Mobile Core i7-920XM: Power Is The Price For Better Performance

Test Setup

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Notebook Performance Details
ModelEurocom W860CU CougarEurocom M860TU Montebello
CPUIntel Core i7-920XM 2 GHz, 8MB L3 CacheIntel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 2.53 GHz, FSB-1066, 12MB L2 Cache
ChipsetIntel PM55Intel PM45/ICH9M
Memory2GB DDR3-13332GB DDR3-1066
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 260M 1GB 550 MHz GPU, GDDR3-1600Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M 1GB 550 MHz GPU, GDDR3-1600
HDDSeagate ST9500420ASG 500GB, 7,200 RPM, 16MB CacheSeagate ST9500420ASG 500GB, 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache
SoundIntegrated HD AudioIntegrated HD Audio
Wired LANIntegrated Gigabit LANIntegrated Gigabit LAN
Wireless LANRealtek 802.11b/g/nIntel WiFi 5300 AGN
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Benchmarks and Settings
3D Games
Resident Evil 5Quality settings set to High, No AA / 8xAA, 1024x768, Built-in fixed benchmark
Far Cry 2Quality settings set to Very High, No AA / 8xAA, 1024x768, latest Steam version, in-game benchmark (Ranch medium).
Left 4 DeadQuality settings set to max, No AA / 8xAA, 1024x768, latest Steam version, timed demo.
Grand Theft Auto IVVery High / Medium quality setting, No AA, vsync off, 1024x768, Patch 1.4
Audio Encoding
iTunesVersion: 8.2.1.6 (64-bit), Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., Default format AAC
Lame MP3Version: 3.98.2 (32-bit), Audio CD ""Terminator II" SE, 53 min, wave to MP3, 160 Kb/s
Video Encoding
TMPEG 4.7Version: 4.7, Import File: "Terminator II" SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
DivX 6.8.5Encoding mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-Threading, Enabled using SSE4, Quarter-pixel search
XviD 1.2.2Display encoding status=off
MainConcept Reference 1.6.1MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS), Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core
Applications
Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 (64-bit)Version: 2009 Service Pack 1, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV)
WinRAR 3.90Version 3.90, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
WinZip 12.1Version 12, Compression=Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB)
AVG Anti-Virus 8.5Virus scan of 334MB of compressed files
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark VantageVersion: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores
PCMark VantageVersion: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
SiSoftware Sandra 2009 SP4CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/MultiMedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.