CPU Confuzzleness

[The Dragon]

Ok I have been really getting into tech now since in a month or so I will be building my first computer. I have gotten really confused about CPUs. Say I have a i5 with 4 cores clocked at 3.5GHz and a i7 with 4 cores clocked at 3.5GHz but the i7 is better. How is that. They seem quite the same what makes them different. I constantly see people recommending different CPUs for different things yet those CPUs seem generally the same. Lets say a 4690k and a 4770k. What are the differences. What sets Intel and AMD apart. Why is it that a 4core 3.5 GHz intel CPU trumps an AMD CPU of the same specs. Is it really confusing or am I just not getting something. Thanks

[The Dragon]

The 4690k and 4770k were chosen after writing the first 2 sentences so it is weird that thoses 2 processors match exactly with what I said previously

[spartaman64]

different architecture and the i7 has hyperthreading, more cache, etc

[The Dragon]

The 4690k and 4770k were chosen after writing the first 2 sentences so it is weird that those 2 processors match exactly with what I said previously

[Enderman]

the i7 has hyperthreading which makes it have 8 virtual cores for better performance at multithreaded applications

 

and its not just about the number of cores and frequency, there is a lot more that determines the performance of a CPU

and it is just a fact that intel CPUs have much better single core performance than AMD CPUs

[Fate]

i7 has hyperthreading, Linus has a great video on it

Specs don't matter when comparing, well, anything that isn't the same architecture. In raw performance, an overclocked i5-4690k to around 4.4GHz or so will be ROUGHLY equivalent to a 8350 overclocked to around 4.4-4.6ishGHz assuming a perfectly multithreaded scenario. But the i5-4690k has half the cores? It has much stronger cores, which is why it is vastly superior (most programs use only one-two cores, similar goes for most games). 

[The Dragon]

the i7 has hyperthreading which makes it have 8 virtual cores for better performance at multithreaded applications

 

and its not just about the number of cores and frequency, there is a lot more that determines the performance of a CPU

and it is just a fact that intel CPUs have much better single core performance than AMD CPUs

Ok I now understand hyperthreading. Its adding double the threads when there is only half the amount of cores making the cpu take the work as if there was 8 cores when really there is 4. Awesome Thank you for explaining that cause the techquickie video didn't do so good of a job

[Enderman]

Ok I now understand hyperthreading. Its adding double the threads when there is only half the amount of cores making the cpu take the work as if there was 8 cores when really there is 4. Awesome Thank you for explaining that cause the techquickie video didn't do so good of a job

You're welcome

[The Dragon]

You're welcome

Does AMD Have hyper threading?

[Enderman]

Does AMD Have hyper threading?

no

[The Dragon]

no

Is there like hyper-hyper threading, say you have a 4 core cpu is it possible for it to have 12 threads?

[Enderman]

Is there like hyper-hyper threading, say you have a 4 core cpu is it possible for it to have 12 threads?

no, hyperthreading can create a maximum of 2 virtual cores only

[Kano]

     Like others have said the difference between an i5 and i7 is hyperthreading, which will allow your pc to more effectively use all of your CPUs cores. It's important to note that hyperthreading does not double the performance if i remember correctly its about a thirty percent increase in performance in programs that can utilize it.

 

     As for the difference in specs vs performance, that can be attributed to IPC.  Think of GHz as how fast something happens, and IPC as how much is done during that time.  For example a 2 GHz CPU that has half the IPC, should perform the same as a 1 GHz CPU with twice the IPC.