What is the difference between Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors? Coffee Lake comparison test: i3, i5 or i7? Choosing a processor for a mid-budget gaming computer

Third-generation Intel Core processors, also known as Ivy Bridge, appeared on the market in the spring of 2012. For Intel Corporation, this generation was a breakthrough in production technology, allowing the creation of transistors of 22 nanometers, instead of the already familiar 32 Nm.

This made it possible to place almost twice as many transistors in the same area as in previous generations, which increased the functional blocks inside the processor. In addition, energy efficiency has increased and voltage has decreased.

Intel sees Ivy Bridge as an achievement not only because of improvements in the manufacturing process, but also because of changes made to certain parts of the processor itself, especially the integrated graphics card.

What is the advantage of Hyperthread.

The fundamental difference between i7 and i5 processors is the Hyperthread feature. What is its advantage:

Fewer blocks. Although it is quite difficult to saturate a processor with 4 cores, it still happens sometimes.

Speed. Increased speed when working with some 3D image-generating applications, such as 3D Studio, when applying filters in programs, such as Photoshop, video editing, and so on. But all these benefits will never compare with 8 cores.

What to buy i5 or i7.

If you have a modest budget and for gaming you will add a powerful graphics card to the i5 processor, then it is better to stick with it. The I7 processor is designed for those who are not limited in spending and put performance at the core.

The I7 is certainly a great processor, but it's hard to justify such a high price, especially if you can spend the difference in price on RAM, an SSD hard drive, or other useful components.

Core i5 and Core i7- two series of processor models from Intel, widely represented today on the market of modern PC builds and laptop models. Having a computer device based on processors of these series is probably the dream of every user who cares about such concepts as performance, speed and stability. What is the difference between Core i5 and Core i7, and which series processor is better? This will be discussed below.

Brief overview of Intel processor series

Before getting into the comparative specifics of Core i5 and Core i7, let's take a brief look at all the popular series of processors produced by Intel. In order of increasing performance, these series will look like this:

1.1. Intel Celeron- a series of low-budget processors with x86 architecture.

1.2. Intel Pentium- a series of several generations of processors with different performance, the name of the series has become a trademark.

1.3. Intel Core i3- a series of low-budget and mid-price processors that replaced the once popular, but over time, outdated Core 2 Duo processors.

The first three series - Celeron, Pentium and Core i3 - are processors used in simple budget PC builds. They are designed for moderate performance: thus, on the basis of these processors, good PC builds are obtained for everyday office work and media entertainment at home: Internet surfing, office applications, software databases, video, music - the processors of this series will play such content without any problems. - or problems.

1.4. Intel Core i5 is a series of high-performance processors that represents the middle niche between Core i3 - less powerful and more affordable solutions - and Core i7 - super-efficient expensive processors.

1.5. Intel Core i7 is the most advanced series of Core i7 processors, the advantages and features of which will be mentioned below.

Processors of the Core i5 and Core i7 series are ideal for games, complex programs, for example, graphics processing or video editing, since they can provide maximum performance, as well as fully unleash the capabilities of the PC video card.

1.6. Intel Xeon is a series of server processors. But sometimes they are part of the assembly of ordinary computers. For example, the Mac Pro, a professional computer manufactured by Apple, is powered by a Xeon processor.

Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7: which is better to buy?

So, the Core i5 and Core i7 series of productive processors - which is better?

If we evaluate the criterion of “better” as “more productive”, then naturally the Core i7 processors are better, because this is the most advanced series of processors from Intel today, and they don’t have many competitors on the market. If we compare the Core i5 series and Core i7, the latter’s processors incorporate the latest Intel developments; they provide support for higher clock speeds and also have a larger memory cache.

But everything would be fine if money fell from the sky, and you just had to get up early in the morning and collect it in a basket. Core i7 processors are a serious, powerful solution, but, as expected, you have to pay for it, and pay a lot of money. The other side of the question of what is better than Core i5 or Core i7 is whether the performance of Core i7 will be justified? Does the user really need that much power? Perhaps it would be much more expedient to invest part of the money in purchasing a Core i5 processor, and with the rest, buy some kind of powerful video card or afford more RAM.

