2.5 i5 or 2.9 i7 ?

[theSeb]

Get the i5 and spend your money on after-market RAM and SSD upgrades.

 

[Dark Void]

Though for a laptop, start-up is probably a pretty rare event - most of the time they are just in sleep mode between uses.

It's an example.

 

[theSeb]

I say wait for the next generation of cores. Since Windows 8 is launching this year, and the cores usually follow Windows release schedule, waiting is a better idea.

No, the "cores" don't follow windows releases. Intel releases new generation CPUs once every year. There is no correlation to a windows release.

 

[Avatarshark]

No, the "cores" don't follow windows releases. Intel releases new generation CPUs once every year. There is no correlation to a windows release.

They are just updates, when you look when the i series was first introduced which was Nehalem (which was the start of the i-series chip)(currently on the Sandy Bridge - Ivy Bridge) it coincided with the release of Windows 7 well, maybe it was a few months after Windows 7 was released.

Intel also have a release schedule similar to Apple's phone series. Their first chip of the series is usually called the Tock and the followup will be the Tick. In which the Tock has a new architecture and the Tick with a die shrink. Ivy Bridge was the Tick.

But if you look at the next major change based on Intel Developer Conference notes 2011, you will see that the Haswell which is the next generation of cores, are due to be release after Windows 8 launch. Sure they haven't finalized the chip's name, but they will have a new chip by the time Windows 8 comes out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Tick-Tock#Roadmap

 

[theSeb]

They are just updates, when you look when the i series was first introduced which was Nehalem (which was the start of the i-series chip)(currently on the Sandy Bridge - Ivy Bridge) it coincided with the release of Windows 7 well, maybe it was a few months after Windows 7 was released.

Intel also have a release schedule similar to Apple's phone series. Their first chip of the series is usually called the Tock and the followup will be the Tick. In which the Tock has a new architecture and the Tick with a die shrink. Ivy Bridge was the Tick.

But if you look at the next major change based on Intel Developer Conference notes 2011, you will see that the Haswell which is the next generation of cores, are due to be release after Windows 8 launch. Sure they haven't finalized the chip's name, but they will have a new chip by the time Windows 8 comes out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Tick-Tock#Roadmap

Thanks, I think. I am well aware of Intel's release schedule and the tick tock strategy. There is no correlation between windows releases and new generations
of CPUs. We already know intel's roadmap beyond Haswell and it has nothing to do with Windows. Haswell was always planned for 2013. It had nothing to do with windows. Ivy bridge was always planned for 2012; it had nothing to do with windows. Sandy bridge was always planned for 2011; it had nothing...

The tick tock strategy has nothing to do with windows in any shape nor form. It's actually as simple as it could be:

Every "tick" is a shrinking of process technology of the previous microarchitecture and every "tock" is a new microarchitecture.[1] Every year, there is expected to be one tick or tock

This has nothing to do with Windows release schedules.

 

[SellYourMacBook]

it really depends on your usage. sounds like a 2.5ghz i5 would be just fine.