Laptop Thoughts: Sandy Bridge Laptop Tests Reveal Performance Boost

"But under the hood, much has changed. As we reported from CES, "highlights of the second-generation Core processors, built around a new 32nm microarchitecture, include more energy-efficient performance and improved 3D and graphics performance. Intel claims that with this new generation of CPUs, content creation is up to 42 percent faster and gaming up to 50 percent faster than with previous generations."

Sandy Bridge is out and everyone is chomping at the bit to see what it can really do. CNET has their hands on a laptop provided by Intel to put it through its paces and the results are quite pleasant. Almost everything, with the exception of multimedia performance, is faster, stronger, better. As for multimedia? Well, it certainly trumps a lot of existing integrated solutions but it still lags behind discrete video cards. That is hardly a surprise though and the big question is is the video performance just enough to satisfy most people? Considering that many have lived with old Intel GPUs, I would say yes. It even seems capable of some degree of low-end gaming. Of course, games are not the only benefit but the most obvious one. And check out the battery life! So while tablets may be the new hotness, it looks like laptops have their own song to sing.