Which Dell (i3 7th Gen or i5 5th Gen)

deltaromeo82

Hi all, looking for some help in figuring out the latest specs when it comes to laptops. think i have it figured out but am torn between a choice of 2.

I'm looking at a Dell Inspiron 15 in different stores. Both are pretty much the same except

1. has an Intel i3(7th Gen) processor and
2. has an Intel i5 (5th Gen) processor.

I know the 5th Gen is older than the 7th Gen but isnt the i5 supposed to be better than the i3. Can someone help me out....

Im looking to use it for a bit of everything.....college assignments, internet, social media, music, streaming movies but cant go above €500. Not asking for a lot I know. TIA

BsBox

Do you know the model numbers of the two processors? i.e. Core i5-5200U, Core i5-5287U?
Different processors offer different performance, even in the same level and generation.

If it's a Core i3 (7th Gen) then it must be the Core i3-7100U (the only one currently available).
This is where it gets slightly complicated. Intel have this new thing where they allow laptop vendors like Dell to basically "turn down" the performance of these chips, which allows them to run cooler so they can cram them into thinner laptops. If Dell has set the processor with a TDP-down of 7.5W (instead of the normal 15W), the processor will probably run a fair amount slower. It can be difficult to find out what TDP a laptop has been set to though.

In the end, if you're just using the computer for light work and nothing too straining, both should be perfectly fine. The i5 will probably be faster, but the i3 will likely offer better battery life and run just as well for every day use. You probably wouldn't be able to tell a difference.

deltaromeo82

Thank very much for your help is much appreciated. The i5 I'm looking at is 5200U if that means anything

BsBox wrote: »

Do you know the

model numbers of the two processors? i.e. Core i5-5200U, Core i5-5287U?
Different processors offer different performance, even in the same level and generation.

If it's a Core i3 (7th Gen) then it must be the Core i3-7100U (the only one currently available).
This is where it gets slightly complicated. Intel have this new thing where they allow laptop vendors like Dell to basically "turn down" the performance of these chips, which allows them to run cooler so they can cram them into thinner laptops. If Dell has set the processor with a TDP-down of 7.5W (instead of the normal 15W), the processor will probably run a fair amount slower. It can be difficult to find out what TDP a laptop has been set to though.

In the end, if you're just using the computer for light work and nothing too straining, both should be perfectly fine. The i5 will probably be faster, but the i3 will likely offer better battery life and run just as well for every day use. You probably wouldn't be able to tell a difference.

BsBox

Again, it's hard to recommend what would be the better choice, since even though both laptops appear to be the same, there are a some differences that overall can make a fairly big difference to the laptop. For example, what type of storage is used (HDD, SSD, SSHD, rpm?), what type of RAM and the speed it's set to (DDR3L/DDR4, MHz?), how big is the battery, what type of screen is used (TFT, IPS), etc.

Going on just the i3 vs. i5, I'd probably go with the i3.
The i5 might be slightly faster in certain situation thanks to Turbo Boost (allows it to run faster than normal if it's not too hot), but I think you're better off going with the i3. It'll be slightly more efficient, and has better graphics.
Either way, both chips should provide good performance. If a laptop is slow in general use, 99% of the time it's because there's a spinning hard drive (HDD) in there and not a solid state drive (SSD). Processors are mostly fast enough nowadays that they're not the part of the laptop that's holding things back.

If you can post a link or model numbers for them, do!
If not, I'd just go with the i3.

deltaromeo82

That's brilliant, pretty much answers the question for me. The rest of the specs ate nearly identical that was all that I was undecided on because the last time I looked at buying a computer the only option was intel pentium. Thanks again

BsBox wrote: »

Again, it's hard to recommend what would be the better choice, since even though both laptops appear to be the same, there are a some differences that overall can make a fairly big difference to the laptop. For example, what type of storage is used (HDD, SSD, SSHD, rpm?), what type of RAM and the speed it's set to (DDR3L/DDR4, MHz?), how big is the battery, what type of screen is used (TFT, IPS), etc.

Going on just the i3 vs. i5, I'd probably go with the i3.
The i5 might be slightly faster in certain situation thanks to Turbo Boost (allows it to run faster than normal if it's not too hot), but I think you're better off going with the i3. It'll be slightly more efficient, and has better graphics.
Either way, both chips should provide good performance. If a laptop is slow in general use, 99% of the time it's because there's a spinning hard drive (HDD) in there and not a solid state drive (SSD). Processors are mostly fast enough nowadays that they're not the part of the laptop that's holding things back.

If you can post a link or model numbers for them, do!
If not, I'd just go with the i3.

BsBox

Happy to help.
Both of those chips are way better than what you'd get from a Pentium chip so it was a good idea to hold off.

TerrorFirmer

I would have also gone with the i3, the i5-5200U is actually a dual core processor as well so not really much faster - the only difference is the ability to turbo boost under pressure but this is not really a big deal in normal usage.