i5 vs i3 vs Athlon p320. What should I pay ?

[Tom]

Looking at Dell 15r laptops at the outlet, I can choose between an

Athlon II p320 for about $340
Intel i3 for about $410
Intel i5 for about $460.

I'm just a typical user and also play some games. All come with a half decent mid level graphics card, ATI HD 550v.

I like the idea of the low cost p320, but how much difference will I really see with the i3 or i5 ? In terms of performance and battery life ?

 

[mnewsham]

you wont really be playing any games on that laptop... BUT you will notice a small drop in battery if you go with the i5 vs the i3 but i feel the performance gain is worth it.

 

[Castiel]

I3 is worth it. I5 just has turbo

 

[mnewsham]

I3 is worth it. I5 just has turbo

And because it is already a slow cpu the turbo will help in a lot of apps and games, i would think so...

 

[Castiel]

And because it is already a slow cpu the turbo will help in a lot of apps and games, i would think so...

Don't believe turbo works in gaming

 

[mnewsham]

Don't believe turbo works in gaming

why not? turbo doesn't have anything to do with your program, just the cpu usage and temp, so if temps are low enough and voltage is low enough your CPU will auto OC for short periods of time (intense action part of a game) and then throttle back when temps get too high or there isnt a need for the extra power (slower part of a game) at least that's my understanding.

 

[Tom]

you wont really be playing any games on that laptop... BUT you will notice a small drop in battery if you go with the i5 vs the i3 but i feel the performance gain is worth it.

actually, even with the p320 it plays games like Crysis at medium settings and 1366x768 very well. The HD 550v is a pretty good discrete gpu.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-550v.31270.0.html

My personal experience bears that out, I have one with the p320. But I'm thinking about getting some more and want to know what the extra cost of the i3 or i5 would get me ?

Where would the i5 be a lot better than an i3 ? Video rendering ? I take a lot of HD video, would an i5 be a lot faster for editing that ?

Or in a game like Starcraft 2, which I think is cpu dependent ?