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I never understand what are the basic differences between these processors apart from core i5 and core i7 supports turbo boost

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It's just a marketing distinction. The architecture is basically the same, but the more expensive ones with faster clock speeds and more features are branded as i5 and then i7.

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Several articles

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/i3-i5-i7-comparison.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/index.htm

Then there is the overclocking aspect of these processors http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=583&Itemid=38

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This Wikipedia page has a nice table. Another difference is L3 cache size.

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I believe some models have integrated GPU for 720p/1080p playback and such. I have a core i3 in my HTPC and it performs like a champ with no dedicated video card.

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There are 3 major differences:

  • the number of cores

  • the number of threads

  • the cache size

Frequencies have a very wide range for each model, to cover a lot of market segments.

Also, i3s do not support some of the features the others do, but this is not performance related.

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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( For example using photoshop), Lot of Gaming and other CPU intensive stuff.

Further information can be found on my personal homepage.

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  • The basic difference, still, remains in 2017: i7 has more cores (real and HyperThreading) than i5 which has more cores than i3. While i7 can have anywhere from 4 cores (2+2HT) to 20 (10+10HT) cores, i5s maximum still remains 4 cores (no HT) or 2+2HT cores. i3's never have 4 actual cores, only 2+2HT. Also, the cache difference remains (for ex. 3MB on i3 to 8MB on i7).
    – DocWeird
    May 9, 2017 at 7:57

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