intel core i5 vs i3 series

My brother wants to get a new laptop, and has given me the task of finding one for him, and his only specifications were for a 17 inch screen, a number pad, and a price range in the $500 - $700 range. He's not too concerned about storage capacity because he has a 2 terabyte external hard drive.

I'm noticing that the lower price range offers the i3 series CPU and the higher price range offers the i5 series CPU. He's not a gamer, so I'm wondering if it's worth investing in the higher i5 series CPU. I'm using a mobile processor benchmark website to use as a guide for shopping. (I don't understand much in the benchmark chart, so I'm really only looking at the rankings).

My brother does upload videos from his helmet cam quite often, so that is where I'm stuck. Will the i3 series be enough or should I go with the i5 series?

P.S. I can provide links of the sites (Canadian) that I'm looking at in a bit if that will help.

I can't help on the processor question, but a 17" screen? I didn't think anyone used those these days.

He probably wants the bigger screen for his videos. Whenever he goes quading, I know he brings his laptop in his jeep so that he can upload and process his videos from his helmet cam right away.

This is looking good because of the graphics card in it. I'm guessing that would also be a good feature to have for him.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 4215527CVF

Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

I just don't know if it's overkill for what he needs.

If he's working with video (especially HD), I would go with the i5 at the least! Better to risk overkill now than to regret later. That said, I don't think that's overkill.