Intel’s Mobile Core i5 And Core i3: Arrandale Is For The Rest Of Us

Benchmark Results: Gaming And 3DMark Vantage

In our desktop Clarkdale coverage, we compared 3DMark performance using the Performance preset, if only to keep the results relevant to the discrete platforms used to prevent a graphics bottleneck. Here, though, we step back to the Entry preset in the interest of generating more meaningful numbers. Given the Overall and GPU results, it’s clear that HD Graphics are more effective than the GM45’s GMA 4500MHD controller.

The biggest performance boost comes from the 32nm host processor, which almost doubles the performance of Intel’s Penryn-based Core 2 Duo P8700 in the physics- and AI-oriented processor tests.

We’re not going to spend a ton of time talking about gaming. After all, you’re going to be fairly limited in the number of titles that will run well on an integrated graphics core—even if it has been pulled into the CPU package.

But a quick jaunt around Dalaran in World of Warcraft shows us that frame rates do exceed anything that was possible on a Montevina-based notebook. With that said, dropping detail settings to Low and the resolution to 1024x768 is not a recipe for pretty visuals. When it comes to mobile computing, you’ll have to make a critical decision. Sacrifice battery life and invest in discrete graphics or settle for an integrated GPU and give up 3D gaming.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
  • burnley14
    Well played, Intel. You've been knocking it out of the park lately, keep up the good work.
    Reply
  • I'm looking forward to getting an HP laptop with the Arrandale Core i5 processor in the near future.
    Reply
  • It's going to be interesting to see the performance/battery time of the LM and UM processors as I'm in the market for a thin-and-light myself.

    Performance is good but I'm hoping for a viable update to the CULV offerings of yesterday.
    Reply
  • Computer_Lots
    Looks like there are finally some replacements for the Atom, at least in efficiency anyway. Too bad the price is currently too high for the UM versions of these processors to make their way into netbooks. I would guess that even the i5-520UM would destroy the Atom in every benchmark, except maybe power consumption.
    Reply
  • HansVonOhain
    C2D was one of the longest living platforms. But newer tech will replace slower processors.

    Keep it up intel. I do hope that AMD will release some new chips that will be able to compete with intel offerings.
    Reply
  • jasperjones
    ^^^ true that. arrandale will further diminish AMD's role in the mobile processor market. and there's nothing coming up before may.
    Reply
  • Luscious
    Chris, the dv4 series from HP has a 12-cell extended battery available as well rated for 94Wh 2.2A. Once HP makes the transition to Arrandale, all else being same, you can expect the dv4 to hit 8-10 hours easy.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    Thanks for the tip Lucious. I didn't have the higher-capacity battery available to test, but I'd absolutely love to see 8-10 hrs. real-world from an Arrandale-based machine.
    Reply
  • Reynod
    Good bye NVidia ...

    That chops them completely out of the mobile graphics market for the masses ... Intel will pay the RIGHT OEM's some "adjustment" just to make sure their "Strategy" is right to ensure AMD's mobile market is thin and restricted to the backwaters of Bejjing.

    Reply
  • spydercanopus
    Wish you would have compared it to Intel Extreme Graphics 2 or something.
    Reply