is i3 core duo 2.5 ghz faster than an i5 core duo @ 2.3 ghz?

just wondering about the ghz speed. im a big newbie.

 

All i series processors can hyperthread however the the specs are as follows

i3 - 1 core + 1 hyperthread + 2 threads at once
i5 - 2 cores + 2 hyperthreads = 4 threads at once
i7 - 4 cores + 4 hyperthreads = 8 threads at once

In most instances the i5 at 2.3ghz will largely outperform the i3 at 2.5ghz especially where multitasking is concerned and in applications that are optimised to run muliple threads.

The faster ghz i3 will only outperform the i5 on apps that only use 1 thread and with only 200mhz separating them won't be noticeable at all.

Bottom line get the i5 over the i3

 

As stated, the i3 has no Turbo so in single threaded applications it will get outclassed by the i5. Maybe in more threaded applications will the i3 be closer. But i3 is supposedly the entry level for the Core i family processors, i5 is midrange, i7 high end.

 

Except i3 has 2 cores + 2 hyperthreads + 4 threads at once. The major difference betwen i3 and i5 is i3 has no turbo boast. Since i5 has turbo boast it will be faster. Depending on what your doing you may not even notice the difference.

 

Sometimes a simpler cpu can be the better performing one.

A lot of the performance an i5 theoretically delivers depends 100% on turbo mode. But once an i5 (and an i7) get too warm in turbo it will aggressively downclock to as low as 800mz until the cpu cools off.

 

This happens only with poor thermal design. If the manufacturer did things right, the CPU won't have to downclock in order to cool down even in long periods of usage.

If the i3 gets too warm, it will also downclock. If your CPU gets too warm, it is a sign of a problem with the laptop cooling whether it's dust, degraded TIM or simply bad design.

 

No, the i5/i7 are designed to overheat for short periods of time as a consequence of enhanced performance in turbo mode. This is by deliberate design on the part of Intel and is very well documented. System makers take this deliberate downclocking into consideration when putting things together including heat sinks.

The downside of this is that once overheated, the cpu has to underclock to cool off.

And yes, if an i3 gets too hot is will downclock to cool off. Thermal design trumps everything.

But since an i3 doesn't have a turbo mode, it is capable of running at it's full rated clock speed 100% of the time.

 

The thing is, most cooling systems are well designed enough that the CPU can stay clocked over it's rated clock indefinitely. There's no time limit to the minimum turbo boost, only a temperature limit. So, the i5 is still likely a better bet.

 

Since it hasn't happened yet... Just posting to say "i5 core duo" is not any processor we know of to be currently in production...

i5 is i5, i3 is i3, i7 is i7... if you need a word, try i5 CPU.

The Core Duo is a chip from 4 generations ago.

 

From testing on my G73, granted it has a dedicated CPU fan so it runs cool, i never went under the non-turbo multiplier, except at idle. Which was x12 or 1.6GHz on 4 cores (the rated clock speed too ), same for the 920xm. It never had to downclock itself under it's rated speed in order to lower temperatures. I'll give you that they won't run at max turbo all the time but they shouldn't have to downclock to something like 800MHz either with adequate cooling.

 

And now the discussion should shift to the concepts of ideal core overriding hyperthreading (in Win7 anyway), P-state promotion from C3/C6, core parking, and how the cpus thermal management overrides both BIOS and OS settings.