Intel Core i3-370M vs i5-460M Processor Comparison and Review

Intel Core i5-460M and i3-370M are used in most of the laptops, they are the new generation Dual Core processors. Intel Core i5-460M has a CPU speed of 2.53 GHz, cache is 3 MB Intel Smart Cache, 2.5 GT/s bus speed, maximum turbo speed of 2.8 GHz, with core ratio of 19, 766 MHz of Graphics maximum dynamic frequency, advanced technologies like Intel Turbo Boost Technology, Hyper threading technology, Virtualization technology, Fast memory access, Enhanced speed step technology, Flex memory access and etc.

Intel Core i3-370M has a CPU speed of 2.4 GHz, cache, bus speed and instruction set are same as Intel Core i5-460M, core ratio of 18, graphics maximum dynamic frequency of 667 MHz, 2.93 GHz of maximum turbo frequency, advanced technologies like Hyper threading technology, Virtualization technology, Fast memory access, Enhanced speed step technology, Flex memory access and etc are present which are also found in Intel Core i5-460M except for Intel Turbo Boost Technology.

The i5 460 offers a reasonable performance boost compared to the i3 370, but to see a considerable performance boost other features of the laptop also needs to be better. If the price difference is more than $50 it doesnt make sense to upgrade to i5 460.

Technical Specifications :

Intel Core i5-460M :
CPU Benchmark – 2569, CPU Speed – 2.53 GHz, Cache – 3 MB Intel Smart Cache, Bus Speed – 2.5 GT/s, Code Name – Arrandale, Thermal – 105 C, Number of cores – 2, Instruction Set – 64 bit, Graphics maximum dynamic frequency – 766 MHz.

Intel Core i3-370M :
CPU Benchmark – 2206, CPU Speed – 2.4 GHz, Cache – 3 MB Intel Smart Cache, Bus Speed – 2.5 GT/s, Code Name – Arrandale, Thermal – 90 C for rPGA 105 C for BGA, Number of cores – 2, Instruction Set – 64 bit,  Graphics maximum dynamic frequency – 667 MHz.

Laptop Processors comparison – Mar 2010

Yet again we are back to one of the popular qustion in the site.. which is the best laptop processor in terms of Price vs Performance. And also a look at the most popular notebook processors.

Below is the list of popular notebook processors and their rating in CPU Benchmarks.

Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 – 1454
Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 – 1514
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 – 1578
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 – 1576
Intel Core 2 Duo P8700  – 1803
Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 – 1900
Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 – 1914
Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 – 2001
Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 – 2198
Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 – 2329

With the increase in the numbers you can notice the performance numbers not moving significantly up, also for the price vs Performance ration T6600 is still the best bet. Also one should keep in mind that we have entered the post Core 2 Duo era, Intel lists all the core 2 Duo processors as retired versions but still 99% of the laptops are sold with either one of the above processors.

So whats after the core 2 Duo ? Core i3 , i5 and i7 and some high end models of Dell Studio XPS offer the Core i7 processors. The new processors definitely give a huge performance boost compared to the old C2D processors. Below is the two new kids on the block.

Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core 1.6G (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
3274
Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Core 1.73G (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
3615

And you can clearly see the performance numbers skyrocketing with these i7 processors.

Dell Studio XPS 16 Review – A Super ‘HOT’ Laptop

I bought a Dell Studio XPS 16 in February 2009 and I think this is a nice time to evaluate its performance.

Below is my configuration

Inter Core 2 Duo T9550 Processor @ 2.66GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM
16” 720p Half HD Display
512 MB ATI Radeon Graphics

500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Disk
DVD RW
2 USB ports
HD Port
Back Lit Keyboard
Windows VISTA Premium 64 Bit, 2 year subscription of McAfee
And many other ports which I haven’t used till now  :).

 

Dell Studio XPS 16 Performance Rating in Windows VISTA - 5.5
Dell Studio XPS 16 Performance Rating in Windows VISTA - 5.5

As expected Dell Studio XPS 16 got good numbers from Windows VISTA performance assesment.The lowest value was for the processor and Gaming graphics at 5.5 

Processor calculations per second – 5.5

RAM – Memory Operations per Second  – 5.9

Graphics – Desktop performance for Windows Aero – 5.9

Gaming Graphics – Gaming and Business Graphics – 5.5

Primary Hard Disk – Data Transfer Rate – 5.7

 

Performance : 9/10

You cant argue much against performance of this configuration. Does everything super fast, the Gaming performance, Media Playback and Audio Encoding all are excellent. High Definition videos are superb in the bright 720p LCD. The graphic details are very good. But sometimes while using trying to seek to middle of HD videos the system struggles and gets back to normal within a second. Not a big deal for a laptop.

Looks & Style : 7/10

Dell Studio XPS 16 Review
Dell Studio XPS 16 Review

The leather finish is very good makes it look expensive. Look wise I wouldn’t say stunning but looks ok. Probably the Studio XPS 13 might look better (or XPS 1330).

Speakers: 9/10

Very loud and high quality speakers make listening to music immense pleasure in this laptop. The speakers are markedly of higher quality compared to Dell XPS 1530 and XPS 1330.

Tactile Feel – keyboard – 9/10

Very good quality keyboard and the keys feel soft and very responsive and as the laptop size is big, they are quite comfortable. Backlit on every key at times makes it hard on eyes but you can adjust the backlight brightness / turn it off on press of a button. Sadly my keyboard’s backlight stopped working within a month.

Battery Life – 7.5/10

For the HD display Studio XPS 16 has a reasonable battery backup of upto 1.30 hours.

Heat – 4/10

The real dampener here is the heat emitted by the laptop whether on charge or on battery. For a such a powerful laptop the ventilation is very poor and I guess it has only one fan and the ventilators on the back of laptop is located in a very small area. The heat is not from battery but the High frequency Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 processor, I did expect heat problem but didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Forget about using it as a “Lap” top either you should have extremely insensitive/wooden laps or you should forget your skin on your laps. Within 10-15 minutes the heat becomes unbearable. I always use a cooling fan, still not a big help, I guess it might perform better if in a cool surrounding.

Only 2 USB Ports

I knew the laptop had only two USB ports but it is really irritating now. I use wireless modem in one port and mouse on the other and Im already out of ports. It will be handy to buy a Logitech (powered) USB hub or see the upgrades with minimum of 4 USB ports.

Overall – 7.5/10

As long as you plan to use this laptop as a desktop replacement its fine, else expect some serious damage to your laps. Otherwise this is a really High quality Multimedia laptop with value for money.