Someone brought up a "quantum processor" or "quantum computing" the other day. What is it? How does it differ from the processors we're using?
A quantum processor
cpu
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The term Generation is loosely applied to Intel processors to mean new and significant developments in processor architecture or functions.
A second generation Core processor is the family of processors known as Sandy Bridge, which among other things introduced shared cache and placed the memory controller, graphics and CPU on the same die. The first generation was composed the Core i3, i5 and i7 processors launched early last year.
The term can also be seen sometimes applied to processor families. The Core family of processors can sometimes be talked about as having had 3 generations (Lyndfield, Clarkdale and Sandy Bridge). But some processors like the i7, had more or different families (the Bloomfield and Gulftown). Example.
It can also be used to name different factory models within a similar architecture. Again, sticking to Core processors, The Core 2 Duo, Quad and Extreme being mentioned as one generation different than the i3, i5 and i7, while the sandy Bridge being the 3rd generation of Core processors. Example
All in all the term is not officially connoted to the media. Intel does seem to favor the term as meaning significant architecture and factory processing changes within the same family of processors. And they are ultimately the ones deciding what is named 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on generation. They do it often. But the term has come to mean other things too, since Intel itself has never tried to enforce it. Hence being a term that can have both official and loose connotations, depending on the context.
Yes, 2.4GHz vs 3.4GHz is a big difference.
However you're comparing the same processor, and they're both capable of achieving 3.4GHz. For the i7-4700MQ, 2.4Ghz is the base speed and 3.4Ghz is the turbo speed.
If the processors had otherwise different clock speeds (and all the other features were mostly the same), there would be a pretty big difference in their capability.
Note that there's other features of a processor that can out weigh small differences (ie 0.1 - 0.2Ghz) in clock speed. Features like:
- the number of cores
- hyper-threading enabled
- cache sizes
will also affect the comparison between two processors.
Whether or not you would notice these differences also depends on what you're using the computer for. If you aren't using your computer for gaming, video/music rendering, or some other computationally-intensive task, the difference will mean very little to you.
Apart from the answer:
If you want a computer that performs well for general tasks (ie internet browsing, document editing, etc), get a computer with an SSD. Especially when you're buying a laptop, SSDs will increase battery like and drastically increase boot-time (and other drive-intensive operations). When it comes to general-purpose computing, SSDs make more of a difference than faster RAM and CPUs.
Not to judge your purchase, but both computers come with 1TB 5400RPM drives - that is slow. Unless you actually need all that space, you will enjoy the capabilities of an SSD more.
And if you are looking to buy an HP laptop, do some research to make sure that none of the ports or internal parts are proprietary - HP is notorious for this.
Best Answer
In a nutshell: processors right now run on electrons, and so are limited by the speed of light and various other nuances.
Quantum processors take advantage of the properties of subatomic particles (e.g quantum entanglement, or Einstein's "Spooky action at a distance") to overcome some of these limits and offer a potentially exponential increase in power.
In an even smaller nutshell: they're much, much faster.