Difference between an Intel 3rd Generation i7 processor and 4th Generation i7 processor

Safrina

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Dec 11, 2013
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I had recently purchased an Inspiron 15R (3rd Generation i7 processor) but unfortunately noticed a missable LCD issue after purchase. Since I am a relatively new customer Dell is replacing my system for an Inspiron 15R (4th Generation i7 processor) as they have run out of stock of the 3rd Generation processor. Now I know I am getting an upgrade, but I am unfortunately not a computer geek :( so would like to know the difference in both the processors in lay terms. Also I'm not a gamer (don't hate me). The only game I love playing is Mario Brothers :lol:

Thank you.
 

nicholask89

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Dec 9, 2013
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The biggest improvement between the 4th gen and the 3rd gen should be the integrated graphics along with some very slight improvements in terms of battery usage and performance... The downside of Haswell is that it runs much hotter than previous generations of processors and is not ideal for overclocking... but I doubt that will concern you since you don't really game, so if they are willing to upgrade it for you, why not?
 
Overclocking for a laptop is a non-issue since overclocking cannot be done anyway.

Haswell CPUs runs a little hotter than the previous generation Ivy Bridge CPU because it includes a voltage regulator that used to be on the motherboard but has been integrated into the CPU. That 37w TDP vs 35w TDP so a big increase in heat.

The newer Intel HD 4600 graphics core is roughly 40% more powerful than the previous Intel HD 4000 graphics core in Ivy Bridge. Overall CPU performance increase is on average 6% assuming the same clock speed.