Which is better: intel Core 2 Duo, Centrino 2, Core i3, i5 or i7

[kristenp44]

I'm hearing so many different things -- is the i3 really that much better than the Centrino Duo?

 

[bearclaw99]

A Core 2 Duo IS a Centrino dual core. i7 is generally the best of that bunch, followed by the i5 and i3

The i3 will be better than a C2D at same clock speed due to the newer architecture and hyperthreading

 

[wolfram23]

i7s aren't dual core... ever... of course they're going to be better when they run 8 threads at higher speeds with more efficient architecture.

The dual core i5s and i3s are purely more efficient regardless of 1st gen or SB gen.

Core 2 Duo's are ok but clock for clock are slower than any i core.

 

[Pherule]

I've seen dual core i7 laptops

But if we're talking desktop:
i3 > core2duo
i3 > or = or < core2quad (depending on model and generation)
i5 > i3
Quad core i5 > Dual core i5
i7 > i5

More cores is always better than hyper threading (ie. quad core is better than dual core hyper threading) but this may not apply to Bulldozer when it comes out.

And as ps3hacker12 said, a newer generation CPU is generally better than older generation.

Oh and who the hell uses the term Centrino duo, seriously? This is 2011...

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

First of all Centrino isn’t a processor it is 3 components for use in a mobile laptop. Those three components are an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo, Intel Core i3, i5 or even an i7 processor. Now on to the question of the best processor, understand when it comes to laptops each of us have difference things that we are looking for out of our processor and this can make a huge difference on how they are ranked along with where the processor is a 1st or 2nd generation Intel Core processor. Most of the Intel Core 2 Duo processors had a very good power model giving them a good long battery life. When the 1st generation Intel Core processors were released they were more powerful but the battery life wasn’t as good as the Intel Core 2 Duo. Now with the release of the 2nd generation Intel Core processors are once again matching or exceeding the power model of the Intel Core 2 Duo’s this gives they the same or better battery life and the improved performance. So it all comes down to what you are looking for in a processor today. For the best performance of any of our mobile processors go with the Intel Core i7-2820QM. For battery life I would go with the Intel Core i5-2537M which is a 17w processor the best we have.


Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team