i5 vs i7 for VMWare

[mrnewb]

I'm looking to get the new 13" MBA. In the UK the i7 is a custom build option. Does anybody have benchmarks for VMWare on i5 vs i7 as I think the i7 has additional virtualisation features as well as bigger cache.

I'll mostly be running Win7 with some 3D graphics in the VM (CAD software)

 

[ZBoater]

From what I read at the Intel website, the ULV i5 and i7 are nearly identical with the exception of clock speed and cache. I couldn't find any specific reference to differences in virtualization features.

That being said, I'd get the fastest one I could afford, and the 4GB of RAM too.

 

[mrnewb]

ah, I could be mistaken.

It's not so much the money it's just I'd rather buy from the store but to get the i7 in the UK you have to customise via the web.

 

[KPOM]

I'm looking to get the new 13" MBA. In the UK the i7 is a custom build option. Does anybody have benchmarks for VMWare on i5 vs i7 as I think the i7 has additional virtualisation features as well as bigger cache.

I'll mostly be running Win7 with some 3D graphics in the VM (CAD software)

The 1.7GHz Core i5 and 1.8GHz Core i7 in the 13" both support Intel's VT-d feature that enables virtual machines better access to the host machine's ports. The 1.6GHz Core i5 that is in the base 11" does not. That said, VMWare Fusion currently does not support VT-d so it's a moot point right now. The Core i7 has 1MB additional L3 cache, and it turbo boosts to 2.9GHz in single core mode and 2.6GHz in Dual Core mode. I believe the 1.7GHz Core i5 boosts to 2.7GHz/2.4GHz and the 1.6GHz Core i5 boosts to 2.3GHz/2.1GHz.

 

[mrnewb]

Thanks KPOM, I just did a bit of research for anybody that's interested;

http://ark.intel.com/compare/54620,54617

Couldn't find a benchmark anywhere but my guess is there is very little difference in performance.