Extra performance and lower power consumption with no drawbacks

Jan 8, 2010 13:37 GMT  ·  By
Dell refreshes the Studio 14, 15 and 17 laptop lines with Core i3, i5 and i7 chips
   Dell refreshes the Studio 14, 15 and 17 laptop lines with Core i3, i5 and i7 chips

Eager to make its products more appealing by improving their efficiency and overall performance, Dell has decided to make its Studio 14-, Studio 15- and Studio 17-series laptops compatible with the latest Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 mobile processors from Intel Corp. These chips are noteworthy for their ability to deliver an increased performance at less power, while not impacting on any of the system's features. The 14-, 15- and 17-inch machines promise to bring end-users an enhanced experience while preserving the design advantages that have come to define each line.

The new 32nm central processing units (CPUs) were only recently introduced by the Santa Clara-based CPU giant and have already seen companies like EVGA, Acer, and Lenovo release supporting products. The new Intel Core i5 processors are about twice as fast as comparable existing chips and, like the Core i7 chips, feature the Intel Turbo Boost and the Intel Hyper threading technologies for better computing when running heavy workloads.

Hyper Threading and Turbo Boost are able to increase the performance of both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. They detect when the operating system requires a higher processor performance and deliver it by dynamically increasing the processor frequency by 133MHz. Among the elements that can limit the frequency boost are the number of active cores, the processor's temperature, the estimated current consumption and the estimated power consumption.

Through these features, Dell's laptops from the Studio 14, Studio 15 and Studio 17 families will deliver, compared with previous models, an increased performance and lower power consumption, even while retaining their multimedia capabilities, look and feel.

The updated laptops will become available by the end of the ongoing month and have manufacturer suggested retail prices (MSRP) of $699 for the 14-inch Studio 14 models, of $849 for the 15-inch Studio 15 and of $949 for the 17-inch Studio 17.