Five of the best processor models from Intel for every price niche

A short review of the five best models of Intel processors, selected for different financial capabilities of users separately in descending order of price, will help you see the difference between Core i5 and Core i7 more clearly.

So, let's start with the most productive solution, but at the same time, naturally, the most costly in terms of finances.

Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition

This is the best processor produced by Intel, which since 2012 has not lost its leadership position in performance, despite the fact that today there are already more powerful solutions on the market. However, even for this “beast” you will have to pay about $1000. Therefore, we will start with this price point.

This processor works with six cores, the frequency of which is 3.3 GHz. The indicators for the volume of cache memory of the 1st and 2nd levels, respectively, are as follows: 384 KB and 1.5 MB. The level 3 cache memory size is impressive, as it is as much as 15 MB. The processor performance is enough to cope with any task, and fans of extreme processor overclocking will have a particularly pleasant experience.

If the price of the previous Intel processor model is a bit steep, but you want advanced performance, you might want to pay attention to this option, and it will cost much less - about $650. This is also a six-core processor, but with a slightly lower clock speed of 3.2 GHz. It has the same levels of 1st and 2nd level cache memory as the previous model, and this option is inferior only in terms of the 3rd level cache - 12 MB.

The choice of any computer product in the average price niche is always complicated by a large number of models, which may differ in technical characteristics, either in the direction of a profitable solution for the user, or vice versa - overpriced with unjustified performance. So if there is a price limit for purchasing a processor of $350, then it is better to take a closer look at the Intel Core i7-2700K model. This particular processor can easily be classified as “best performance at a moderate price”, because it has 4 computing cores with a frequency of 3.5 GHz. As for the volume of cache memory of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels, these indicators are as follows: 64 KB, 256 KB and 8 MB, respectively.

A more affordable option would be this processor; its cost ranges around $250. It is equipped with four cores with a frequency of 3.4 GHz and a 256 KB level 2 memory cache and 6 MB level 3 memory cache.

This is a very good budget option, which will cost around $180. This processor is also equipped with four cores with a frequency of 2.9 GHz. The volume indicators of its cache memory of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels, respectively, are as follows: 64 KB, 1 MB and 6 MB.

If you want, I can help you choose components and a processor!

Within the framework of this material, using the example of microprocessor models with indexes 8600K and 8700K, CPUs will be compared and an answer will be given. Also, technological features will be considered and recommendations regarding their use will be given. In addition to this, reviews of PC owners are given based on these chip models and their real cost today.

Specialization. Purpose

Before we figure out how the i5 differs from the i7, let’s find out the scope of use of the families of these microprocessors. Both i5 - 8600K and i7 - 8700K are designed for assembling high-performance modern computing systems. These include gaming PCs, workstations or graphics stations, computers for transcoding multimedia content, and even entry-level servers. The performance level of the chips in question is sufficient and allows you to run any software, including the most demanding ones, without any problems.

CPU Specifications

Now let's look at the technical characteristics of these two microprocessors and, based on them, we will find the key differences in how i5 differs from i7. The i5-8600K and i7-8700K CPUs belong to the 8th generation of Intel chips based on the Core microarchitecture, codenamed CoffeeLake. They are manufactured according to 14 nm technology standards and are equipped with 6 computing units. The clock frequency of the first of them can vary from 3.6 to 4.3 GHz, and the second - from 3.7 to 4.7 GHz. They also have an unlocked multiplier, and due to this they can be overclocked.

An important difference between the i5 - 8600K and the i7 - 8700K is the cache organization. The first CPU has a third level of fast volatile memory of 9 MB, and the second has 12 MB. From a RAM standpoint, these two CPU models are identical. They can address 64 GB of memory and are aimed at working in combination with DDR4 modules. The recommended frequency of the latter is 2666 MHz. The chips also have an identical thermal package, which is equal to 95 W.

