i7-5500 or i7-6500I which one should I get?

[Irebel]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but I don't have a clue what category I should have this in. I would say it is a tech question... I think

I was hoping someone could help me with this.

I bought this Inspiron 17" 5000 Touchscreen Laptop, i7-5500U 8 ram and a Intel HD 5500 graphics.

This is my first laptop and I thought it was kind of slow. but being a laptop... I thought maybe I need more ram but I have nothing installed on it yet.
After reading "5th Gen intel CPU or 6th gen?" I think I might want to take it back.

My dilemma is I got this on sale and can return it if I do it soon. The newer one that has taken it's place Inspiron 17" is 6th Generation Intel® Core i7-6500U 8 ram and has a AMD Radeon R5 M335 4GB DDR3 video.

The difference in Price is 200.00. Should I take the i7-5500U back and get the other one i7-6500U.

Of course I would like to save money but not if the new one is worth the extra 200.00.
Is the 6th gen that much better than the 5th gen? what about the video? I think the intel hd 5500 graphic is a on board and the AMD m335 is a video card. I am not sure I got that right but which one is better?
also... the battery the new laptop is integrated and it is not on the i7-5500U. (so I can replace supposedly easier)

Anyways.. I would really appreciate your input on this. The more I read up on this the less I know

TIA

 

[dudeman509]

Not worth the extra $200, unless you want to play games or something (better graphics card). The chips are really almost identical in performance. That said, the Broadwell integrated graphics are actually halfway decent.

Change out the hard disk for a SSD and be amazed how fast the laptop suddenly becomes.

 

[Irebel]

Thank You dudeman99. I do appreciate your input. Yes I think I am going to keep it.

I find that when you are looking at the benchmark, I find it hard to really tell how much faster if any the newer stuff is. They always show the graphs which looks maybe impressive to some but really doesn't slow the real picture.

Yes I was looking at some with the SSD but they were only 256GB and wasn't sure if 256 would be enough once I installed everything. I know I'm still old school I like to own my software not rent it like ms and many others would like you to do. I just might do that sooner if I can't handle the speed.

This was another reason I didn't want to spend too much. It seem for just a bit more money you can get this and a bit more you can get that and then it goes on and on. This way down the road I won't feel I have to keep it for another couple years and I can just go and buy another one. Maybe when windows 15 come out...

I want to be a Billionaire.... lol

Yes I feel very comfortable in keeping it now Thank You once again.

 

[dudeman509]

There are a couple 500 GB SSDs around $150 now, if you're comfortable spending that. I have a 256 in my desktop, along with a regular disk drive, but went for a 512 in my laptop since it can only hold one drive. It's a first-gen i5, but the SSD really made a HUGE performance increase.

 

[Irebel]

That is reasonable. Hmm...
One question. Windows came preinstalled and there is hidden drive that has the image from the factory.
I don't think you can install window to another drive from that partition. Can you? I don 't think the laptop would have enough room for 2 drives just the one. I have never seen the inside of a laptop before. I think that voids the warranty?

Gee... now you got me thinking again Your right though they put the slowest hard drives in these laptops. and a SSD would really speed things up. Dell does have one on their site that is a i7-6500 for more money of course.

I bought this at Costco and I have 3 weeks to return it. Dell only gives you 1 month. Maybe something will have caught my eye before then at a price I like. I feel like I am on that merry go round again... Decisions, Decisions for just a bit more you get this... and a bit more you can get that... It's just me. I hate regret. Should of, would of, could of...

Ok Thank You!! You have given me food of thought.

I am thinking now... Keep the box and packaging. lol something might catch my eye until nov. 12 otherwise keep it. There decision made... Maybe lol

Please if you know anything about the hidden partitions and installing windows on a SSD I would appreciate your input.
Thanks again

 

[1shado1]

FWIW, part of the problem (besides the slow HDD) is both of the CPU's you mentioned. That "U" after the model # stands for ultra low voltage, which means that instead of being full powered quad core processors like "regular" i7's, they are only dual-core, and also sip electricity to improve battery life. The downside is the fact that they sacrifice performance to do so.

