Please see Intel Core2 X9100 vs Core i7 3540M for a side-by-side comparison of these two CPUs.
You can also look at Configurable - HP EliteBook 8570p Notebook - A1L16AV for optional CPUs that are up to 2.7GHz base freq, 3.7GHz turbo freq, 4 cores, 8 threads, and has a 6MB smart cache.
Please send KUDOS