Posts tagged: turbo boost

Spotted: New Intel Core i7 Quad Mobile and i5 Mobile processors


Spotted: New Intel Core i7 Quad Mobile and i5 Mobile processors

New Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors leaked!

HP does it again! Reading through a recently posted Service Manual of the spanking new HP Envy 17, I’ve spotted three, new and upcoming Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Mobile processors that will be coming to HP Envy’s near you in the coming months (and presumably in other performance notebooks as well). The new processors include:

  • Intel Core i7 840QM Quad-core processor – With a ‘native’ clock speed of 1.86 GHz and the ability to go up to 3.20 GHz using Turbo Boost, the i7-840QM is the new flagship processor of Intel’s non-Extreme line of processors. This processor is a wee bit faster than the 820QM, while maintaining 8 MB of L3 cache and 45W TDP rating. Another interesting fact is that the i7-840QM appears as an option alongside, instead of replacing, its 820QM sibling.
  • Intel Core i7 740QM Quad-core processor – This looks like the love child of the existing Core i7 720QM and i7 820QM processors, sporting the 1.73 GHz clock speed of the latter and 6 MB of L3 cache of the former, and 45W TDP shared by all the existing Quad Core i7′s (except the i7-920XM). Maximum Turbo Boost speed is 2.93 GHz: that sits somewhere between the two (i7-720QM and i7-820QM).
  • Intel Core i5 450M dual core processor – This is a very strange new processor indeed. Strange because it appears like a clone of the i5-520M processor with the same specifications and info on paper. 2.4 GHz dual core, with the ability to go up to 2.93 GHz via Turbo Boost, 3 MB of L3 cache and 35W TDP.

There are also a couple of implied new processors with the appearance of the three above. Here’s what I expect to also arrive (in other notebooks) at the same time:

  • Intel Core i7 940XM Quad-core Extreme processor – With the i7 840QM able to hit the same 3.20 GHz ceiling as the i7 920XM via Turbo Boost, expect to see an upgraded i7 940XM mobile processor with 2.26 GHz clock speed and ability to Turbo Boost to 3.33 GHz or more.
  • New Intel Core i5 500M series processors (i5 530M and i5 550M) – These new processors will maintain their 35W TDP, while giving an increase in clock speed/Turbo Boost max clock speed.

Well, go right ahead and check out that Service Manual to see those new processor options yourself, along with a wealth of information related to the Envy 17 (like how there’s no battery slice available, the fact it uses the GDDR5 version of the ATI Mobility Radeon 5850 and not DDR3 [rejoice!], how the hard drives and RAM slots are now “customer accessible” and more!). The new processors also make an appearance in the HP Envy 15 Service Manual, hinting that the Envy 15 (and it’s rather not-so-nice keyboard) is not so dead yet… well, there’s always wishful thinking that a redesigned 2nd gen Envy 15 or Envy 16 will come out this fall, right?

HP Pavilion dv4i appears on HP official site; starts at $799

HP Pavilion dv4i appears on HP official site; starts at $799

HP Pavilion dv4i as seen on HP's official site

During one of my obsessive visits to HP’s notebook pages, I have just spotted that they’ve just added the Intel Core i5 boasting Pavilion dv4i to their consumer product line. Strange, because there wasn’t any official announcement made during yesterday’s flood of CES product announcements by HP. Anyway, here it is – the appearance of the dv4i from $799 on HP.com (the official website) squashes earlier internet rumors of a “gold” colored dv4i and $949 retail price.

The Pavilion dv4i gives you a choice of Intel’s Core i5 520M (2.4 GHz) or 540M (2.53 GHz) dual core processors, whose Turbo Boost feature can speed them up to 2.93 GHz and 3.06 GHz respectively. Other improvements versus the previous Pavilion dv4 include DDR3 RAM (up to 8 GB), hard disk options up to 500 GB (with 7200 RPM standard) and a 512 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4550 graphics card, which replaces the Nvidia GeForce G105M on the old model (hurrah??). Cosmetically, nothing has changed on the Pavilion dv4i, right down to the all-black glossy case with circular-spiral patterns on the lid and palmrest.

HP Pavilion dv4i main features:

  • Intel Core i5 Mobile
  • 2 DDR3 RAM slots
  • Hard disk bay (up to 500 GB), 7200 RPM is standard
  • ATI Mobility 4550 graphics (512 MB)
  • 14 inch glossy display (1280 x 800)
  • Optical drive (Optional Blu-ray)
  • 2 headphone output jacks; 1 microphone jack
  • 3 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI out, VGA and LAN ports
  • Expansion Port 3 for optional dock