The most popular tech wiki ever was this one from 2014 where we explained Intel's Core i3,
i5 and i7 CPUs. But they say a lot can change in eight years and in this case they were right.
So today we're going to give you a roundup of Intel's current 13th gen desktop processor lineup
updated for 2023. While the upcoming laptop versions of these CPUs will likely have specs
a little different than what's presented in this episode, their overall use cases will be similar.
We're going to start at the very top of Intel's current product stack and talk about the Core i9
which displays the Core i7 as the highest end consumer processor lineup back in 2017.
Simply put, current Core i9 models give you the most cores and the most cache, period.
Intel's current 13th gen of CPUs, codenamed Raptor Lake, gives you 36 megabytes of cache
and a total of 24 cores on an i9, 8 multi-threaded high performance cores that kick in when you're
doing something CPU intensive, and 16 more power efficient cores for less taxing workloads.
i9's also come with Turbo Boost Max 3.0, which sounds like a Power Ranger spin-off,
but is actually a feature that identifies your specific CPU's fastest cores for an extra bump
in speed. Core i9's also feature the highest boost frequencies so they're best for gaming,
although for the money, it's probably best to only pull that trigger if you really need the power
for heavy-duty creative work like 3D rendering or video editing. Moving down the ladder, you have the
Core i7, which is kind of like a mini Core i9. You get the same eight high performance cores,
but only eight efficiency cores for a still generous total of 16. Although the cache size
is slightly reduced to 30 megabytes, you still get Turbo Boost Max 3.0. The Core i7 can be a
goodbye if you're a streamer and can use the extra cores, or if you're a content creator that doesn't
need quite as much power as the Core i9 offers. Next up is the Core i5, which is actually going
to be the sweet spot for most of you. The Core i5 has only six high performance cores and either
four or eight efficiency cores depending on the model you get, but that's still more than enough
to qualify for the good bang for your buck award if you're going to use your PC primarily for gaming.
You get less cache, either 24 or 20 megabytes, and there's no Turbo Boost Max 3.0, but that
trade-off comes with a very significant reduction in price. And just because it's a mid-range doesn't
mean it's a slouching creative apps item. Sitting below the i5 is the Core i3, which has a more
straightforward composition. You get four high performance cores, 12 megabytes of cache, and
that's it. These specs are sufficient for light to moderate gaming, but might struggle a bit in
the AAA titles that are now asking for six or more cores. But you do get a dramatic reduction in
price, so it's something you could look at if you don't need tons of power but want to do some
reasonable multitasking without your computer breaking a sweat. And at the very bottom of the
product stack, well, it's a little unclear as to how Intel will brand this segment going forward.
The desktop side is still, as of now, using the Pentium branding for the higher-end budget CPUs
and Celeron for the lowest-end entry models, but on the laptop side, Intel has gotten rid of Pentium
and Celeron and replaced them with a single brand called Intel Processor, which is so generic,
it's confusing. It isn't clear right now whether future desktop chips will follow suit,
but given that Intel's website already seems to be de-emphasizing the Pentium and Celeron brands,
it wouldn't at all surprise us. Once you get down to this level, don't expect to do anything
aside from light work and casual gaming. If you want a bit more power for multitasking,
go with a Pentium, otherwise you can save a few bucks by opting for a Celeron,
which will work just fine as long as you don't push it beyond a few basic tasks at the same time.
Hopefully this has helped you make sense of Intel's letter and number gumbo. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go have a bowl of alphabet soup.
Alphabet. So thanks for watching, like, dislike, check out our other videos,
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