 

[dudeman509]

FWIW, part of the problem (besides the slow HDD) is both of the CPU's you mentioned. That "U" after the model # stands for ultra low voltage, which means that instead of being full powered quad core processors like "regular" i7's, they are only dual-core, and also sip electricity to improve battery life. The downside is the fact that they sacrifice performance to do so.

Yeah, but they're fairly quick on a single core, and really aren't bad at all compared to the Sandy/Ivy Bridge mobile chips, even the quad-cores. They should be great at typical laptop use, although not well suited to gaming, etc. Intel has come a long way with their low-TDP chips since Broadwell.

 

[dudeman509]

That is reasonable. Hmm...
One question. Windows came preinstalled and there is hidden drive that has the image from the factory.
I don't think you can install window to another drive from that partition. Can you? I don 't think the laptop would have enough room for 2 drives just the one. I have never seen the inside of a laptop before. I think that voids the warranty?

Gee... now you got me thinking again Your right though they put the slowest hard drives in these laptops. and a SSD would really speed things up. Dell does have one on their site that is a i7-6500 for more money of course.

I bought this at Costco and I have 3 weeks to return it. Dell only gives you 1 month. Maybe something will have caught my eye before then at a price I like. I feel like I am on that merry go round again... Decisions, Decisions for just a bit more you get this... and a bit more you can get that... It's just me. I hate regret. Should of, would of, could of...

Ok Thank You!! You have given me food of thought.

I am thinking now... Keep the box and packaging. lol something might catch my eye until nov. 12 otherwise keep it. There decision made... Maybe lol

Please if you know anything about the hidden partitions and installing windows on a SSD I would appreciate your input.
Thanks again

Clone the existing drive using a partitioning software such as Clonezilla or Acronis TrueImage. Won't have to completely reinstall everything.

 

[Irebel]

That is reasonable. Hmm...
One question. Windows came preinstalled and there is hidden drive that has the image from the factory.
I don't think you can install window to another drive from that partition. Can you? I don 't think the laptop would have enough room for 2 drives just the one. I have never seen the inside of a laptop before. I think that voids the warranty?

Gee... now you got me thinking again Your right though they put the slowest hard drives in these laptops. and a SSD would really speed things up. Dell does have one on their site that is a i7-6500 for more money of course.

I bought this at Costco and I have 3 weeks to return it. Dell only gives you 1 month. Maybe something will have caught my eye before then at a price I like. I feel like I am on that merry go round again... Decisions, Decisions for just a bit more you get this... and a bit more you can get that... It's just me. I hate regret. Should of, would of, could of...

Ok Thank You!! You have given me food of thought.

I am thinking now... Keep the box and packaging. lol something might catch my eye until nov. 12 otherwise keep it. There decision made... Maybe lol

Please if you know anything about the hidden partitions and installing windows on a SSD I would appreciate your input.
Thanks again

Clone the existing drive using a partitioning software such as Clonezilla or Acronis TrueImage. Won't have to completely reinstall everything.

 

[Irebel]

I thought of that but I wasn't sure if Microsoft would allows this but reading a bit more it seems that the Motherboard would the component that would give you troubles with MS. I would think that if I am able to add the ssd without taking out the other hard drive then there should be no problem to do a clean install on the SSD.

Thank You for your sound information. I do Appreciate it.

I think I might just sent it back. I very sure I can find one with more ram and maybe even a ssd in it for about the same or a bit more. Costco used to be more competitive but now looking around it looks like they don't change their inventory that often and we are getting older laptops and computers there. But they do have a great guaranty and 90 days no questions asked return policy. I don't know anymore I didn't realize you need a 4 year degree just to buy a computer lol And then you get into the motherboard... I don't know how you guys remember all of the stuff. I don't think brain surgery can be any more complicated. Hey can't you get a program for that too?

Thanks a lot all of you. You have given me good advise.
A little knowledge can be dangerous... especially on my bank account NO NO I want that one... oh that one looks even better. Now that I know the difference...