Buying a Laptop Older VS Newer

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andrewj1999

andrewj1999

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I am looking at buying a laptop for college in around Q2 of 2017. I have started my research now. You can see my current setup in my signature. I plan on leaving the desktop at home as it would be cumbersome for the dorm. I am looking at the Dell Latitude Series in either a 14 or 15 inch version. I am having trouble deciding between the newer Latitude 7000 series vs the older xx30 and xx40 systems. I am also debating an i5 vs i7 and the pros and cons of the i7 MQ/QM for a true quad core. I do not game and graphics are not my priority. I do like the idea of having raw horsepower for my occasional video editing and 3d modeling. I looked at the XPS and its to expensive. The Precisions are too heavy. I looked at lenovo and hp but haven't heard great things. I also like the idea of having a dock in my dorm. I'm open to all opinions! Thanks!
 
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It's an Acer Aspire. I've also got a Dell Studio with a first-gen i7 (2-core). THAT one has proven very difficult to find a battery for; the Acer was no problem. Both have been great computers. The Acer was actually free, and came to me as a Pentium; my brother and I swapped an i7 into it that they had laying around from his computer repair store.

The power optimization and TDP of the newer chips would be their main selling point. The modern U-series chips are about on par with the single-threaded performance (overall system responsiveness/web browsing, etc) of the Sandy/Ivy QM series, and the modern HQ chips will kick both their butts.

Basically, they haven't come hugely far in terms of performance, and I am still very happy...
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dudeman509

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Typically it's a trade-off between portability/battery life and CPU power.

I am very impressed with the Broadwell - Skylake - now Kaby Lake U-series ULV CPUs. They are fast enough for general laptop tasks (web browsing, even light video conversion), yet sip away at your battery, often leaving you with a nearly all-day run time.

If 6+ hours of battery life is not a priority for you, then by all means go for the less portable but more CPU power machine. The quad-core i5 is probably sufficient for your needs; once you get into the I7-6700HQ processors, you're mostly into gaming machines, which sounds like would be not a good use of money in your case.
 
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andrewj1999

andrewj1999

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Yeah. I was looking at SSD's and I might even install an MSata SSD along with a traditional hard drive to get both storage and performance. I am kinda skeptical going to one of the dual core processors as I will be leaving my quad core desktop. I just like the idea of having a quad core on the go. I have looked at the battery slices and larger ones. My college of choice recommends 4 hours or more battery life. Also I might go for 16GB of ram but idk if it is overkill.
 
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andrewj1999

andrewj1999

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The i7 in reference that I like is the 3720QM. Benchmarks at ~8200 pass mark points.
On the newer latitudes the i7 4600U benchmarks at almost half that with ~4200 pass mark points.
 
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dudeman509

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Yeah, I've got a i7-2670QM I love. It's decent on battery when worked lightly - 3 hours or so, and it's getting worn out.

Awesome processor when hit with heavy workloads - with a SSD in it, never falters under heavy multitasking. The QM chips can make a whole crap ton of heat - wouldn't recommend placing one directly in your lap.

That said, I've also got a i7-5600u (2-core, idk why they call it an i7) in my work computer and it is just as fast web browsing and generally anything that I do with it (most GIS tasks I run are single-threaded anyway). 6+ hours of battery life and runs very cool.
 
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andrewj1999

andrewj1999

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Hmm. So everyday performance is around the same. I'm just debating if I will want the extra power when I don't have it. I have looked at a lot of battery types for the older Dell laptops and there are a lot that I can use to extend the battery life. My college recommends 4 hours or more of battery life for a student laptop. With the ultra books they should last a little longer but with the smaller thickness the battery takes another hit and makes battery life almost the same. This is regarding the Dell latitudes I am looking at.
 
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andrewj1999

andrewj1999

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What system do you have your QM in, and what size battery does it have? Pretty much I am concerned about having a 5 year old laptop but if that is not an issue I will totally do it. It seems like the 6th Generation CPU's are marginally better than the 3rd gen. Only difference is more power optimization and DDR4 support. The benchmarks show almost identical if not better scores for 3rd gen CPU's. Plus, an older laptop allows me to swap the battery or add a larger one compared to the enclosed battery of the e5470.
 
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dudeman509

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It's an Acer Aspire. I've also got a Dell Studio with a first-gen i7 (2-core). THAT one has proven very difficult to find a battery for; the Acer was no problem. Both have been great computers. The Acer was actually free, and came to me as a Pentium; my brother and I swapped an i7 into it that they had laying around from his computer repair store.

The power optimization and TDP of the newer chips would be their main selling point. The modern U-series chips are about on par with the single-threaded performance (overall system responsiveness/web browsing, etc) of the Sandy/Ivy QM series, and the modern HQ chips will kick both their butts.

Basically, they haven't come hugely far in terms of performance, and I am still very happy with my QM (the first-gen is showing its age). On the other hand, if you use graphics software that is dependent on a good video card, THOSE have changed a lot, even in the mobile arena.
 
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