Unsure of processor

[charliern9]

Hello,
I want to buy an ultrabook and I found a Sony Vaio with everything I want except it has a second generation processor rather than a third. Is there a bigger enough difference that I should continue shopping till i find one with a third generation (which I understand is the Ivy Bridge)?
Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Herr_Koos]

Ivy Bridge has better power consumption but not really a big performance advantage; it's about 15% faster overall.

 

[sam_p_lay]

They're actually less than 5% faster overall. If you check out the launch review of them, you'll find the average % gain on applications was 3.8% and the average for games was also 3.8% funnily enough! Ivy Bridge do consume a bit less power, though also run a little hotter than Sandy Bridge. It really doesn't make much difference one way or the other.

 

[sam_p_lay]

I should probably add though that the integrated graphics (HD4000) has become much faster than their previous generation integrated graphics. If the computer doesn't have discrete graphics (so there's no mention of a graphics card in the specs) and uses HD3000 graphics, you would be able to game better with HD4000. But even that is nowhere near as good as an actual graphics card. Were you planning to play games on it?

 

[charliern9]

No, the laptop would not be using for games.

 

[sam_p_lay]

No, the laptop would not be using for games.

You'll be fine with Sandy Bridge then.