Member Avatar for laelzio.mosca

HI, I`m looking to buy a laptop, I currently found two different brand laptops that I`m interested in. One is a sony, the other one is dell, I`m not too concerned about the brand, but since they have different processors I need a suggestion to which one is better.

The sony is a VGN-FW590 with a Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9900 (3.06GHz) processor.

The dell is a alienware M15x with a Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache) processor.

the difference in price is only about $100, which one would be a better buy?

Thanks guys

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Dani AI

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Short, practical guidance tied to the thread: is comparing two similarly priced laptops with different CPUs. As and observed, newer CPU designs and the notebook GPU/thermal design matter a lot — but raw peak clock numbers alone are misleading. The useful decision factors are workload, sustained performance (not peak burst), GPU strength for gaming, upgradeability, screen quality, battery/weight, and real-world thermal behavior.

Clarifying the clock/turbo point quickly: modern mobile CPUs publish a base clock and a higher short-term “boost” clock. The base figure is what the chip can sustain for extended multi‑core work at the laptop’s rated power/thermal limits; the boost is an opportunistic, short-duration increase that depends on available power and cooling and often applies to only one or two cores. Real performance for long video-encoding, virtual machines, or multitasking depends on sustained all-core frequency and cooling, while light desktop work and many games can benefit more from higher single-core responsiveness and a stronger GPU.

Practical checklist to apply to these two models:

  • Match to primary use: gaming => prioritize discrete GPU and cooling; encoding/virtualization => sustained multi-core performance; portability => SSD, low-power CPU, and battery life.
  • Compare long-run benchmarks and thermal tests rather than spec sheets. Good resources: PassMark CPU Benchmarks and detailed laptop reviews at .
  • Verify upgrade options: spare RAM slots, ability to add an SSD, and replaceable battery.
  • Inspect the screen (resolution, IPS vs TN), keyboard comfort, port selection, and weight in person if possible.
  • Consider warranty/service and fan noise under load.

When price is nearly the same, prefer the machine whose GPU, cooling, and upgrade path align with the intended tasks; benchmarks and long-run reviews will reveal which one sustains real-world performance.

Member Avatar for laelzio.mosca

So, the i7 is definitely a better buy?

Member Avatar for durrenmatt

yea, the i7 is definetly a better buy. sony items are usually more expensive than they're worth just because they have the name "sony". The alienware looks better and has a better video card. and i7 is better and newer than core 2 duo

Edited by durrenmatt because: n/a
Member Avatar for laelzio.mosca

When the processor is described like this:
Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache) processor

which number if the most important, if it`s a 1.73Ghz what 3.06Ghz turbo mode means?

Member Avatar for durrenmatt

"The turbo mode turns off cores that would otherwise be left idle when they're not in use, and reroutes the power budget that normally would be applied to those cores to the active cores, which promises to further boost their performance without wasting power."

....so i'm guessing that you either use all 4 cores of the i7 @ 1.73 GHz each, either only one or two @ 3.06....

even if the processor frequency is lower if its generation is newer than it will be better and more effective because it utilizes newer technologies and implementations

Edited by durrenmatt because: n/a
Member Avatar for aboutj

Dell is a good brand to buy and i7 is really what i will suggest you to buy.

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