Dell i3 or i5 for 10-13year old ?

I've gotten good advice here when I bought cameras for my grandchildren for Xmas, so hoping membersdon't mind helping me out again.

This year it's a laptop. I don't want to over-buy and where I'm stuck is whether or not the i3 processer will be enough for a young girl of 10 or is the i5 a safer bet... her usage would primarily be using the internet, watching videos and movies, light game playing and storing a few pictures. Will Dell's standard cards cover videos and movie play? She definitely is not needing to multi-task! She may use Word and the internet together is all.

I've done considerable reading but still a little nervous about the processer, thanks for any advice that can get me unstuck!

If you get an intel Sandy bridge processor for a laptop the integrated graphics is pretty good for all internet applications. If you want better battery life i would go with the i3, if you would like to have a little more power and you do not anticipate being away from a power outlet for a long time then the i5 would be the perfect processor IMO. Hope that helps

The i3 is fine. From memory it's dual core, two good cores. It's easily capable of playing movies, internet stuff, etc. The thing that'll slow it down is the spinning disk, but for regular stuff it's still fine.

Thank you Tim & Gotaudi, your comments are helpful and very much appreciated!

Depends on the price difference. Assuming the kid can keep from breaking it, a faster i5 system (which include Turbo Boost) might get you an extra year of use. On most of the Dell boxes I've bought lately (both laptops and desktops) there is a negligible price difference from the i3 to the lowest i5, usually around $30, so I always go for it.

One thing I will say, is that regardless of whether you go with an i3 or i5, make sure you're buying one with a 4-digit model number, not the 1st gen 3-digit model. The newer ones are quite a bit faster and more power efficient.

Really helpful Jason, you've touched on some of the thoughts I've had myself as I compare so very useful. Thank you!

i3 is fine.

Update: I ended up purchasing the i5 laptop from all the good advice I received. Dell had some great pre-Xmas sales and as Jason said there was only a $20 difference between the i3 and the i5 so went with the latter. Seems to be a good little machine, more than an 11 year old needs but money well spent and one happy little girl!

I wanted to thank everyone once again for all your excellent advice! It really cleared the way for a good decision and is very much appreciated...

The only real difference between an i3 and an i5 dual core is on board cache, which is very minimal.

what ever you buy(average computer) either is for 13year old
or for a 60 yeared old
if its for normal usage (internet, vids, basic stuff) is fine.
Tim said spinning disk slows it down,
I will add,
windows slows it down more