Ultrabook, cheap, simple, average but smooth

[Sir_Knight]

I am thinking of switching from a cheap Dell Inspiron 14" (Intel B815, 2GB, Intel HD...) laptop to something up-to-date.

I've seen some cool looking new ultrabooks which, if I'm not mistaken, are basically powerful tablets with keyboards. They seem good enough and would suit my needs well. Plus the low price is a good thing, since I am currently not able to spend a lot of money.

The ultrabooks in question usually have Intel's Apollo Lake N3450 CPU, SSD and Intel 500 graphics.

I don't play games, nor do I write software. I'm just an average user, but I demand a smooth experience. I would be using the ultrabook for Internet browsing, watching movies over online services, writing text, email and so on.

But I need help from users who have been using such devices. My questions are:

1) Can they play a 4k movie on a big TV screen (40-50in) without hassle, without overheating?
My current laptop overheats and has problems while playing a normal 1080p movie. I know it's a low spec model, but still, are the new (cheap) Intel solutions good for 1080p and 4k streaming?
2) Is the windows experience smooth, office, browsing, installing apps, programs etc?
3) Will a i3-6100u laptop really be better at average tasks, since I'll be giving some 50% more money?

 

[velo3100]

It depends on your budget. To run 4K on a large TV it requires a lot of cpu and gpu power. For 4K streaming, this should be possible on any intel cpu as long as there are not too many adds on the website. The i3 should be enough for normal purposes.

For you usage, I would recommend a chromebook like the tosiba chromebook 2.

 

[jaguarskx]

The current 7th generation Intel Core series with the Intel HD 620 graphics core. Below is video demonstrating the performance difference in 4k video playback that uses the H.265/HEVC codec on a 6th generation Core i3-6100u and Intel HD 520 vs. the 7th generation Core i3-7100u and Intel HD 620. Intel has basically updated the video decoder in the Intel HD 620 to support the latest video codecs.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI-a4WZWwZc


Basically what this means is the Intel HD 520 does not support the new H.265/HEVC codec, but the Intel HD 620 does support it.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will look them up.
I must admit, I am slightly confused with all the comparisons on the net. I have seen reviews showing those Apollo Intel CPUs, where the most basic ones can smoothly play 4k content, albeit from YouTube. Is that because those aren't using the H.265 codec?

UPDATE
I watched the video you kindly suggested, and some other YouTube videos explaining the difference between H.264 and H.265. If I'm not mistaken, the new 7th generation chips are designed to handle the "next gen video", which will be the 4k standard (1080p is slowly becoming "yesterday's tech")... but compressed in a new way, which makes it smaller.

i3-7100u laptops are between 450-550$ where I live, the i5 variants costing some 600-620$ and above. Maybe if I wait a bit, for Intel to push it's next gen tech, I'll be able to buy what I want for roughly 500$. My maximum budget. I saw HP's probook 450 gen4 i3-7100u in the shop, and I liked it. Currently 600$, but they just got those.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, Youtube does not support H.265/HEVC probably because it is too new and not everyone has a laptop with a 7th generation (Kaby Lake) Intel HD graphics core that has the integrated circuitry to easily decode that codec. This codec is pretty advanced because basically creates smaller video files compared to other video codecs, but the video quality is just as good or better. The trade off is it requires a lot more processing performance to decode the video for playback, or the graphics core must include the circuitry to easily decode the video for playback.

The above video demonstrates the difference in H.265/HEVC playback between 6th and 7th generation Core i3 CPU and their integrated graphics cores. Whatever codec Youtube is using to encode 4k video on their site decoding it for playback is not as demanding as H.265/HEVC.