Introduction
Contents
The Core i5 is a CPU series manufactured by Intel aimed at mid-range computers. In this tutorial, we will present a series of quick reference tables for you to compare the main differences between all models released to date.
By the way, the correct name of this line of processors is “Core i5,” not “Intel i5.”
Currently, there are four different generations of Core i5 processors available. In the table below, we describe the main differences between these generations.
Model |
7xx |
6xx |
4xx and 5xx |
2xxx |
2xxx |
Market |
Desktop |
Desktop |
Mobile |
Desktop |
Mobile |
Generation |
First |
First |
First |
Second |
Second |
Microarchitecture |
|||||
Manufacturing Process |
45 nm |
32 nm |
32 nm |
32 nm |
32 nm |
Number of Cores |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4† |
2 |
Hyper-Threading |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No† |
Yes |
L1 cache (per core) |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
32 kiB+32kB |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
32 kiB+32kB |
L2 cache (per core) |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
L3 cache (total) |
8 MiB |
4 MiB |
3 MiB |
6 MiB† |
3 MiB |
DMI bus |
1 GB/s |
1 GB/s |
1 GB/s |
2 GB/s |
2 GB/s |
Memory (DDR3) |
1066, 1333 |
1066, 1333 |
800, 1066 |
1066, 1333 |
1066, 1333, 1600 |
DDR3L and DDR3L-RS |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Graphics Engine |
No |
HD Graphics |
HD Graphics |
HD 2000 or HD 3000‡ |
HD 3000 |
DirectX |
No |
10 |
10 |
10.1‡ |
10.1 |
Graphics Processors |
No |
12 |
6 |
6 or 12‡ |
12 |
Graphics Base Clock |
No |
733 MHz or 900 MHz |
166 MHz or 500 MHz |
650 MHz or 850 MHz‡ |
350 MHz or 650 MHz |
Graphics Boost Clock |
No |
No |
500 MHz or 766 MHz |
1.25 GHz or 1.1 GHz‡ |
1.2 GHz or 1.3 GHz |
Displays Supported |
None |
2 |
2 |
2‡ |
2 |
PCIe Controller |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
PCIe Configuration |
1×16, 2×8 |
1×16, 2×8 |
1×16 |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
SSE4.2 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
AES-NI |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Base Clock |
133 MHz |
133 MHz |
133 MHz |
100 MHz |
100 MHz |
Pinout |
LGA1156 |
LGA1156 |
G1 or BGA1288 |
LGA1155 |
G2 or BGA1023 |
Model |
3xxx |
3xxx |
4xxx |
4xxx |
Market |
Desktop |
Mobile |
Desktop |
Portátil |
Generation |
Third |
Third |
Quarta |
Quarta |
Microarchitecture |
||||
Manufacturing Process |
22 nm |
22 nm |
22 nm |
22 nm |
Number of Cores |
4 |
2 |
4* |
2 |
Hyper-Threading |
No |
Yes |
No* |
Yes |
L1 cache (per core) |
32 kiB+32kB |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
32 kiB+32 kiB |
L2 cache (per core) |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
256 kiB |
L3 cache (total) |
6 MiB |
3 MiB |
4 MiB or 6 MiB |
3 MiB |
DMI bus |
2 GB/s |
2 GB/s |
2 GB/s |
2 GB/s |
Memory (DDR3) |
1333, 1600 |
1333, 1600 |
1333, 1600 |
1333, 1600 |
DDR3L and DDR3L-RS |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Graphics Engine |
HD 2500 or HD 4000‡ |
HD 4000 |
HD 4600 or Iris Pro 5200 |
HD 4200, HD 4400, HD 4600, HD 5000 or Iris 5100 |
DirectX |
11‡ |
11 |
11.1 |
11.1 |
Graphics Processors |
6 or 12‡ |
12 |
20 or 40 |
10, 20 or 40 |
Graphics Base Clock |
650 MHz‡ |
350 MHz or 650 MHz |
200 MHz or 350 MHz |
200 MHz or 400 MHz |
Graphics Boost Clock |
1.05 GHz, 1.1 GHz or 1.15 GHz‡ |
1.05 GHz, 1.15 GHz or 1.2 GHz |
1,1 GHz, 1,15 GHz, 1,2 GHz ou 1,3 GHz |
850 GHz, 1 GHz, 1,1 GHz, 1,15 GHz ou 1,25 GHz |
Displays Supported |
3‡ |
3 |
3 |
3 |
PCIe Controller |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
PCIe Configuration |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 |
1×16, 2×8, 1×8, 2×4 ou 1×4, 4×1 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
SSE4.2 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
AES-NI |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Base Clock |
100 MHz |
100 MHz |
100 MHz |
100 MHz |
Pinout |
LGA1155 |
G2 or BGA1023 |
LGA1150 |
FCPGA946, FCBGA1168 or FCBGA1364 |
† Except for the model 2390T, which has two cores, supports the Hyper-Threading technology, and has 3 MiB of cache L3.
‡ The 2550K model and models ending with a “P” don’t have integrated video.
* Except for the 4570T model, which has two cores and supports the Hyper-Threading technology.
Let’s now take a detailed look at all Core i5 models launched so far.
Last update on 2022-03-17 at 17:02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API