i3 vs i7 for Photoshop

[Syringer]

So I have a work laptop with an i3 2.53ghz processor, 8gb RAM, SSD that I think is plenty fast for my purposes.

My home laptop runs on an i3 1.4ghz processor: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00863L2MI

And is considerably slower than my work laptop, (although it doesn't have an SSD, it does have 10GB RAM too).

I'm looking at getting this one for home: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00863L3K4/

Which keeps the small form factor that I like, and has an i7 1.7 GHz processor.

The question is will the i7 at 1.7 be considerably faster than my 2.53ghz i3 processor? For general purposes but especially with Photoshop? (mainly used for editing RAW photography images)

Or if someone has a recommendation for a sub 3lb laptop with an i7 I'd love to hear those too.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

No. Those aren't "Real" i7s - they're 2-core, 4-thread just like the i3 in your desktop.

The SSD will help a lot though. (Photoshop scratch disk.)

 

[crashtech]

Intel mobile can be a pain to decipher. From what I have seen recently, if a mobile i7 ends in "Q" or "X," it is a true quad core. Any other letter, (U, M, Y) mean a dual core.

It's hard to get an Ultrabook that can do serious work, since their design tends to put some power and thermal restraints on them that aren't a problem with bigger, chunkier units.