Which CPU - Core M3-6Y30 or Core i5-5200U

[adamsonm]

The laptop will be used only for browsing the internet, word processing, email, streaming videos, not much more than that.

The i5 has a higher clock speed over the M3 and I think when it comes to multi-tasking the i5 will perform better over the M3 and therefore I'm inclined to go for the i5.

Any useful insight into what everyone thinks I should do?

[ik9000]

any processor will do that these days. The lower the TDP of the chip (generally) the cooler it will run and in theory the longer the battery should last. It's not quite that simple, but for basic office usage etc I'd go for the M3. It's got speed-stepping (turbo boost etc) and hyper-threading, the lower CPU speed isn't that bad on turbo - and you won't be stressing it that much. GPU is only marginally slower, and supports DX12 (though it won't be a gaming machine by any stretch). The cooler chip should lend itself towards fanless designs - lower noise, thinner, more portable. Comparison of the specs here: http://ark.intel.com/compare/85212,88198

[adamsonm]

Yeah, everything you say makes sense. My thinking is that at first there won't be much difference if that all between the two at the start of usage. But after a few years I expect the i5 to not degrade as much compared to the M3. But as you say there really isn't much difference between them. The laptop that comes with the i5 has a backlit keyboard however, and the laptop with the M3 doesn't. So based on the comparison you provided, seeing as though there isn't hardly any difference between the two, I would prefer to go for the i5, purely because of the backlit keyboard! Ha, sounds silly but stuff like that matters

[ik9000]

which machines are you looking at?

[scaryjim]

I assume these are in two different laptops, so it might be an idea to confirm the laptop models rather than the processors. As ik9000 says, pretty much any laptop processor will meet your needs, including Atoms and AMD's low power APUs, so trying to pick on the basis of an entry level processor (yes, the i5-U series processors are entry level) is probably the wrong way to go about it

[adamsonm]

The two laptops in question are ASUS UX305CA and the ASUS UX301LA

[ik9000]

The two laptops in question are ASUS UX305CA and the ASUS UX301LA

Ok, I can't make your decision for you, but using the specs on the ASUS website:
The 305 has:
1) better screen res and colour depth
2) M2 ssd - should be faster and possibly lower power draw than the SATA3
3) 3 USB 3 ports, including one power charge
4) thinner, lighter
5) possibly upgraded wifi vs the 301, but I'd need to do more checking to find out.

The 301 has:
5) bigger battery, (but also more power hungry chip so might not be much difference overall.)
6)Only lists SD card reader vs SDXC reader in the 305 (Imagine both are prob SDXC in reality)
7)Win 8.1 rather than win10.
8) the option of a more powerful charger brick

Suggest you do some reading up of reviews to see how they perform. Only you can choose what matters most to you in these trade-offs.

[adamsonm]

Thanks for the comparison list. Certainly the 305 is a newer model than the 301 so it would make sense to go for the 305 as it's an upgrade of the older model. However seeing as though the laptop wont be getting used excessively even considering these laptops is a bit of an overkill. Having said that, I like the design of the 301, and that it offers a backlit keyboard and so I've gone for it.

Really appreciate the guidance on this guys.