help with a decision

[sfrost41]

hi Guys,

Im looking at a Optimus 4 base but i am undecided as to which way i want to go with processor and your opinions would be helpful.

I want a quad core processor but i want to keep the cost down as well. Can i go for the lowest speed now and later upgrade the processor? I am not sure if upgrading the processor at a later date is possible or advisable.

The laptop will be used as a work/Autocad machine

Cheers

 

[rb2610]

I think you should probably be ok with the cheapest quad core i7 (3610QM), personally it doesn't really seem worth £100+ for an extra .30GHz of performance.
Judging by this http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html even the 3610QM should be at least on par with a desktop 2500k which is arguably the best choice of cpu on a desktop in terms of price/performance (other than it's Ivy Bridge equivalent of course).

Not sure how similar AutoCad is in terms of RAM use to 3D modelling applications like 3ds Max, but if they're at all similar you'd probably be better off sticking some of the money you save not getting a 3720 on some extra RAM.

That said I don't know how CPU dependent AutoCad is, so maybe a little extra power would be worth it.

Hope that helps anyway!

 

[sfrost41]

cheer for the reply. how easy are PCS laptops to upgrade after sales? i.e. in the future if i was a bit of extra oomph can i just swap out the processor. im assuming as they come with numerous to choose from in the first place it shouldnt be too hard.

 

[rb2610]

I'm waiting for my first PCS laptop to arrive so I have no idea regarding that I'm afraid

I'd assume so though, and PCS do offer an upgrade service, which I'd guess would include CPUs.

 

[Yamikotai]

I think you should probably be ok with the cheapest quad core i7 (3610QM), personally it doesn't really seem worth £100+ for an extra .30GHz of performance.

Just pointing out, there's more to it than just the higher CPU frequency, such as the next one up (3720qm) having extra virtualisation features and the integrated GPU being clocked higher, as well as VPro which adds a bunch of security features. Despite that I agree with you on the 3610qm, since none of that affects the OP.