Each has its own specific characteristics/specs. When it comes to Intel's Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs, their relative levels of processing power are based on a collection of criteria involving their number of cores, clock speed (in GHz), size of cache, as well as technologies like Turbo Boost 2.0 and Hyper-Threading.Īs mentioned before, Intel's Core processors can also be grouped in terms of their target devices, i.e., those for laptops and those for desktops. While the number of cores a processor has is important, it isn't the whole story.
Credit: Intel Next up for Intel: Tiger Lake Although it is the case that processor core-counts have risen in recent years, there are no hard or fast rules about how many cores an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor should have in it. The numbers are more of indicative of their relative processing power and target audience or device than anything else. Nevertheless, the above rule is true more often than not.Ĭore i7 does not have seven cores nor does Core i3 have three cores. The word usually does a bit of heavy lifting here, since a close comparison newer or higher-spec Core i5 processor might see it come out ahead of an older Core i7 model. The short version here is that Intel Core i7 processors are usually better than Intel Core i5 processors, which are in turn usually better than Core i3 processors. Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 - the difference in a nutshell
