i3 vs i5

King_of_Oz · December 22, 2016

Can someone give me a clear, long explanation on the difference between intel core i5 vs i3?

NTDaws · December 22, 2016

For the most part, you'll get faster CPU performance from the Core i5 parts over Core i3. Some Core i5 processors are dual-core and some are quad-core. Most of the time, a true quad-core CPU will perform better than a dual-core processor, especially on multimedia tasks like video transcoding or photo editing. All Core i3 processor are dual core. Occasionally, you'll find an older Ivy Bridge processor like the Intel Core i3-3130M in a system that's the same price as system with a newer Haswell CPU like the Intel Core i3-4012Y. Systems equipped with the sixth-generation Skylake processors are the newest, utilizing CPUs like the Core i3-6100. In general, the system will last longer with the newer processor, since the older CPU doesn't have a year or more worth of improvements in it.

In addition to generally faster base clock speeds, Core i5 processors have larger cache (on-board memory) to help the processor deal with repetitive tasks faster. If you're editing and calculating spreadsheets, your CPU shouldn't have to reload the framework the numbers sit in. This info will sit in the cache, so when you change a number, the calculations are almost instantaneous. Larger cache sizes help multitasking as well, since background tasks will be ready for when you switch focus to another window. On currently available desktop processors, i5 CPUs have up to 6MB of L3 cache, while i3 processors have 3MB to 4MB.

Turbo Boost refers to Intel's "overclocking" feature built into its processors. Essentially, it allows the processor to run faster than its base clock speed when only one or two processor cores are needed (like when you're running a single-threaded task that you want done now). Most Core i5 processors use Turbo Boost, so for example, the Core i5-6600 processor has a base clock of 3.3GHz, but it can boost to 3.9GHz. Core i3 processors don't feature Turbo Boost.

King_of_Oz · December 22, 2016

2 minutes ago, Dawson Wehage said:

For the most part, you'll get faster CPU performance from the Core i5 parts over Core i3. Some Core i5 processors are dual-core and some are quad-core. Most of the time, a true quad-core CPU will perform better than a dual-core processor, especially on multimedia tasks like video transcoding or photo editing. All Core i3 processor are dual core. Occasionally, you'll find an older Ivy Bridge processor like the Intel Core i3-3130M in a system that's the same price as system with a newer Haswell CPU like the Intel Core i3-4012Y. Systems equipped with the fifth-generation Broadwell processors are the newest, utilizing CPUs like the Core i3-5020U. In general, the system will last longer with the newer processor, since the older CPU doesn't have a year or more worth of improvements in it.

In addition to generally faster base clock speeds, Core i5 processors have larger cache (on-board memory) to help the processor deal with repetitive tasks faster. If you're editing and calculating spreadsheets, your CPU shouldn't have to reload the framework the numbers sit in. This info will sit in the cache, so when you change a number, the calculations are almost instantaneous. Larger cache sizes help multitasking as well, since background tasks will be ready for when you switch focus to another window. On currently available desktop processors, i5 CPUs have up to 6MB of L3 cache, while i3 processors have 3MB to 4MB.

Turbo Boost refers to Intel's "overclocking" feature built into its processors. Essentially, it allows the processor to run faster than its base clock speed when only one or two processor cores are needed (like when you're running a single-threaded task that you want done now). Most Core i5 processors use Turbo Boost, so for example, the Core i5-4300U processor has a base clock of 1.9GHz, but when the task warrants it, the processor can dynamically clock its cores up to 2.9GHz. Core i3 processors don't feature Turbo Boost.

3 minutes ago, Dawson Wehage said:

For the most part, you'll get faster CPU performance from the Core i5 parts over Core i3. Some Core i5 processors are dual-core and some are quad-core. Most of the time, a true quad-core CPU will perform better than a dual-core processor, especially on multimedia tasks like video transcoding or photo editing. All Core i3 processor are dual core. Occasionally, you'll find an older Ivy Bridge processor like the Intel Core i3-3130M in a system that's the same price as system with a newer Haswell CPU like the Intel Core i3-4012Y. Systems equipped with the fifth-generation Broadwell processors are the newest, utilizing CPUs like the Core i3-5020U. In general, the system will last longer with the newer processor, since the older CPU doesn't have a year or more worth of improvements in it.

In addition to generally faster base clock speeds, Core i5 processors have larger cache (on-board memory) to help the processor deal with repetitive tasks faster. If you're editing and calculating spreadsheets, your CPU shouldn't have to reload the framework the numbers sit in. This info will sit in the cache, so when you change a number, the calculations are almost instantaneous. Larger cache sizes help multitasking as well, since background tasks will be ready for when you switch focus to another window. On currently available desktop processors, i5 CPUs have up to 6MB of L3 cache, while i3 processors have 3MB to 4MB.

Turbo Boost refers to Intel's "overclocking" feature built into its processors. Essentially, it allows the processor to run faster than its base clock speed when only one or two processor cores are needed (like when you're running a single-threaded task that you want done now). Most Core i5 processors use Turbo Boost, so for example, the Core i5-4300U processor has a base clock of 1.9GHz, but when the task warrants it, the processor can dynamically clock its cores up to 2.9GHz. Core i3 processors don't feature Turbo Boost.

Thanks!