J.D. Hodges

Question.
Hello. I am looking at a new Dell Vostro V130. I see that they are now shipping with either of the following two Intel® Core™ Series Processors:
i3-380UM (3M Cache,1.33GHz,800 MHz FSB)
-or-
i5-470UM (3M Cache, 1.33GHz, 800 MHz FSB)

They are both already ULV (ultra low voltage) processors, so what is the difference?!

Answer.
Great question! Basically, the i5-470UM has turboboost enabled while the i3 does not. This means that the i5 CPU can dynamically overclock one of the cores up to speeds up to 1.86GHz. No user intervention is required and this turboboost will normally occur in single threaded apps.

Specifically, when one core is idle the active an be “boosted” to a higher clockspeed while still maintaining an overall low level of power consumption and heat. When both cores are significantly active, the turboboost will likely not occur at that time as the CPU is already operating near its limits.

Recommendation: if you can find a good price on the i5 laptop, go for it! The Turboboost feature may give you a signficant speed boost in some apps and there are no significant drawbacks.

More info below:

Intel® Core™ i5-470UM Processor (3M Cache, 1.33 GHz)with SPEC Code(s)SLBXPhttp://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=50026[official Intel product page for this CPU]

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0http://www.intel.com/technology/turboboost/index.htmntel has optimized Intel® Turbo Boost Technology¹ to provide even more performance when needed on the latest-generation Intel® microarchitecture code name Sandy Bridge. Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 automatically allows processor cores to run faster than the base operating frequency if it’s operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits.