Intel is a great processor manufacturing company but they have a way
of confusing the buyers with fancy names like Core i3, Core i5 and Core
i7. I am sure you would have heard these terms at least once in a while
and wondered what they mean. Today we will discuss the basic differences
between Core i3,i5 and i7 processors which i think would help you a lot
in choosing your next PC.
History
In the early days, CPU power was completely taken as the clock speed at which it runs. The clock speed of a CPU gives us a nice understanding on how fast a CPU works but not actually how powerful it was. For example a CPU with a 3.0 GHz runs faster than a CPU with 2.5 GHz but the later one may be able to do more work per cycle enabling it to outperform the first one. Intel introduced naming the CPU’s differently (AMD was the first to do though but it didn’t work well for them) using ‘Core’ naming to move out of the clock speed race.Difference between Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 in a Nutshell
To conclude in a statement, Core i7s are better than Core i5s, and Core i5s are better than Core i3s. The main reason here being performance. In general, Core i3 chips are found in budget PCs and low-end laptops. For a normal user who does browsing and watching videos, Core i3 works just fine. Core i3s have a low Cache size.The mainstream or mid-range systems usually have i5. Systems with Core i5 are good for a moderate user and light gamer.
The Core i7 CPUs are reserved for – and found usually in – high-end, expensive laptops and PCs. These are used by users who wish to do video editing, Lot of Gaming and other CPU intensive stuff.
Number of cores: Core i3, i5 and i7
Intel is again into the confusing the users work here. Typically all the Core i3s are dual core with Hyper-Threading capabilities found in many of them.The desktop range Core i5s are quad-core while the one’s used in Laptops ( Mobile versions) are dual-core. All Core i5s have Hyper-Threading and Turbo boost features enabled.
The Core i7s have a lot of variations in them the laptop CPUs are dual-core while the Extreme edition desktop CPU’s have upto 12 cores. Normal desktop Core i7s have 4 to 6 cores with Hyper-Threading, Turbo boosting and Overclocking abilities.
Core i7s are the best Intel has to offer for general consumers while Core i3s being the most affordable in the series ( forget Pentium).