Intel Core2 Duo P8600 vs Core i5 4250U

Chiekotz

Honorable
Jun 16, 2013
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I have a 2010 Macbook Pro 2.4ghz

too heavy, too old

looking for new lighter laptop

thinking about macbook air

1.3 ghz intel i5

isint that a downgrade? but i need a new one? how about i change the 2010 to ssd? will that beat the macbook air? yes i know the macbook air is pcie ssd

but that tremendouly low clock speed is bothering me.

which is better?

 
Solution
There are a couple of things here to consider. The i5 actually has a turbo boost frequency of 2.6GHz. The 1.3GHz is the base clock. So off the bat if it makes you feel better your new chip will be 200MHz faster.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75028/Intel-Core-i5-4250U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_60-GHz

Now, synthetic benchmarks I do not nearly value as much as real world testing but without a specific review from a reputable source comparing exactly these two chips it's the next best thing we have access to and the i5 4250 benches a passmark rating score of 3463 vs the Core 2 Duo P8600 coming in at 1542.

3463/1542 = 2.42 times better for this benchmark comparison. Others may chime in devaluing synthetic benchmarks but I've already...
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core2-Duo-P8600-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4250U

Don't worry about the clockspeeds in this situation, as the newer tech of the Core i5-4250U is a serious upgrade from the Core 2 Due P8600. It will also run more power efficient, and will be able to handle more threads.

An SSD will help the older machine, but in the end your old Macbook pro is 4 years old, and I would not put serious upgrade money into it at this point.
 

jnewegger23

Distinguished
There are a couple of things here to consider. The i5 actually has a turbo boost frequency of 2.6GHz. The 1.3GHz is the base clock. So off the bat if it makes you feel better your new chip will be 200MHz faster.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75028/Intel-Core-i5-4250U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_60-GHz

Now, synthetic benchmarks I do not nearly value as much as real world testing but without a specific review from a reputable source comparing exactly these two chips it's the next best thing we have access to and the i5 4250 benches a passmark rating score of 3463 vs the Core 2 Duo P8600 coming in at 1542.

3463/1542 = 2.42 times better for this benchmark comparison. Others may chime in devaluing synthetic benchmarks but I've already addressed that before listing the above info. Here are the links:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core2+Duo+P8600+%40+2.40GHz&id=974
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4250U+%40+1.30GHz&id=1944

To summarize I'd conclude easily that the i5 4250 is better to answer your question. However, you must conclude the price difference, other features you find important etc to make the decision to actually pull the trigger and go out and get it. Hope this helped you at least a little!

Also, to address adding an SSD that will speed up your boot up time and any programs that launch from it but you could make the same argument and do this to the newer laptop and enjoy the all around upgrade there too. Obviously keeping the older laptop isn't as fun but it's more cost effective. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Thanks,

Justin S.
 
Solution