Mobile Duo 2 cache advice: T7200 vs T5500

[oldhat999]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a laptop, no overclocking planned. (anytime soon...)

Dell is offering the :

Core 2 Duo T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB) and the
Core 2 Duo T5500 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB)

My question is about the added benefits of the 4MB cache.

The T7200 increases the L1 cache to 4MB, and a little speed, over the T5500.

How significant is this? Anything other improvements? Any links to articles or posts about this?

It's a $100 option. Not going to play games much, if at all, on the laptop. More video/image editing, hopefully.

I really want to be able to effectively run VMware with one or two VM's at a time, which I know is RAM-hungry, but what about L1?

Thanks to all!

 

[ltcommander_data]

If you can afford it I would suggest you spend the $100 for the T7200. In Conroe, the 4MB cache doesn't gain you very much on average, but in some cases can add up to one speed grade extra. Now this is for Conroe with it's relatively roomy 1067MHz FSB.

In comparison, Merom uses a 667MHz FSB which limits it's bandwidth (although Kentsfield makes this seem like not so much an issue), but also means higher latency. In such a situation, the 4MB cache will have more of an influence to avoid FSB bottlenecks. Also, take into account 1 speed bump in Conroe is 266MHz, but in Merom is 167MHz. This makes me feel that there are likely cases where it'll take a 2.33GHz 2MB Merom to match the performance of a 2GHz 4MB Merom and on average a 2.16GHz 2MB Merom to match a 2GHz 4MB Merom. So basically, there is definitely a difference between the 1.67GHz 2MB Merom and a 2GHz 4MB Merom.

Finally, if you are using VMware you are going to have to get the T7200. According to Intel, the T5500 doesn't include VT support.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/chart/core2duo.htm

For better or for worse, that kind of streamlines your choice.

 

[joset]

The T7200 increases the L1 cache to 4MB, and a little speed, over the T5500.

It's a $100 option. Not going to play games much, if at all, on the laptop. More video/image editing, hopefully.

I really want to be able to effectively run VMware with one or two VM's at a time, which I know is RAM-hungry, but what about L1?

Thanks to all!

First off, you're referring to L2 cache, not L1; and, if you're going into video editing & VM, those extra $100 are not an option; they're a must.


Cheers!