Laptop - i3 and i5

OP

I’m looking to use it for school work and some small games

Reply 3

Mustafa0605

21

It’s alright for small games like minecraft or online games. But it’s not good enough for an advanced game such as GTA V. It also depends on how long you want to keep it, if you want your laptop to be able to be still compatible and good in years time maybe i5 is better

OP

Thank you

The i5 is more useful, the i3 will do very basic stuff.

OP

Okay, thank you

Original post by b1nary

what’s the difference?
is it worth paying £70 more for i5 (total £400)?

i have many years experience of laptops and i find that there is a difference but not a major one. the biggest priorities are whether you have at least 8GB of RAM, an SSD hard drive and if your i3 OR i5 processor is at least generation 8.

Reply 8

Hi,
Given the idfference is only £70, I'd definitely get the i5 version. The i5 is often recommended over an i3 due to the better performance, especially from the 8th generation onwards. An i3 is still a great choice for the basics, but an i5 will perform better (and if you wanted to do any games, you'll want the i5).
Bear in mind that once you've bought the i3 laptop, you can't change out the processor for an i5, so just get the i5 :smile:

Reply 9

OP

Original post by A Rolling Stone

i have many years experience of laptops and i find that there is a difference but not a major one. the biggest priorities are whether you have at least 8GB of RAM, an SSD hard drive and if your i3 OR i5 processor is at least generation 8.

The laptop I am looking at right now, is 4GB RAM, SSD, and 7th generation i3

Reply 10

OP

Original post by spotify95

Hi,
Given the idfference is only £70, I'd definitely get the i5 version. The i5 is often recommended over an i3 due to the better performance, especially from the 8th generation onwards. An i3 is still a great choice for the basics, but an i5 will perform better (and if you wanted to do any games, you'll want the i5).
Bear in mind that once you've bought the i3 laptop, you can't change out the processor for an i5, so just get the i5 :smile:

Thank you for the information, I am looking into this. :smile:

Reply 11

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by b1nary

The laptop I am looking at right now, is 4GB RAM, SSD, and 7th generation i3

for £300-400????? you are being COMPLETELY ripped off omg.

look at this option https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-c340-14-2-in-1-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-grey-10193703-pdt.html

make sure whatever laptop you buy you put a note in your diary in 1 year's time to renew your warranty for another couple of years. all laptops start to go wrong after a year or so.

Reply 12

headieone

Original post by b1nary

what’s the difference?
is it worth paying £70 more for i5 (total £400)?

I'd say be careful for the generation. Some i3 CPU's can be just as, and if not more, powerful than i5 CPU's. But I'd say go for the i5.

Reply 13

Original post by A Rolling Stone

i have many years experience of laptops and i find that there is a difference but not a major one. the biggest priorities are whether you have at least 8GB of RAM, an SSD hard drive and if your i3 OR i5 processor is at least generation 8.

Indeed. 8th generation (and later) i5 laptop CPU's are quad core, whereas 7th generation laptop CPUs, as well as the 8th gen i3, are dual core.
So in the 7th gen, you'd get a slight difference upgrading to the i5.
In the 8th gen and newer, you'll get a noticeable performance increase.
With quad core i5s, it's diffuicult to recommend a dual core i3, which will struggle more with more intensive tasks.

If you have less than 8GB RAM you may struggle - though most laptops can be upgraded further (to 16GB) if required.
If going for an SSD make sure it has at least 250GB storage (though personally I'd recommend 500GB+).
Some laptops only have 128GB and that will be a squeeze; I'd rather have a 1TB+ mechanical hard drive than a small SSD.

Reply 14

OP

Original post by A Rolling Stone

for £300-400????? you are being COMPLETELY ripped off omg.

look at this option https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-c340-14-2-in-1-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-grey-10193703-pdt.html

make sure whatever laptop you buy you put a note in your diary in 1 year's time to renew your warranty for another couple of years. all laptops start to go wrong after a year or so.

Thank you, i’m looking at this laptop. :smile:

Reply 15

Original post by A Rolling Stone

for £300-400????? you are being COMPLETELY ripped off omg.

look at this option https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-c340-14-2-in-1-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-grey-10193703-pdt.html

make sure whatever laptop you buy you put a note in your diary in 1 year's time to renew your warranty for another couple of years. all laptops start to go wrong after a year or so.

I'd still rather not take that option if at all possible.

An R3 3200U is still only dual core. If buying new then it's difficult to recommend a dual core CPU over something like an i5-8250U, i5-8265U, R5 2500U, or any newer i5/R5 chip.
That 128GB SSD also sticks out like a sore thumb and I'd not recommend such a small amount of storage. Get a 250GB SSD, 500GB SSD, or 1TB mechanical hard drive instead.

For jut £100 more, you can get this, which will provide a better overall experience:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce1511sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-512-gb-ssd-silver-10193333-pdt.html

Including: quad core i5-8265U (not a dual core i3/R3), full HD display (a touch screen is often not necessary), 512GB SSD (much better than 128GB!), up to 11.5 hours battery life (should easily get 6 hours out of it).

Note: always take the given quoted battery life with a large pinch of salt. You won't see that sort of battery life under real world usage.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 16

OP

Original post by spotify95

I'd still rather not take that option if at all possible.

An R3 3200U is still only dual core. If buying new then it's difficult to recommend a dual core CPU over something like an i5-8250U, i5-8265U, R5 2500U, or any newer i5/R5 chip.
That 128GB SSD also sticks out like a sore thumb and I'd not recommend such a small amount of storage. Get a 250GB SSD, 500GB SSD, or 1TB mechanical hard drive instead.

Thank you, are there any laptops within £400 that you would recommend?

Reply 17

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by b1nary

Thank you, i’m looking at this laptop. :smile:

Original post by spotify95

I'd still rather not take that option if at all possible.

An R3 3200U is still only dual core. If buying new then it's difficult to recommend a dual core CPU over something like an i5-8250U, i5-8265U, R5 2500U, or any newer i5/R5 chip.
That 128GB SSD also sticks out like a sore thumb and I'd not recommend such a small amount of storage. Get a 250GB SSD, 500GB SSD, or 1TB mechanical hard drive instead.

yeah but it's only £50 above his budget, so the processor is fine with the 8gb RAM. if the OP can stretch £150 above budget then this is the one i would recommend:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-c340-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-grey-10193739-pdt.html

Reply 18

OP

Original post by A Rolling Stone

yeah but it's only £50 above his budget, so the processor is fine with the 8gb RAM. if the OP can stretch £150 above budget then this is the one i would recommend:

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-c340-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-256-gb-ssd-grey-10193739-pdt.html

Ok thank you, I am looking at this

Reply 19