Which Processor laptop to buy? i3 or i5?
February 9th, 2020
so my current laptop is really old and was wondering to update to a new laptop..
i have my eye on lenovo… but am confused to either go with i3-4100U 1.7Ghz OR i5-4210U 1.7Ghz, rest of the specs are same except the price diff there is for i3 and i5 but that im not considering at the moment..
all i want to know is what is the difference??
i checked the bench marks on the interenet and they are almost the same so no edge on getting i5 processor.. am i right or not? i know i5 can be over clocked and i3 cant be but still is there any speed difference???
and the overclocking is auto right? with same speed i dont think its wise to pay more for i5 if your getting same result…
also tell me which is the best processor type? U or M or E??
i see U takes less power but M is more faster.., so what to get i5 4th gen U or M processor?
kindly help me make my decision..
thanks!
i5 is a newer gen and has more calculating power … as for the diff models, what are you planning on running on the laptop … are you more concerned about performance or energy saving ?
performance….
as for my calculating power, i cudnt find any difference in benchmarks.. why is that then?
What change are the optimization some instruction that will give you a performance gain in highly optimized softwares. The real difference is from i3 to i7. If you don’t plan to use CPU intensive application there is no difference for you. Games will not grant you that performance boost, so if you don’t use specific softwares and no virtual system, i5 is only a loss of money.
I had the same issue… so I bought an i7 instead and suggest you do the same for your laptop, not desktop.
overclocking a laptop? good luck with that.
look at benchmarks, if they’re the same. go for the cheaper one!
also, just because ^ is happy with an i7, remember they cost a lot more!
can go to i5…..but in latest go to i7
I’ve been a computer tech for over 30 years. One thing I always tell people who want to buy a laptop, is to buy as much power as possible within budget. This is because it is usually either very difficult, or impossible to change out components. If you go with the i3, your stuck with the i3 until you get another laptop. If you can afford an i5, then go for it.
thanks guys for your input
i5 is within my budget, its 9.75% more expensive than i3 model.. is it worth it then?
yes i7 is costing alot more.. plus im not that high end user so ill avoid i7 for now..
one more thing… should i upgrade to 8gb ram or 4gb ram with win 8.1 is enough?
10% is not much, is it worth it for the i5, of course, the i3 is tired these days.
You say ” im not that high end user so ill avoid i7 for now..” Do you see some change in the future, where you may user pc for more than what you use it now. You’ll never know what your doing in March 2016, or later.
8GB ram is a must/minimum value…I still think you should go for i7. My 8.1 Acer flies with it and never craps out when I push it with 8GB
thanks for the tip
now im thinking of i5 with 8gb ram,
but still ill avoid i7 for now as its much more exp and its not in my range..
as many answered your question , i will help the letters which you wonder about
U means ultra low power M means mobile
K means unlocked where you can overclock.
you dont need to worry about those too much cuz on laptops you are not offered many choice most of them are same. as for cpu choice , i would pick i5 if there is no huge price difference since it will be better in long term usability for your laptop. dont go to i7 on laptops , their prices are insane unless there is a discount. actually all laptop prices are too much compared to their specs , they just increase price cuz they are able to put them into a tiny thing but i7 range prices are really crazy.
hmm.. thanks ..
u guys have made my mind for i5 8gb ram!
why stuck at i5 can go to i7
I had a intel pentium chip on my laptop, it was crap. I got an i7 2nd gen and it worked a treat. think it cost me £90 but it wasn’t the easiest to install.
what I’m saying is, if you’ve got the time on your hands, go with the i3/i5 then later down the line you can always upgrade!
just my 2 cents worth….why would anyone who’s buying a laptop even consider buying a processor with a “U” in the part number? Same as Intel’s “S” & “T” in desktop CPUs…..all it means is that they’re underpowered. Granted in a laptop you may think about it if you want extended battery life….at the cost of extended performance…and it really does slow the CPU down….but on a desktop?
, he is buying a laptop.
Extra memory for sure. Upgrading lappy processors gets ugly and you’re one ribbon cable or tiny clip away from a toaster. I do it, but don’t you do it! Check the graphic chip set to see how much load it will take off your processor. Going high end processor is great to brag about for a few weeks but generally a waste of money. Go with your best overall value and be sure to get a cooling pad… Hmm? What else? Oh yea! Don’t buy an HP