MSI: Intel Core i7 processors coming to laptops next month

One prolific manufacturer of computers has announced what we had already known for a while: Core i7 laptops are ready to hit soon. And by soon we mean September. MSI has confirmed a series of 15.4- and 17-inch mobile Core i7 laptops that will hit just before the launch of Windows 7.

The question is, will you buy one? For those who aren't familiar, Core i7 processors are excellent at multitasking and hard-core gaming, but are hardly power-friendly. They're the chips that will populate the next generation of eye-popping gaming laptops that will, in most instances, also come with eye-popping prices.

That's not to say this power won't be passed down the laptop food chain. Intel's platform code-named Arrandale will produce Core i3 and i5 mobile processors next year, set to replace more mainstream laptop processors.

For now, though, these MSI Core i7 super-laptops will be top-of-the-line desktop replacements, far from the budget categories that have been the fastest-growing part of the marketplace. And the real question will be whether battery life will be anywhere near functional for a serious laptop user who isn't interested in camping near a power outlet.

If you were buying a Windows 7 laptop, would power matter to you? Or would you be equally satisfied with a well-functioning Windows 7 Netbook or ULV thin-and-light?

(UPDATE: we spoke with Intel, asking about MSI's announcement and whether it broke embargoes. Their response: "Yes, they did with product details, but their timing is wrong." Take that as you will.)

(Via Gizmodo)

[q335r49]

The upgrade from starcraft to starcraft 2 might make me go from my netbook to a gaming laptop. Is that an 11 year difference in processing power?

[Isend2C]

it's more like 5 years. 4-5 years ago most laptops had single core (like the atom in all the netbooks) with about the same clock speed (GHz). Many also used the exact same graphics card, but had higher resolution. So if you compare a netbook now to a laptop from 2004 they will be very similar, but the netbook will have a bigger hard drive. Other things (internet browsing integrating more pictures and fluid graphics, programs demanding more resourses *cough* ITUNES *cough*) make netbooks seem slower than you might remember your 5 year old laptop being.

A budget laptop that you buy for $350 will run circles around any netbook except the HP dv2z. The laptops that have an i7 will dominate any other competing laptop, easily. The highest end mobile processor right now will seem sluggish compared to the i7.