Processor's speed was meant to be 3.60ghz but is actually 2.40ghz! Aaargh! Shady seller??

mich_52 · 23 December 2022 at 6:54PM

Hi to the experts out there!

I'd love your advice about the below,

So I bought a laptop online believing it was going to come with a proceesor's speed of 3.60ghz but the speed is actually 2.40ghz. Aaargh!

I wanted to return it because the speed of the processor is important as I've got to run many demanding tasks at the same time (not gaming, just many (MANY!) Microsoft office documents/applications at the same time) but the seller is offering me a partial refund so I can keep the laptop and not return it.

Now, the seller is asking how much I'll be happy to receive in terms of refund to keep the laptop but I don't know how much I should ask for.

The laptop works perfectly fine to be honest (with the exception of the processor's speed of course) it is new and it was sold to me at a very good price, and I definitely don't have enough health to deal with a return process right now.

How much should I ask to be refunded?

Descriptions of this laptop:
ASUS vivobook
Condition: As I've said, new
Price: £479
Intel i5-1135G7
16 GB RAM
SSD Capacity: 512 GB

By the way, system's window shows the following specification for the processor: @2.40 GHz, 2419 Mhz, 4 core(s), 8 logical processors.

Please, be kind on me-I'm not feeling quite well right now =(

Thank you in advance!

flashg67 · 23 December 2022 at 7:01PM

Ask for the difference in price between what you ordered and what you got maybe? But if it's too slow now, it's still to slow even if it now cost less?

Neil_Jones · 23 December 2022 at 7:07PM

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/208658/intel-core-i51135g7-processor-8m-cache-up-to-4-20-ghz.html

Configurable TDP-up Base Frequency 2.40 GHz. Configurable TDP-up Base Frequency is a processor operating mode where the processor behavior and performance is modified by raising TDP and the processor frequency to fixed points.

Or in plain English: its designed to throttle down when its not doing anything particularly intensive and throttle up when it is. So this is normal behaviour.

Ghz figures don't mean anything these days. If they did we'd be on about 1000Ghz by now putting out more heat than the system would be able to disperse. Speed is more about the architecture/make-up of the processor than the raw clock speeds.

k_man · 23 December 2022 at 7:07PM

The i5-1135G7 is rated at 2.4GHz, but has a single core turbo maximum speed of 4.2GHz.

So you could be unhappy it is only 2.4GHz, or happy it can go to 4.2GHz.

Or accept GHz is not the be all and end all of CPU performance.

Where was this listed, and what did the listing specifically state?

mich_52 · 23 December 2022 at 7:08PM

flashg67 said:

Ask for the difference in price between what you ordered and what you got maybe? But if it's too slow now, it's still to slow even if it now cost less?

Thanks! The problem with asking this is that the seller may offer me a lower refund than what I am entitled to, that's why I'd like to know an approximate figure that is fair and right.

MikeJXE · 23 December 2022 at 7:12PM

if you wanted 3.6 and got a 2.4 that might not do the work how does a refund make it better ?

mich_52 · 23 December 2022 at 7:21PM

k_man said:

The i5-1135G7 is rated at 2.4GHz, but has a single core turbo maximum speed of 4.2GHz.

So you could be unhappy it is only 2.4GHz, or happy it can go to 4.2GHz.

Or accept GHz is not the be all and end all of CPU performance.

Where was this listed, and what did the listing specifically state?

Thanks for this comment! Very insightful!
Ebay
Nothing more important than what I said in the post.

What does "single core turbo maximum speed of 4.2GHz" mean?
By the way, system's window shows the following specification for the processor: @2.40 GHz, 2419 Mhz, 4 core(s), 8 logical processors.

mich_52 · 23 December 2022 at 7:22PM

MikeJXE said:

if you wanted 3.6 and got a 2.4 that might not do the work how does a refund make it better ?

I could use the refund to change the processor? Who knows? I don't have a clue, that's why I am here asking.

mich_52 · 23 December 2022 at 7:45PM

Neil_Jones said:

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/208658/intel-core-i51135g7-processor-8m-cache-up-to-4-20-ghz.html

Configurable TDP-up Base Frequency 2.40 GHz. Configurable TDP-up Base Frequency is a processor operating mode where the processor behavior and performance is modified by raising TDP and the processor frequency to fixed points.

Or in plain English: its designed to throttle down when its not doing anything particularly intensive and throttle up when it is. So this is normal behaviour.

Ghz figures don't mean anything these days. If they did we'd be on about 1000Ghz by now putting out more heat than the system would be able to disperse. Speed is more about the architecture/make-up of the processor than the raw clock speeds.

Thanks for this comment!

Then do you think this processor will be able to reach 4.20 GHz when I am running all those demanding tasks (I mentioned in my post) at the same time?
By the way, system's window shows the following specification for the processor: @2.40 GHz, 2419 Mhz, 4 core(s), 8 logical processors.

Neil_Jones · 23 December 2022 at 10:57PM

Well based on "many (MANY!) Microsoft office documents/applications at the same time"... Depends..

My laptop I have now is "only" 2.3Ghz (not that that means anything as I said above) and I can if I wanted to have copious Office documents open without this thing batting an eyelid. Having looked at Task Manager for the last couple of minutes this drops to as low as 1.1Ghz clock speed.

I think you've completely misunderstood the whole processor thing. You don't "need" a 4.2Ghz processor and you don't have a 4.2Ghz processor. You have a laptop processor that runs at certain speeds based on what the demand of the system is. If there is a need for the higher speed then you'll get it, at the expense of battery life. If your laptop is just sitting there doing nothing its a complete waste of power to run at 4.2Ghz just because it can.

I would say you can have as many documents open as you like, that doesn't mean processor speed will ramp up.