SU7300 vs Core i3

[raven]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy a laptop for a family member and need your help quantifying some answers.. I'm trying to explain the difference (and how it would be noticed) between two processors; the SU7300 and the Core i3. But since I haven't had any experience of either (and because my newest laptop chips are a 5 year old AMD Turion and Intel Atom) I was hoping someone could help me out.

This person has been used to using a lenovo T61 with a T7300, but now has to give this option back, and so they have asked me to help them get a computer with similar performance. And by similar performance, they mean for every day tasks (ie, extensive web surfing, extensive pdf reading, some youtube, daily emailing, word processing etc) and not gaming or video editing or anything of that sort. Basically, they want a computer that will feel just as snappy as that lenovo.

Doing some research and some hands on test typing, we've come to the conclusion that it will either be an --Asus K52JR-X2 (http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=CyyiEd0t9iKZ6Afg)-- (Core i3 w/ an ATI HD5470), an Asus --K52F-A1 (http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=QAVTJThr36Jox9Cf)-- (Core i3 w/ intel integrated GMA HD) or an Asus --UL50VT-A1 (http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=QqP6p1vDWwn0IIzZ)-- (SU7300 + nvidia optimus).

Now the reason for the debate between the models is that the SU7300 has great battery life, and even though this computer will be mostly used on a desk, having that portability option may be nice. So.. would the SU7300 feel just as snappy at loading items and opening pdfs, or would there be a measurable difference? (if so, by 2 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 min?). I need to put this into perspective so they can make the call for what suits them.


Raven

[tom_ozahoski]

The SU7300 would be dramatically slower due to the 1.3ghz vs 2.0ghz processor speed. The Core i3 would slaughter them both. approx 2x the power of the t7300 forget the SU7300

[nd4spdbh2]

^ what he said... get the i3 ... its a great cpu. N w/e you want in the way of gfx. Ill note that apple deems the i3's integrated gfx as good nuf for most light usage (web surfing, pdfs, yadi yada) and only switches on their dedicated gfx when need be in their new macbook pros.

[cyberfish]

I have the even lower end SU3500 (Core 2 Solo) and I can notice no difference between that and my desktop (3.5ghz OC C2D).

I do web surfing, lot's of pdfs (lecture notes), CAD (mechanical and electrical engineering design and simulation programs), and a lot of programming. It feels slower when compiling big programs or simulating/synthesizing big designs (for FPGAs), but otherwise identical.

Sure, an i3 will be tons faster. But probably not noticeably.

I love the 10 hours battery life, and lightweight (1.6kg, 13").

[raven]

Thanks for everyone's input. I understand that the Core i3 is miles above the ultra low voltage SU7300 and that the Core i3 performs much better in synthetic benchmarks. The question here is not on whether the Core i3 is faster, but it's more on real world results, and if real world results and feel have the SU7300 and the T7300 on par, then that is all that will be needed.

Emailing, Youtube, pdf reading, websurfing, and video playback is what the notebook will be used for, and cyberfish, you answered my question and that is that there really wouldn't be a difference for these tasks. Maybe if I were to swap in an SSD, then there would be a noticeable performance gain like there was on my netbook.

[nd4spdbh2]

if they are right close to the same price i see no reason not to go with the i3... it will be more future proof then the SU7300.

And being that its "mostly on a desk" makes me lean much more twords the i3... this is not to say the i3 wont be portable just a little less than the SU... but imo its the way to go.

[cyberfish]

Oh yeah, my laptop has a X25-M. Sometimes makes it feel faster than my desktop :).

If the machine is going to be stationed most of the time, though, I would get the i3 especially if they are priced similarly.

If it's for on-the-go, then ULV for sure. Nothing beats 10 hr battery life, ultra light weight, and dirt cheap, all together.

[Sir Barton]

Get the i3...its a very nice CPU. I bought my mom a new laptop a couple weeks ago with the i3 330M, and it scoots along pretty good. It also has hyperthreading.