Usually we heard about core i5, core i7 etc. but in the recent years we hear about dual core i7 and quad core i7 etc. This confuses me. Does it generally mean that they have double and quadruple performance respectively as compared to core i7 computer?
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Can you provide us specific product model numbers? I am not aware of there ever being a dual core i7– RamhoundOct 15, 2016 at 15:39
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Possible duplicate: CPU Cores: The more the better?– Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007Oct 19, 2016 at 20:51
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2 Answers
One core meant:
One core meant it could follow one set of instructions at a time.
Dual-core meant:
These could follow two instruction sets simultaneously.
Triple core and Quad-core followed suit, with three or four threads respectively.
Then Intel introduced Hyper-Threading ---> The ability for a single core to follow two threads. All Core i3's, i5's, and i7's are hyper threading.
This means that a Dual-core i7 can follow up to Four threads simultaneously, while a Quad-core can follow up to Eight.
For a power user, from which it sounds like you are, a Quad-core is the way to go.
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//Dual-core i7 can follow up to Four threads simultaneously, while a Quad-core can follow up to Eight.// And what in case of simple core i7? Oct 15, 2016 at 12:34
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@AliAsmat What do you think is a "simple" Core i7? I don't believe the current lineup of i7's has any single-core models. Basically, all current i7 processors have hyperthreading, which means the supported amount of concurrent threads is double the core count.– CasNov 4, 2016 at 13:30
First off, I'll limit my answer to current generation (6th gen desktop) Core-i5 and Core-i7 models, this makes it very easy since there's not a whole lot of variation core-wise.
First interpretation
All 6th generation Core-i5 processors have 4 cores, this means they can execute 4 concurrent operations.
All 6th generation Core-i7 processors have 4 cores with hyperthreading, this means they can (theoretically) execute 8 concurrent operations. I believe there are some technicalities regarding how well hyperthreading works for certain tasks though.
Second Interpretation
Dual or quad Core-i7 might also mean that a system has multiple processors. This interpretation depends very much on how it's actually written.
If someone writes "I have a quad Core-i7 system", I assume they mean that their system contains four separate Core-i7 processors - each of which has 4 cores.
However, if someone were to say "I have a Quad-core Core-i7 system", I assume their system contains a single Core-i7 processor - which has 4 cores.
this second interpretation is a little far fetched, since I don't think people really say that, but it might be possible.
