CPU performance matters...

[Arachnotronic]

Just upgraded my laptop from an AMD A6 4 core Llano @ 1.5GHz to an Intel Core i7 4 core/8 thread @ 2.4GHz, and it is a world of difference. Battery life is kinda meh, though, but it's worth it considering my usage model.

How can anybody say CPU performance doesn't matter? Even in a general purpose machine, a faster CPU makes things feel a lot snappier. Keep in mind that my old laptop had an SSD, while my new one has a 16GB SSD cache + 1TB 5400RPM HDD, so it's not a storage thing. Both have 8GB DDR3-1600.

GPU performance is really nice, too, with a discrete GTX 660M, but it's nowhere close to enough @ 1080p for the games I traditionally play.

Performance matters!

 

[tweakboy]

Of course your right. In games tho, it really doesnt matter if you have a Q6 or a i7 framerates are same, if not 3 fps higher for i7 .....

Black Ops II ,,,,, was 39fps stuck for me..... then when I slapped on the CPU it was 43fps. 4 fps gained going from Q6600 to what I have now.

 

[inf64]

So you came from lowly clocked llano quad to much higher clocked 8 thread i7 and you notice the difference? Wow who would have thought that would happen

Sure performance matters,it costs too . These two laptops are not even in the same price ballpark. Also the i7 not only has 2x thread count,it probably has some crazy high Turbo mode on top of 60% higher stock clock . If you hadn't noticed any difference then something would have to be wrong with your software or your usage model of the laptop.
Congrats on the upgrade!

 

[MisterMac]

...so you made a post a Hardware Enthusiast forum saying:

"Mo Power, Mo results"?


....Really?

 

[Haserath]

You will never get me to switch from my abacus!

 

[Idontcare]

Nice laptop!

 

[CHADBOGA]

Just upgraded my laptop from an AMD A6 4 core Llano @ 1.5GHz to an Intel Core i7 4 core/8 thread @ 2.4GHz, and it is a world of difference. Battery life is kinda meh, though, but it's worth it considering my usage model.

How can anybody say CPU performance doesn't matter? Even in a general purpose machine, a faster CPU makes things feel a lot snappier. Keep in mind that my old laptop had an SSD, while my new one has a 16GB SSD cache + 1TB 5400RPM HDD, so it's not a storage thing. Both have 8GB DDR3-1600.

GPU performance is really nice, too, with a discrete GTX 660M, but it's nowhere close to enough @ 1080p for the games I traditionally play.

Performance matters!

The "performance don't matter" crowd, started off as upset AMD fans who couldn't come to grips with the performance delta between Intel and AMD cpu's.

Over time, this group has expanded to include other people who having given up on AMD, have jumped onto the ARM bandwagon, in their irrational hope that Intel can be knocked off its perch.


BTW - Link to laptop?

 

[parvadomus]

Its hard to believe u owned some amd thing, you are constantly claiming that amd is crap
Also APUs are aimed to low cost but good enough cpu/graphics, not even near an i7. Performance obviously matters we know it, intel knows it, thats why i7s exist.

 

[Yuriman]

My dad is happy on his e6600 + SSD machine, but there is undoubtedly a difference between it and a modern Core chip. "Good enough for government work" is not for everyone, but there is a market for it. ^^

 

[Arachnotronic]

Its hard to believe u owned some amd thing, you are constantly claiming that amd is crap
Also APUs are aimed to low cost but good enough cpu/graphics, not even near an i7. Performance obviously matters we know it, intel knows it, thats why i7s exist.

I own a LOT of AMD systems, and back in the Athlon II days, before Intel had any real decent low end offerings, I was building AMD systems for my friends and family like mad.

I own an Athlon II X4 in my 2nd desktop, a Llano in my old laptop, and I recently bought and put together a system with an A10-5800K (which I then sold).

 

[Arachnotronic]

Nice laptop!

Thanks, IDC! I love this thing...my desktop is getting slightly jealous, though. It's not used to me owning a laptop with a more sophisticated CPU

 

[TuxDave]

Its hard to believe u owned some amd thing, you are constantly claiming that amd is crap
Also APUs are aimed to low cost but good enough cpu/graphics, not even near an i7. Performance obviously matters we know it, intel knows it, thats why i7s exist.

