[Doublej]

Is there any difference for streaming video. Is it worth the extra $60 ish on a $500 machine to get an I5 in a laptop that is used for surfacing the web and watching streaming videos?

What I could gather from some basic research is that the I5 will perform single core activities like opening spreadsheets faster but that's about it.

I saw an enlightening Youtube clip that indicated if you wanted better performance for gaming you should have dual memory sticks installed in the machine. I am not sure if/how that translates to watching videos.

[GentleBender]

It depends on the processor model, but a current or last gen i3 should be fine for either 1080P or 4K.

[Odal3]

No need for an i5. If only streaming videos and Web surfing  an i3 may even be overkill. Check out a chrome book which let's you watch Netflix, youtube, use the chrome browser, etc. You can find them between $150 to $300 and works surprisingly well. Best thing is that it starts up just as fast as a tablet.

The only downside is that you can't download windows based programs such as word, excel but Web versions works really well instead for quick things.

[JRace]

No need.

Dual memory sticks are also of no benefit for basic tasks. 4Gb Minimum, 8Gb is preferred.

Your best source of upgrade is using an SSD. Not that it improves video playback or web browsing.
The laptop will boot much faster, install programs faster and load web pages quicker.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

The only reason to upgrade to the i-5 would be if it has a better intel video built in or if it comes with a separate video card.  It can make streaming and video playback smoother, especially if you are running things in the background.  Plus an i-5 would be more future proof.  I would  check which Intel Video the chip sets you are looking at have.  Also, consider a computer with the current generation Skylake processors as they are geared more for video and 4K.

If you have any plans to use the computer for your audio playback then go with an i-5 and at least 6 to 8 gb ram, although ram can easily be added later.  Programs like HQ player and the like run better with a better CPU and more ram.

In my experience with computers (currently have 6 laptops (i-3's and i-7's) in the house and 2 desk tops), I have found that computers with better processors and all other things being equal, that the computer just runs smoother.

Dual memory sticks won't make any difference. And it is very minimal at best for gaming. 

An SSD will make the computer snappier for sure.  I use them and it can bring new life to an older computer in some respects.

[Doublej]

Thanks for the advice. I am looking at a Lenovo E570 with a Kaby Lake i3-7100U vs. the Kaby Lake i5-7200U. As best I can tell they both have the same graphic processing capabilities tied to them.

I am now definitely going for the SSD option. 

[JerryM]

I have never thought "Gosh, what I need is less computing power."

Go with the i5.

[JRace]

There is very little extra computing power with the i5.
Lower TDP for the i3, and you may get longer bat life.

Both use the Intel HD620 graphics.
Both only have 2 cores / 4 threads.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Both CPU's will do streaming well.  They use the same amount of power so battery life will be similar.  You do get  20%  faster performance in Cinebench tests but you won't notice any difference for browsing and watching video unless running things in the background like virus scans and such.  I still feel that computers tend to run a bit smoother and programs open faster with better cpu's. The 2 cpu's that you are looking at have similar base GHz but the I-5 turbos to much higher GHz.

I would still buy the best CPU you can afford with everything being equal. You will never be sorry going for a faster computer but you can't say the same for going with a slower one. You should look at buying an aftermarket SSD drive.  They will be on sale and not all SSD's are created equal.  Some are faster and are more reliable.  Some are more efficient and save battery life.  If you decide to go that route I can recommend a few.

[Doublej]

I went basic. I3, 8GB ram, FHD IPS display, 256GB SSD PCIe-NVMe OPAL2.0 drive. (I.Greyhound Fan how OK is this drive.

https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd023763 )

This irony of the ordering process is when I tried to log into my account using my existing Lenovo ThinkPad to purchase a new Lenovo ThinkPad, the browsers (I tried multiple ones multiple times) would just say updating after I entered my credentials and never proceed.

Then thought just for kicks let me try from my 8 year old imac. I launched the Safari browser, navigated to Lenovo, logged in in about 15 seconds (WTF?), added shipping and credit card details, hit order, done! At every step I was waiting for the big crash to come but I was able to place the order as if it were a normal shopping day.

Makes me wonder...

[sonicxtc]

You should look at buying an aftermarket SSD drive.  They will be on sale and not all SSD's are created equal.  Some are faster and are more reliable.  Some are more efficient and save battery life.  If you decide to go that route I can recommend a few.

I would be interested in knowing your SSD suggestions. Typically, Samsung gets the nod, but I'm sure there are worthy competitors.

[ctviggen]

I've been using a Crucial SSD for a while now (at least 5 years) and it's still going strong.  I just bought a Kingston SSD, but don't have enough experience with it.  I note that I copied my original hard drive on a new HP computer to the Kingston SSD, and the original configuration was over 60GB with partition for restoring the drive.  Yikes!  I needed a 120GB SSD.  I kept the original hard drive just in case (left it in the computer, unplugged) and put in a 1TB green drive.

I haven't looked at built-in video processors in a while, but usually it behooves one to add a separate video card if you're doing any type of video processing.  On the computer I use to play TV, I had to upgrade the video card to get rid of stuttering on certain channels.  New built-in video may have fixed that, though.  For my dual-monitor setup, I added a video card to make it faster and easier to control both monitors and use less on board memory.

[Doublej]

I guess computers are like mattresses. You don't realize how much better a new one is until you have it. Machine arrived on Friday after a 24 trip from China via Japan, AK, KY...

Boots in seconds as opposed to minutes. SSD drive was definitely the way to go! Screen is so much better than the one on my old machine. It has some serious backlight bleeding but I don't notice it in normal use.

Updates take a couple of minutes instead of increments of 15 minutes.

While I have not done any critical listening tests, a quick listen through a pair of cheap Panasonic headphones indicates that the audio from the analog out jack sounds much more detailed.

I am a very happy camper at the moment...

Thanks everyone for their input.