T: Power Optimized for desktop processors.

Y: Extremely Low Power. Processors designed for devices with extremely low power requirements, such as Internet of Things devices or other embedded hardware.

These draw less power and are better for battery life. The U rating is only for mobile processors. KĪs you can see, the model number will typically be followed by one or a combination of the following letters: U, Y, T, Q, H, G, and K. What Intel's Model Letter Suffixes Mean: U vs. For example, an Intel Core i3-8145U is superior to the Core i3-8109U because 145 is higher than 109.

For example, the Intel Core i7- 11700K belongs to the 11th generation.įor a long time, a useful rule of thumb for Intel CPU model names was that the other three digits were Intel's assessment of how the processor compares to others in its own line. You can spot which generation a processor belongs to by the first digits in its four or five-digit model name. Related: What Is a CPU Cache? How to Tell Which Intel CPU Generation Is Which? They may also come with a larger CPU memory cache than their counterparts, enabling faster overall performance. Most Core i9 CPUs are octa-core and come with a very high clock speed, enabling them to perform to a very high standard for prolonged periods. The Intel Core i9 series is Intel's extreme performance line. The latest CPU generations have another tier above Core i7, the Intel Core i9. Each family, in turn, has its own line of Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 series of processors. Intel releases 'families' of chipsets, called generations. At the time of writing, Intel has launched its 11th-generation series, named Rocket Lake. Quad-cores are usually better than dual-cores and hexa-cores better than quad-cores, and so on, but it isn't always accurate depending on the CPU generation-more on these differences in a moment. Again, the Intel Core i7 CPUs outperform their Core i5 counterparts and are much faster than the entry-level Core i3 CPUs. The latest Intel Core i7 CPU generations include quad-core, hexa-core, and octa-core (eight) configurations. Older generations of Intel Core i5 processors had a mixture of dual- and quad-core processors, but the later generations typically feature a quad- or even hexa-core (six) configuration, along with faster overclock speeds than the Core i3. It is a similar story for older Intel Core i5 CPUs. Older Intel Core i3 series had only dual-core processors, but more recent generations have a mixture of dual- and quad-core CPUs. Things go a little deeper.įirst, Core i7 does not mean a seven-core processor! These are just names to indicate relative performance. The trouble is knowing what to expect within each tier.

An Intel Core i7 is better than a Core i5, which in turn is better than a Core i3.

I3 5th gen vs i5 4th gen