Hardware FAQ: Choosing the Right PC Processor (Core i3, i5 and i7)
There were days when choosing a processor meant two basic things: choosing the Pentium number and making a choice between Celeron and standard Intel processor. However, now with so many cores and generations, it is quite difficult to make an educated decision – even for a tech-savvy person. Following FAQs are specifically compiled to make your decision as easy as possible.
- What do Core i3, i5, and i7 means?
Many people think that a Core i3 processor has 3 cores, i5 has 5 cores and i7 has 7 cores. This is not true and i-number has nothing to do with the cores of the processor. All i3 processors have two cores and most of the i5 processors have 4 cores.
- Does a larger Core Number Better?
Usually, a larger core number is better. But there are many points to consider regarding cores. There is no guarantee that higher i-number will offer better performance for the task you intend to do on your machine. And when considering the price difference, a lower i-number might offer better value for money.
- What are generations and how they affect the performance?
Again, 2nd generation processors usually have some improvements in one way or another over the 1st generation and the 4th generation over 3rd generation. But there is no industry standard for generations as well as i-number that guarantees the improvement. It all depends on Intel, as all this jargon is the invention of this PC processor manufacturer. Intel might decide to change the place of components and call it another generation of processors. However, there are often at least some minor improvements with every generation of the PC processor.
Feeling confused already? Actually, you do not need to worry too much about i-number and generations while buying a new PC. Just read the reviews and make sure that your selected PC model can perform all the tasks at hand. If you are a geek, or want to be, analyze your needs and then compare the following features to match with your needs.
- Number of cores
- Frequency
- Turbo boost
- Hyper-threading
- Cache