Is it worth upgrading from Laptop to Desktop?

[Sqrly]

Hi all, I currently use my laptop as a mid budget desktop replacement/workstation and multitask heavily, but I notice it feels a little slow at times (like when having many programs open and scrolling through a large PDF file for instance).

I mostly use the computer for electrical engineering / web development purposes, and usually running are ms office, pdfs, matlab, photoshop, voip, and 50+ browser tabs. Gaming is not an important factor (the 280x was for ltc mining to provide heat last winter lol).

-I was wondering if it would be worth upgrading my old Q6600 desktop to a more recent cpu and using that instead of my laptop?
-Would I gain a noticeable performance increase over using my laptop if I upgraded?
-or is my laptop still good and I should wait until later to upgrade (broadwell, skylake, ddr4, etc)?

Laptop Specs:
Late 2011 HP dv6tqe
CPU: i7-2720QM
RAM: 16gb 1600mhz DDR3
GPU: ATI 6770M
SSD: Crucial M4 128gb

Desktop Upgrade Specs (Only upgrading CPU/MB/RAM):
CPU: Core 2 Quad Q6600 --> FX 8320 or I7 4790K
MB: New MB appropriate for CPU chosen
RAM: 4gb DDR2 --> 16gb DDR3
GPU: R9 280X
SSD: Crucial M4 128gb

AMD upgrade path cost: ~$350
Intel upgrade path cost: ~$550

Synthetic Benchmarks to assist in evaluating:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/67525619/Share/2014-08-19%2003_41_04-PassMark%20-%20CPU%20Performance%20Comparison.jpg

HWiNFO Logs of CPU/RAM usage over 3 days:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/67525619/Share/2014-08-19%2003_43_23-HWiNFO64%20v4.40-2240%20Sensor%20Status.jpg

Thank you for taking the time to help!

 

[prit87]

there is no 4970k i think u mean 4790k why are u comparing i7 with a fx 8350 they are from different leagues the fx 8350 can be compared with i5 and still the i5 is much better that it ...........if u want this dextop for gaming then i will say get an i5 4690k better than fx 8350 and serves u equally in games like i7.........get a 2 x 8 gb of ram 16 gb is not required for gaming.............but if u are using this machine or rendering or animation then definitely go with i7 and 16 gigs of ram fx 8350 is not appropriate in rendering i have heard it shutters in heavy rendering....

 

[Sqrly]

Thank you for the response! I fixed the 4790K in the poll and added that I do not game in the post. I also don't do much rendering.

I included both the FX 8320 and 4790K because I am wondering which upgrade path I should take. I would want the upgrade to make my computer run about 1.25 to 1.5 times better than the i7 2720qm laptop. The 4790K is more than double the price of the FX 8320, so if a FX 8320 would offer significant performance increases over my current laptop for multitasking, I would prefer to save the money.

On the other hand, If going from laptop to desktop would not yield significant improvements (1.25 to 1.5 times better) in multitasking usage, then I would just prefer to stay with the laptop and save for a future upgrade when it would make more of a difference.

 

[prit87]

if the system is not for gaming and for rendering work then ofcource go for the low cost cpu....you can always oc the cpu to increase its performance but do get an aftermarket cooler the stock cooler of amd are crap they are noisy and cannot handle heat very well and not atall with overclock...

 

[Sqrly]

Ah ok cool. Is the FX 8320 significantly better than my laptop's i7 2720qm?

 

[prit87]

yes it is better.....plus the main advantage is overclocking facility ....read this....http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/488/AMD_FX-Series_FX-8350_vs_Intel_Core_i7_Mobile_i7-2720QM_%28PGA%29.html