i7-3612QM vs i7-3610QM - Is one noticeably better?

 i7-3612QM vs i7-3610QM - Is one noticeably better?

Hello,

I noticed that HP offers two versions of the i7 processors:

3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3612QM (2.1 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)

and

3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)

Now I can see the 0.2 difference in processor speed, but is the i7-3610qm going to be noticeably better/faster?

The i7-3612qm is still a quad core right?

Thanks.

 Re: i7-3612QM vs i7-3610QM - Is one noticeably better?

There should be very little, if any difference between the two in terms of performance and power consumption. They are the exact same chip. I would get the one that is cheaper.

 Re: i7-3612QM vs i7-3610QM - Is one noticeably better?

 Originally Posted by maverick1989 

There should be very little, if any difference between the two in terms of performance and power consumption. They are the exact same chip. I would get the one that is cheaper.

They are not the exact same chip. The 3610qm is 10% faster. 3612qm is a 35w quad and the 3610qm is a 45w quad. 3612qm will run better on smaller notebooks but there really is not much difference other then the 3612qm running better in smaller notebooks as it is slightly slower and just about fits into the 35w tdp category.

Also the 3612qm is a BGA I believe which means lower voltage compared to most i7 3000qm's.

BGA Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia

edit:If a 3612qm is cheaper I would go for that likewise if the 3610qm is cheaper.

 Re: i7-3612QM vs i7-3610QM - Is one noticeably better?

Are you encoding? If yes then microseconds. If no then dont bother unless its super cheap.