Help, please with new laptop (CPU) selection.

testudoaubreii

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Location
Florida
Hello,

I have been searching and researching for a new laptop, but the more I search the more confused I get on what to get...if that makes sense. I think that an AMD machine is out of the question, so my question is: Intel, i5 dual core or i7 quad core?

I am on a limited budget ($700). I need a new laptop because my late 2008 MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz/4 GB RAM died on me. I was really to starting to feel its age, anyway. Anyhow, I will be using it for web development. So, I will need to have Adobe Creative Cloud apps open, like Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, multiple browsers and multiple browser tabs open and running at the same time. I would also like to use it for XBMC and streaming media files to the TVs on my home network.

The reason why I posted this in the CPU forum is because I need to know if a dual core i5 will be good enough to run what I need it to run, or do I really need to go for a quad core i7. I know that the quad core i7 will process faster and is overall more powerful, but will there be a huge difference in performance for the difference in price?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any and all help, advice and suggestions.

Thanks!
 
Welcome to the forum.

In the everyday stuff there will be no difference, but the PS stuff will see a boost.

It might be better to post up some links to laptops you're considering.
Also remember i7's come out as 4 real + 4 fake, for 8 cores, where most i5s are 2 real +2fakes for 4 "cores"
 
Welcome to the forum.

In the everyday stuff there will be no difference, but the PS stuff will see a boost.

It might be better to post up some links to laptops you're considering.
Also remember i7's come out as 4 real + 4 fake, for 8 cores, where most i5s are 2 real +2fakes for 4 "cores"

Thank you for the welcome and thank you for the quick response!

Here are a few that I am looking at:

Lenovo Z50 Laptop | 15.6" Multimedia Notebook PC  | Lenovo US

HP ENVY TouchSmart M7-J120DX Core i7-4700MQ, 8GB, 17.3” FHD LED Touch-screen (1920 x 1080), Beats Audio, Windows 8.1 + 17.6" Notebook Carrying Case (Black) + Best Notebook Kit - Newegg.com

Refurbished: HP ENVY 15 15-j173cl Notebook AMD A-Series A10-5750M (2.50GHz) 12GB Memory 1TB HDD 15.6" Touchscreen Windows 8 64-Bit - Newegg.com

These are just three, but I could really use some suggestions because I am at a loss.

Thanks!
 
Thanks for the responses! I tried to post links up for some of the models I have been looking at, but I guess it has to pass through moderation first.
Here are two HPs that I am looking at:

Intel Core i7
8GB Memory
1TB HDD
Touchscreen
1920 x 1080
DVD/CD-RW Combo
Price: $719

AMD A-Series A10-5750M (2.50GHz)
12GB Memory
1TB HDD
Touchscreen
1920 x 1080
Windows 8 64-Bit
Price: $499

I have read horror stories about HP, though, so I am a bit apprehensive about pulling the trigger on one of these.
 
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