrade to Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English [Add $130.00 or $3.00/month1]
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook edit
VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB graphics with Optimus edit
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
SERVICE PLAN 1 Year Basic Service Plan edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 30-Day Trial edit
COLORS Elemental Silver Aluminum edit
Software & Services
DISPLAY 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Tray Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) edit
WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
KEYBOARD Standard Keyboard - English edit
MOBILE BROADBAND No Mobile Broad Band Selected edit
SOUND OPTIONS JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3 + Creative SoundBlaster X-FI MB 1.2 edit

[cyberknight]

waldojim, on 01 April 2011 - 05:42 PM, said:

Another machine worth looking at is the new XPS 15 direct from Dell.

This build works out to $969! The 525M should work out about the same speed as a 6630 give or take.

Thanks a lot Waldo & Flash for helping me out with this!
I really did'nt get the time to take a second look at that GT 525M. I had initially ordered XPS 14 as getting a sony would take time. But on the delivery date, they had that VAIO E series with HD 5650, just two of them. With all the positive reviews that i got for that HD 5650 & i5, i just did'nt want to let it go!
So here's a pic of my Sony VAIO....black beauty!!
[attachment=875:VAIO E.jpg]

[cyberknight]

Hey guys, my new lappy works just fine. However, they have provided a combination of McAfee pc security & webroot spy sweeper as an AV package. Both are trial versions. How good are these two??
Or should i just jump back to my world of Avast or AVG along with MalwareBytes?
One more thing...i was mainly considering Avast as my lappy is not gonna get a net connection for some time(guessing AVG still allows an online installation only!).

[Flashorn]

Cyber!

You should know that installing Trials will leave you with all kinds of junk
after you uninstall them. My advice is to stay away from McAfee and the
rest of the trials on your notebook. Just delete if they are not already
installed and choose something like MSE or Avast or Avira.

In the case of Avast and Avira , you will have to install a Real Time
Anti-Spyware even though they do have "some" capabilities in that
department. This means that you will have to Pay for those as opposed
to MSE that has both and do not require any other software. Have
MBAM as a backup or SAS (superantispyware).

Avira : no need to be online while installing

Avast : no need to be online while installing

MSE : no need to be online while installing

Don't forget to activate the Firewall in W7 as it is enough to secure
your internet connection.



FLASHORN.

[cyberknight]

Flashorn, on 04 April 2011 - 01:20 PM, said:

Cyber!
You should know that installing Trials will leave you with all kinds of junk
after you uninstall them. My advice is to stay away from McAfee and the
rest of the trials on your notebook. Just delete if they are not already
installed and choose something like MSE or Avast or Avira.

In the case of Avast and Avira , you will have to install a Real Time
Anti-Spyware even though they do have "some" capabilities in that
department. This means that you will have to Pay for those as opposed
to MSE that has both and do not require any other software. Have
MBAM as a backup or SAS (superantispyware).

Avira : no need to be online while installing
Avast : no need to be online while installing
MSE : no need to be online while installing

Don't forget to activate the Firewall in W7 as it is enough to secure
your internet connection.

FLASHORN.

Hii Flash...
Those AV packages came pre-installed with Win7. Now what did u mean by getting a "real time anti-spyware" along with Avast or Avira? Don't u think it will clash with Avast/Avira's real time shield?
Also i don't wanna repeat history! The last time i installed Avast, it crashed my desktop. That was because i did'nt properly uninstall my previous AV. So as McAfee is already installed, is there an uninstaller for it or is Revo Uninstaller good enough for dealing with it??
Let me know if Revo Uninstaller 1.91(free version) supports the 64-bit version of Win7. I know the Pro version of Revo does supports, but i am not sure of the free version.

[Flashorn]

Hey Cyber !

OK, first to answer your question about Revo, Yes, it will install on a 64bit OS even the free
version.I have it here and it installs in the X86 folder in Program Files. Works just like it should.

Now, as for those pre-installed Junk programs, let's start with McAfee.

Go to Programs and Features and Uninstall from there "first". Then, run this Tool that will finish
off uninstalling McAfee. You can now safely install another one of your choice.

As for conflicting AV and Anti-spyware, there will be none IF you follow these simple rules:
Make sure you Turn OFF Windows Defender "before" you install another A / V. Once that's
done , install either one I have mentioned above.

Like I said, Avast and Avira have some Anti-Spyware capabilities But, not enough to keep
your system well protected. Their main purpose is to guard against Virus and some Malware.

An Real Time Anti-Spyware (as in working in the background) is needed with both of these A / V. I would suggest
you buy either the SUPERAntiSpyware Pro or MalwareBytes' Antimalware's protection module.
Be aware that both GUI will take a little more time to statrup when first booting your notebook. That's
just the way they work. They still protect your notebook on startup but the interface (GUI) does not
appear right away. Both can be had for a one time fee meaning, you only pay once and no more
yearly subscription.

Now, in W7 you have a Good firewall. It will be active by Default. leave it in and don't touch unless
there are certain programs that the firewall will not permit access to the internet. Then you can
configure by going to Allowed Programs in the Firewall itself and click on the program to Allow.
The Firewall will also ask IF you want to Allow but, not always.

One point I would like to make. I have two W7 notebook , one Vista and one XP..
Both W7 have MSE installed and are well protected when on the internet. With MSE, you Won't
need an Real Time Anti-Spyware like Avast and Avira. Plus, if you should install MSE, you
won't have to manually turn off Windows Defender as MSE does that when it's installed.
It is free and updates on it's own at least once a day and sometimes two if there are recent
attacks in the wild.

So, up to you to choose which configuration suits you.

As for the rest of those pre-installed programs, make a list and foward them to this thread so we
can help determine which ones to keep if you want too.



FLASHORN.

This post has been edited by Flashorn: 05 April 2011 - 12:34 PM