Intel i3 i5 i7

[nab]

Hello,

Could someone breakdown into laymans terms the difference between these intel chips? Is an i7 better than an i5? I'm puzzled as I have seen i5's with faster speeds than some i7's. I really don't get it :/

 

[9_breaker]

the i7 is faster than the i5 but theres not much of difference in gaming . it also depends wich i7 or i5

 

[nordlead]

There are two generations of chips, so just talking about i3vsi5vsi7 won't always make sense. There are also mobile versions, so you have to compare like generations and versions.

in general i3's are dual core CPUs, i5's are quad core CPUs, and i7's are quads with hyper threading. There are also hexacore i7's.

In general a i7 will be more powerful than an i5, and an i5 more powerful than an i3. A low end 1st generation i7 might be less powerful than a top end 2nd generation i5

EDIT: the whole scheme is just extremely confusing

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

The difference between the Intel® Core i3, i5, and i7 in a desktop environment:
Intel Core i3- These are all dual core processors with hyper-threading. They don’t have turbo boost.
Intel Core i5- These processors are quad core processors that don’t have hyper-threading. They do have turbo boost.
Intel Core i7- These processors are quad cores that have hyper-threading. They also have turbo boost.
There may be changes be from model to model but basically they fit into these steps. Mobile CPUs are not as clear cut.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team