When you’re building up a brand new PC, you kind of need to know the difference between every component and what it does on your computer so that you can make the best decision. There is a lot to sink in since there are literally thousands of options out there and more and more keep coming into the market.
In this article, we’re looking at Intel Core i3 and Intel Core i5. These are two different processors and they are intended for different purposes. The architecture of these is a modern one, different from older processors.
Getting to Know the Intel Core i3 System
The Intel Core i3 system is less expensive than the Core i5 system, but then again it does not have the same capacity as the i5. Essentially, the improvements that the Core i5 are going to bring to your PC will allow you to multitask better, will allow you to have better performances while running tough programs and it will be a general improvement if you think your PC is slow.
In addition, the Core i5 system has a better cache (on-board memory) which will generally improve the PC’s ability to run repetitive tasks. For example, people who have to deal with a lot of spreadsheets are going to benefit a lot from this, since the PC will be able to run these smoothly without having to think too much about it.
Intel has a technology called turbo boost that, essentially, will automatically overclock a processor whenever it is possible. In this task, the CPU monitors the temperature and when the temperature is cool enough, overclock is applied so that the machine runs effectively. This technology isn’t found on the Core i3, but it is found on the Core i5.
There is also the technology of hyper-threading that Intel has. This type of technology simply “tricks” the operating system into believing that there really are more cores than the ones that the processor physically has. This improves the performance on a lot of tasks that occur at the same time, such as web surfing and rendering. Core i3 uses hyper-threading to make it look like it has a four-core chipset (instead of the two it originally has).
Knowing the Core i5 Processor
On the other hand, if you have a Core i5 processor, you already do have four cores integrated and as such there is no need for it to hyper-thread. But since the Core i3 models actually support hyper-threading, they also manage to support four threads.
At the end of the day, the decision needs to come from you. Clearly, the Core i5 has advantages over the Core i3, but then again these are too few to justify buying the Core i5 if you are just going to use your PC on normal everyday stuff.