Is this i7 laptop a big improvement from my current laptop?

[techy_06]

I've had this Acer Aspire 7720-6208 for over 2 years and its time to upgrade. I use my laptop for game programming and school assignments, but I'd like to actually play decent games on my new one. Ive been looking and looking at all these i3s, i5s and i7s. I want an i7, but I just can't get passed how low the GHz are (is?).

My Current Laptop:
Intel Core2 Duo T5450 - 1.66GHz 2MB L2 Cache
3GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB 5400RPM, 358MB Intel Graphics

i7 Laptop:
HP Pavillion dv7 series
Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHz-2.8GHz 6MB L3 Cache
6GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7200RPM, 1GB ATI Mobolity Radeon HD 5650

Will I honestly see a difference in speed? And if so why??? Because of the i7? Or because of all the other upgrades?

Thanks

 

[buwish]

O yes, it is a big upgrade over your current machine. I'd take it over my current laptop. You'd be getting a much better processor (quad core with newer architecture vs. a dual core with older architecture), faster HDD, better and more RAM, and a superior graphics card. I'd go for it.

 

[sidewinderx2]

I've had this Acer Aspire 7720-6208 for over 2 years and its time to upgrade. I use my laptop for game programming and school assignments, but I'd like to actually play decent games on my new one. Ive been looking and looking at all these i3s, i5s and i7s. I want an i7, but I just can't get passed how low the GHz are (is?).

My Current Laptop:
Intel Core2 Duo T5450 - 1.66GHz 2MB L2 Cache
3GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB 5400RPM, 358MB Intel Graphic

i7 Laptop:
HP Pavillion dv7 series
Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6GHz-2.8GHz 6MB L3 Cache
6GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7200RPM, 1GB ATI Mobolity Radeon HD 5650

Will I honestly see a difference in speed? And if so why??? Because of the i7? Or because of all the other upgrades?

Thanks

It is definitely a huge upgrade, and very definitely worth it. The clock rate of the processor (whatever # GHz the processor runs at) doesn't automatically equate to a processor that will get your work done faster, as there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than just a clock rate. Your 1.66 GHz Core 2 Duo should still easily beat 3+GHz Pentium 4s (if you're going to college for programming/computer science, you should run across a class that will at least talk about the details in passing... Fun class ). The core i7's apparently low clock rate will still kick the snot out of your current Core 2 Duo processor on anything that matters, as the Core i3/5/7 series of processors has the ability to over clock itself when not all of its cores are being used. the 1.6 GHz number on the i7 only applies when all 4 cores are being stressed, and it's reached its thermal limit. If less cores are used and/or it has not reached its thermal limit yet, it will clock itself to run faster, up to a max of 2.8GHz.

Doubling the ram helps when running win 7 + other programs, although IDEs really aren't a big deal... I was running Visual Studio 2010 on my EEE PC perfectly fine... Though i'm sure you'll see a big improvement in the games department. The HD 5650 will let you play most modern games on medium (and some, like C&C4 and Starcraft 2 on High) perfectly fine, so you should be able to enjoy whatever's out right now.

All in all, it seems like it's a nice laptop, and a very huge upgrade over your current laptop.

 

[techy_06]

THANK YOU!!! I've been looking everywhere for a good description of how the i7 performs and what it does.

Now where to find the money...

 

[techy_06]

Best answer selected by techy_06.