Technological features of microprocessors

A comparison of i5 and i7 indicates that the former do not support HT technology, while in the latter the CPU can activate it. Due to this, on the i7 - 8700K microprocessor it is possible to process twelve logical threads of program code on six real cores. This allows you to get, in some cases, a performance increase of 10-12 percent. The only important nuance is software optimization. That is, it must use all twelve threads during operation. Such software today includes various packages for transcoding multimedia information.

Regarding the TurboBoost technology for automatically increasing the clock frequency of the microprocessor, it can be noted that both the i5-8600K and i7-8700K support it. Only in the second case, the algorithm of its operation is more “rigid”. That is, the first CPU model can automatically increase its frequency to 4.3 GHz, and the second - to 4.7 GHz. Therefore, the i7-8700K already has higher performance from the start. Moreover, this difference in some applications can be a significant 15%.

Stand configuration

It is most correct to compare the performance of the i7-8700K and i5-8600K with the i7-7700K, i5-7600K and Ryzen 1700X CPUs. Their cost and performance are comparable.

The test bench configuration includes the following components:

1. Motherboards Z270 (for chips 7 (for 8th generation CPUs) and B350 (for AMD solutions).
2. Branded Thermalright Archon cooler.
3. Graphics accelerator GTX 1080 8Gb GDDR5.
4. DDR4 RAM with a nominal frequency of 2666 MHz, 2 modules of 8 GB each.
5. SSD storage with a capacity of 960 GB.
6. Power supply 1.2 kW.

Synthetic tests. Analysis of the results obtained

Synthetic tests of i5 and i7 show a slight advantage of the second family of CPUs. In this case, the difference can reach a very respectable 30 percent.

In the CineBench R15 utility in multi-threaded mode, the following results were obtained in conditional points:

1. 1700X - 1534.
2. 8700K - 1392.
3. 8600K - 1021.
4. 7700K - 969.
5. 7600K - 664.

The presence of 8 cores and 16 threads allows AMD's flagship to easily outperform Intel's competitors. The difference between 8700K and 8600K is due to HT technology, increased frequencies and an increased size of level 3 cache. For the same reason, the heroes of this review are inferior to the flagship processor devices of the previous generation. They have four physical cores and due to this they have lower performance.,

But in the single-threaded CineBench R15 test the situation changes as follows:

1. 8700K - 198.
2. 7700K - 194.
3. 8600K - 184.
4. 7600K - 173.
5. 1700X - 155.

In this case, only one computing core is used, and the higher its frequency, the higher the level of performance. Therefore, the leader becomes the 8700K, which can operate at 4.7 GHz. Then comes the 7700K, operating at 4.5 GHz, and the 8600K at 4.3 GHz. Next is the 7600K, operating at 4.2 GHz. The outsider in this test was the 1700X from AMD. Its frequency is 4.2 GHz.

The advantage of i7 over i5 in multi-threaded software can reach 30%, and in single-threaded software this gap decreases to 15%.

Gaming applications. Analysis of results

The performance of the i5 and i7 differs even less in gaming applications than in synthetic benchmarks. As a rule, such programs are optimized for one computing core. In rare cases, they may already use two such blocks. Therefore the difference becomes even smaller.

In the Dirt Rally game we got the following number of fps at FullHD resolution and average output image quality:

1. 8700K - 161 - 245.
2. 8600K - 149 - 230.
3. 7700K - 136 - 215.
4. 7600K - 134 - 206.
5. 1700X - 106 - 164.

The advantage of i7 chips over i5 CPUs is 10-15 frames per second. In percentage terms, this difference will be equal to 6-8%. The AMD flagship is again far behind in this case. It has a low clock frequency and this is the main limiting factor that does not yet allow it to compete on equal terms with Intel microprocessors.

CPU cost

Currently, the recommended price for an Intel Core i5 with the 8600K index is $257. The flagship is priced at $359 by the manufacturer. But the choice in this case must be made not based on cost, but on those tasks that are planned to be implemented in the future on the computer system being assembled.

Today our article will be devoted to processors from a famous company. We will figure out which computer is better than Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7.

Let's first look at what these chips are. They both combine all the latest technologies, together with high performance.