Not everyone is a fanboy. The first computer I built right after I graduated was an AMD64 based system. Anyone that knows me would see the hilariousness of that.

 

[Rvenger]

My wife went from an Athlon x2 laptop to an A8-4500m and had a nice jump in performance.

 

[Arachnotronic]

The "performance don't matter" crowd, started off as upset AMD fans who couldn't come to grips with the performance delta between Intel and AMD cpu's.

Over time, this group has expanded to include other people who having given up on AMD, have jumped onto the ARM bandwagon, in their irrational hope that Intel can be knocked off its perch.


BTW - Link to laptop?

CHADBOGA,

Here it is: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/ideapad/y-series/y580/

 

[CHADBOGA]

CHADBOGA,

Here it is: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/ideapad/y-series/y580/

Nice.

It looks like a desktop replacement moreso than a travelling companion.

Do you take it on the road with you often?

 

[Abwx]

Your Llano has 35W TDP for CPU + IGPU while your i7 is a 45W part
that can go at 55W a short time , along with a discrete 75W TDP GPU....

 

[Jimmah]

I am pleased for you that you upgraded, it's always nice to upgrade from low end to much higher end gear. I must say though, the comparison isn;t fair, it's like saying you just traded in an Elantra and went to a Porche, they're not even close to the same category.

 

[Edrick]

Thanks, IDC! I love this thing...my desktop is getting slightly jealous, though. It's not used to me owning a laptop with a more sophisticated CPU

...thats because you sold your NICE desktop!

 

[sm625]

lol a $400 slickdeals i5-3210M machine would have felt a helluvalot faster too compared to llano.

 

[Sweepr]

nice upgrade... I just replaced my 2GHz 2c/2t Core 2 (merom) laptop by a 1.9GHz 2c/4t (3GHz Turbo) Core i7 ivy bridge ULV ultrabook.. its night and day.. and both have samsung 830 SSDs

most of the time I'm not gaming so that jump was much more noticeable than going from a X3100 IGP to the discrete GT620M (which is 2x faster than HD4000)

 

[Arachnotronic]

...thats because you sold your NICE desktop!

Later this year, I go IVB-E

 

[Arachnotronic]

Nice.

It looks like a desktop replacement moreso than a travelling companion.

Do you take it on the road with you often?

It's actually not too terrible to carry around. When I'm on long bus ride (and there happens to be an electrical outlet -- which is surprisingly common these days), hook it up to a decent logitech mouse and I can game the whole time.

 

[Enigmoid]

Your Llano has 35W TDP for CPU + IGPU while your i7 is a 45W part
that can go at 55W a short time , along with a discrete 75W TDP GPU....

Just would like to point out that the 660m is not using anywhere near 75 watts. The 650m desktop part is clocked higher and from lower binned chips and has a tdp of 64ish watts.

I think what he is saying is that cpu performance does matter and that the "its fast enough for you" argument is incorrect.

 

[pyjujiop]

I am pleased for you that you upgraded, it's always nice to upgrade from low end to much higher end gear. I must say though, the comparison isn;t fair, it's like saying you just traded in an Elantra and went to a Porche, they're not even close to the same category.

That's exactly what he did. He called out Intel's daddy to whip up on AMD's little brother.

If I tell someone that CPU performance doesn't matter much (it does matter some, but not like it used to), it's in the context of telling them that upgrading their 4 GHz Core 2 Quad, older model i7, or Phenom II X4 won't give them nearly as much of a boost in gaming as replacing their three-year-old GPU. No one in their right mind would argue that a low-end Llano is in any way comparable to an Ivy i7 with a 660M.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

It's still a valid point in an environment where the going meme is "good enough CPU performance", and people keep saying that real desktop and laptop computers are going to disappear because of cute little toys because "that's all most people need". You've got a major chip maker flatly telling people that what they are selling is merely "good enough" and that people should be happy with that.

But they may only be happy with middling performance when they don't know any better. What people need is, to some extent, a function of what they know they can have. I mean, there was a time when people were happy living in 800 sf houses, and now people want houses four times that size (or more). They could still get by with the smaller space, but they don't want to.

And a point I've made earlier: it's been a while since the latest "must have" piece of software. At some point, a new "killer app" will emerge, and people will start paying attention to CPUs a lot more. Until then, though, it's worth noting that even now, "good enough" doesn't necessarily mean "good".