i7-2960XM vs. i7-2860QM

[tom3k380]

I'm buying the W520, and I'm wondering whether getting the i7-2960XM is worth the additional $550.

I do need the power, but I'm not sure if there will be a big difference.

The i7-2860QM is pretty powerful and pretty close in terms of specs.

[AMATX]

The main benefit of buying the 2960 is for overclocking. However, the W520 bios doesn't allow this, so you're losing out on most of the extra goodness.

If you -do- need all of the cpu power you can get, then any additional horsepower is worth considering.

In this case, you're paying a lot for a little more.

That said, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a W520 and I will get the 2960 chip because I want/need all of the juice I can get.

[WA2SI]

Bought my W520 with the i7-2820QM cpu and I have no complaints. The inner-child in me wanted to swap the cpu for an i7-2860QM but the wise folks on this (as well as others) forum guided me in the right dir'n. Not much actual difference in processing power with diminishing returns for the $'s. The i7-2960XM was never really in my budget. Happy holidays.

Bert

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