Core i5, a processor with four cores, will allow you to work simultaneously in several applications without losing power. It was in them that technology such as RealSense appeared, thanks to which you can control the device with gestures, shoot and edit 3D videos. And the TurboBoost function allows you to automatically overclock the processor under increased loads to acceptable frequencies. These chips are an excellent solution for gaming computers. They have very low heat generation. You can save on the cooling system. Having purchased more powerful hardware. It copes perfectly with all multimedia tasks.

Core i7 is a newer and more powerful model. Here we already get two versions of chips, 6 and 8 cores, respectively. Plus, they support Hyper-Treading technology, which allows each core to perform two tasks simultaneously. If you use it when assembling a gaming computer, then the quality of the graphics will become much higher. Although it was originally designed to work in 3D programs. These processors have the latest Intel Iris Graphics graphics adapters, specifically for modeling and video work.

In general, if you decide to build a computer, then we recommend installing solutions from this company, since their quality always remains at the highest level. With it you can work non-stop without fear of overheating and sudden PC shutdown. Any new games will run just perfectly, and the gameplay will captivate you.

If you still doubt your choice, remember the legendary Pentiums. They are practically eternal. There were practically no people for whom it failed.

First, let's decide why we need this or that processor. We recommend taking an i5 for a gaming computer; you won’t lose any performance, but you can save a lot of money.

For work, especially in “heavy” programs, such as 3D Max, etc., the i7 is perfect. It will process all your changes quickly. This will allow you to work in real time, without additional downloads that delay the work process.

That's all. Now we hope you can decide which computer is better, intel core i5 or intel core i7. This concludes our article. And in the next one, we will continue to compare computers from other companies.

Hello, dear audience. In this article we will look at how the i5 processor differs from the i7. This is the second article in a series of comparisons. You can see the differences between i3 and i5 in. Here we will try to explain whether it makes sense to overpay for the top-of-the-line chip, although it is damn good in all respects. Interesting? Then let's go.

As in the previous article, tables, comparisons, a search for shortcomings (at least prices for the i7 for the average consumer), as well as other technological nuances will be used. The information is purely for informational purposes, but it will be very useful for beginners.

I would also like to note that we will consider chips of different generations. The most relevant at the moment are Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake, and they are interesting not only for their architecture, but also for their completely different characteristics. Wondering what the difference is between Core i5 and Core i7? Let's get started.

Comparison with Coffee Lake

The debut of Intel's 8th generation of chips caused a stir among the public as the company finally gave users what they had long been asking for - more cores, higher frequencies and lower temperatures. However, we had to pay the price due to the complete incompatibility of the 1151v2 socket with the first generation 1151 platform.
The comparison table looks like this:

The number of cores increased by 1.5 times in both cases, while the i7 also received 12 virtual threads instead of the usual 8, as was the case in Kaby Lake. Did this make the chip a better choice for PC gaming? Definitely.

Let's add to this the high power density per core, support for overclocking most chips in the series, up to 5 GHz, as well as an impressive amount of cache memory (2 MB for each core). But the i5 will give a light to everyone who does not expect outstanding results from the stone.

Which chip to choose for the motherboard?

I would like to say right away that the performance of systems on i5 and i7 will be very high. But I would still like to recommend the younger option, since most simply will not notice much of a difference in computing power when working with routine tasks. The top series available for socket 1151v2 is still chosen by enthusiasts and people who professionally work in multi-threaded applications.

Difference in kernels

Since the number of computational units for the i5 and i7 was always the same (if we do not consider the laptop assortment of CPUs), the comparison always fell short of listing the number of virtual threads. In the “middle” class, this indicator is equal to the size of the physical cores, while in the “flagship” their number is exactly 2 times higher.

Turbo Boost

And here again there is complete parity, since the technology is available to both the former and the latter. This is essentially a lazy overclocking mode, but the beauty of it is that the processor does not consume more than it needs, and only accelerates when performing complex computing tasks that require all its processing power.

This takes into account the cooling system, the maximum permissible heat package, voltage and other “limiters” that can be neglected during manual overclocking. The second advantage of the technology is the fact that some cores can be run separately if the application cannot use more than 1 thread at a time.