i7 Mobile dual core vs i3

[didsum1saytacos]

Hey! i was just wondering, on some earlier ultra-portable devices such as the Razer edge pro and the Razer blade 17", the i7 they sported was dual core not quad like desktop i7s. Their clock speed was also fairly average 1.9ghz so i was wondering. What's the difference between them and an i3? i mean i3s have hyper-threading, similar clock speeds and are dual core too. So was this just a marketing ploy or are there other reasons why it was classified as an i7? Please excuse me if there are reasons beyond my understanding because i'm just an average user and have a limited knowledge. I'm kinda new to computers (at least to the internal components) and i only recently built my own PC. Thx ^.^

 

[Eduello]

The i7 CPUs have more cache and they support turbo boost, that's pretty much all there is to it.

 

[laviniuc]

the i class is just a way for intel to appeal to a certain market. you have to remember that the desktop i5 and i7 for example is pretty much the same silicon except the i7 has hyper-threading enabled.

for mobiles, they do the same, enable further options and/or add better graphics integrated and call it i7 or i5 or i3. i3-s and 5's for example are the same, both dual cores with ht but the i5 has turbo core on, allowing it to increase the speed if there's need and tdp headroom, i7's i thought all had 4 real cores but yep, looks like the U series are actually duals with ht because they couldn't fit the tdp.