Intel Core i5-3210M vs Intel Core i7-3632QM

I understand most programs only use one or two cores at a time. So clock speed is more important… but how about the turbo mode - does it mean the i7 will out perform the i5?

http://processors.findthebest.com/compare/830-864/Intel-i5-3210M-vs-Intel-i7-3632QM

this benchmark puts the i7 at #11 and the i5 at #29

http://www.sonexpc.com/benchmark/mobile

If you are not a programmer/scientists, and you don’t run a lot of programs at the same time, then chances are you don’t need that many cores. But if you are at least a gamer, 3D graphics designer, or you edit music/videos and wants fast rendering speed, then cores matter.

Any calculations that can be parallelized can benefit more from core rather than clock speed. Frankly, well written programs should make good use of cores.

If you have multiple instances of MS word and other office applications opened, you will benefit from having more cores.

thanks that’s good info :thumbsup:

I definitely multitask all the time. However the reason I ask is that I am concerned about running a DJ application for live sets - Traktor. Min sys reqs are dual core with 2.0 on each core. The i7 has a base clock speed of 2.2 but can go as high as 3.1. I wonder if it is better to get the i5 since it has 2.5 on each core (albeit with only 2). Word seems to be that Traktor can only use 2 cores.

Do you know much about Turbo boost? How long can a ‘boost’ last for? How long would it need to last?

[quote=“trubadour”]thanks that’s good info :thumbsup:

I definitely multitask all the time. However the reason I ask is that I am concerned about running a DJ application for live sets - Traktor. Min sys reqs are dual core with 2.0 on each core. The i7 has a base clock speed of 2.2 but can go as high as 3.1. I wonder if it is better to get the i5 since it has 2.5 on each core (albeit with only 2). Word seems to be that Traktor can only use 2 cores.

Do you know much about Turbo boost? How long can a ‘boost’ last for? How long would it need to last?[/quote]

Turboboost increases clock frequency by the means of raising voltage (and current), which means your CPU get hotter the longer it stays in turboboost. It also seems like that your OS has to support this feature.

In anycase, since you have an application specific requirement, i would say this particular i3 might be enough.

I went with the i7. Should be fine to deal with Tractor and great when used otherwise.