Best Processor for Productivity?

[cjbeech]

Hi everyone

I'm a student and I use my laptop A LOT, Its typically on for 16 hours a day, but I'm usually close to a charger.

I typically use it for heavy productivity; I will almost always have 10+ Google Chrome tabs open, multiple Word Documents, PowerPoints, spreadsheets etc… when I am researching and writing reports, preparing presentations etc...

When I’m not doing this, I’m typically chilling in bed watching Netflix/YouTube and browsing the web (again, lots of tabs open)

The thing is, I HATE slow, laggy technology that freezes and takes longer than it should to do a task, so I want something that handles what I throw at it like a champ. Especially given that a rely on my laptop so much and I get a lot of use out of it.

I'm looking at i5/i7s, but there is so much variety and I'm not sure what processor will best suit needs?

I'm currently looking at the i5-5200U vs the i7-5500U in the Lenovo Thinkpad series E range, but thoughts on any other processors are more than welcome! It would be paired with 6-8GB RAM and a SSHD or a SSD.

Also, would I see a difference in performance if I went with a quad core processor? I'm also not sure what generation to look at. As mentioned earlier, I'm usually close to a charger to power consumption is of less importance.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Minstadave]

The difference between the 5200U and 5500U is tiny despite one being called an i5 and one being called an i7. It's just 10% higher boost clock, a bigger cache and a slightly faster GPU. Either will get the job done.

A quad core is nice in a laptop but it comes at the cost of bulky cooling solutions and reduced battery life. It's a hard call to know which would be better for you but it sounds like you want performance over portability so I'd look for a quad.

 

[eddyr]

From the sounds of it prioritize 8 GB ram and an SSD (not much of a fan of SSHD from my experience) to ensure responsiveness with so many applications running. CPU wise a quad core is nice but don't worry too much over it as from your description a dualcore+ht would also be fine for your needs.

Often underappreciated by many, a nice display (specifically good viewing angles) is an impactful plus as you do spend a lot of time staring at the thing.
Personal pref workwise is at least 14inch, 1080p, numpad (really helpful for spreadsheets/lot of number inputting).

An alternative is something smaller/lighter (but still try for a nice to stare at screen) and hooking up a full size KB and a monitor to extend screen realestate as and when needed.

Probably best to open a thread in the laptop subforum, see what ppl can suggest.

 

[Quartz]

Are you sure you wouldn't be better off with a desktop?

 

[cjbeech]

Thanks for the thoughts guys! Really helped me.

I'm sure I wouldn't be better with a desktop...not ideal for watching TV in bed and I also do need some mobility as a student.

 

[Quartz]

Indeed, but you could have a desktop for your main work plus your current laptop for when you need mobility.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

Sounds to me like a good amount of RAM and a good SSD is key here, not the CPU.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Sounds to me like a good amount of RAM and a good SSD is key here, not the CPU.

This.

 

[adolf hamster]

in terms of doing 'personal' things like browsing, a good android tablet might be the way, they're terrible for working on but things like youtube and casual browsing its perfect, plus portable and isn't going to overheat when you're lying in bed.

for work, really you want a nice i5 or similar in a laptop, with an ssd and at least 6gb of ddr3, i no longer acknowledge a pc having less than that. my laptop runs that [without the ssd] and asides taking ages to boot and lagging out when doing anything strenuous on the hdd [ie av scans and heavy file transfers] its perfectly fine.

main rig runs an ssd and trust me [like i never trusted people when they said this before i got an ssd]] once you've seen the light you wont go back.

also try just reinstalling a blank, fresh windows install from an iso or a disc, not having the oodles of rubbish oem's put on computers these days is a godsend.

 

[Reaper123]

Sounds to me like a good amount of RAM and a good SSD is key here, not the CPU.

+1