Why is i5 better than i3

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But which one is right for you? Should you pay a bit more for the extra speed and features of a Core i5 model? Or is a more economical Core i3 system a better fit for your needs? Fortunately, Lenovo makes it easy:. The Intel Core series has additional options, too. Intel Core i9. On one level, choosing between the Core i3 and the Core i5 is simple.

After all, Intel names the sub-series in order — Core i3, Core i5 and so on. Well, yes and no. For example, a high-end Core i3-based PC might outperform a low-end Core i5-powered one for certain tasks.

Or the extra cores in the Core i5 chip might not be useful for the programs you use most. And since the generations e. What does this mean for consumers? First, generally speaking, a higher-numbered Core processor will perform better than a lower-numbered one.

Second, with several technology generations on the market at the same time, you can sometimes save money if an older-generation chip has the specs you want. The Intel Core i3 processor was introduced in and has since been improved through multiple Intel microarchitecture updates.

In most cases, devices with i3 processors will be less expensive than those that feature i5 processors, although it is best not to assume that a laptop or desktop computer has a certain processor type based on price alone. In fact, depending on each specific processor's construction, some i3 models might have faster cycle times than some i5 processors. Table 1 lists the top-level specifications of Intel Core i3 processors 10 th gen as of late Always check the listed specs of any system you buy.

Here are some generalizations regarding the cost of an Intel Core i3-equipped laptops and desktops, as well as the typical users and uses of this highly popular CPU:.

To learn which Intel CPU is inside a Lenovo PC, choose a product type — laptop , desktop , 2-in-1 , tablet , Chromebook or workstation — and look for the listings beneath each product photo.

Consumers seeking greater performance will want to consider an Intel Core i5 laptop or Intel Core i5 desktop. Core i5 processors, which launched in and have since seen a series of improvements, are generally faster than their i3 counterparts, making the i5 better suited for media creation, gaming, multi-media consumption, multi-tasking, and other reasonably complex computing tasks.

Most i3 processors are dual-core some quad-core i3 products began to appear in , while i5 processors contain cores. A quad-core processor will outperform a dual-core processor in nearly all cases, but the difference can be particularly noticeable when running highly demanding, memory-intensive software programs. Table 2 lists the top-level specifications of Intel Core i5 processors 10 th gen as of late Following are some broad descriptions of the cost, typical user types, and common uses of laptops and desktop PCs equipped with the highly popular Intel Core i5 processor:.

Ready to buy? On the other hand, if you run demanding software programs including video games , or regularly multitask, then a better option could be a Core i5-powered laptop or Core i5-powered desktop.

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Privacy Filters. At this point, children born in the same year are almost old enough to drink. Over a half-dozen generations of Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 CPUs have come and gone since then but most consumers are still asking the same kinds of questions.

Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7? What's the difference? Is it worth it to own a CPU with more cores, a faster clock-speed or advanced features like hyper-threading? If you're building your first PC, the main thing you need to keep in mind here is that the 3, 5 and 7 attached to each family of Intel Core processors are simply meant to be indicative of their relative processing power. Which family an Intel Core CPU falls into is based on a collection of criteria involving their number of cores, clock speed in GHz and cache size, the number of Intel technologies they integrate also plays a role.

At the most basic level, these numbers reflect where each class of Intel Core CPU sit relative to one another and are intended to give consumers an idea of the kind of performance they should expect from each. Essentially, the idea that Intel are looking to convey with this CPU classification system is that PC builders should expect:. Some are intended for us inside laptops, others are intended for use with desktop PCs.

Wattage is the big differentiator here, since CPUs inside mobile devices generally have to make do with less power draw,. However, to avoid confusion, let's start by exclusively talking about the desktop variants. This means that a PC with a higher core-count is going to be better for tasks where multithreading is important, such as web servers, web browsers and some video games.

The reason for this is that i3 processors are designed to hit a lower price-point more than they are push boundaries for performance. They tend to be found inside PCs that target a more budget-conscious market-segment where the need for a device to be affordable eclipses the demand for higher performance. Part of this comes down to faster average clock speeds. Part of this comes down to additional cores.

The trouble is knowing what to expect within each tier. Things go a little deeper. First, Core i7 does not mean a seven-core processor! These are just names to indicate relative performance. Older Intel Core i3 series had only dual-core processors, but more recent generations have a mixture of dual- and quad-core CPUs.

Older generations of Intel Core i5 processors had a mixture of dual- and quad-core processors, but the later generations typically feature a quad- or even hexa-core six configuration, along with faster overclock speeds than the Core i3.

The latest Intel Core i7 CPU generations include quad-core, hexa-core, and octa-core eight configurations. Quad-cores are usually better than dual-cores and hexa-cores better than quad-cores, and so on, but it isn't always accurate depending on the CPU generation—more on these differences in a moment.

Intel releases "families" of chipsets, called generations. At the time of writing, Intel has launched its 11th-generation series, named Rocket Lake. Each family, in turn, has its own line of Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 series of processors. The Intel Core i9 series is Intel's extreme performance line. Most Core i9 CPUs are octa-core and come with a very high clock speed, enabling them to perform to a very high standard for prolonged periods.

They may also come with a larger CPU memory cache than their counterparts, enabling faster overall performance. You can spot which generation a processor belongs to by the first digits in its four or five-digit model name. For example, the Intel Core i7- 11 K belongs to the 11th generation. For a long time, a useful rule of thumb for Intel CPU model names was that the other three digits were Intel's assessment of how the processor compares to others in its own line.

That rule is still in place, but it isn't always as easy to follow as it once was as there are several other product line modifiers you can find in the model number. However, "A higher SKU within otherwise-identical processor brands and generations will generally have more features," as per Intel's naming convention guide. Furthermore, this change is another reason why comparing CPUs across generations using their model number alone is advisable, as Intel tweaks things.

Here's what they mean:. Understanding these letters and the numbering system above will help you know what a processor offers just by looking at the model number without needing to read the actual specifications.

The physical cores largely determine the speed of a processor.