Intel and AMD processor versions and generations, summary

Contents

1. How does version of CPU affect the performance of a computer?
2. Intel Processors
3. Intel CPU Versions
   
4. Intel CPU Generations
5. AMD Processors

How does version of CPU affect the performance of a computer?

What is the difference between Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?

  You will get answers for these questions after you've read this article. First, i7 does not mean a seven-core processor!. The "i" numbers are the versions of Intel processors to indicate their relative performance. But, their overall performance often increases with the "i" number. Performance of a processor is depending on the following,

1. Number of cores,
2. Clock speed (in GHz),
3. Size of the cache (often increasing with the number i3, i5, i7),
4. Intel technologies like Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading.

  There are two processor brands popular in the market, Intel and AMD.

Intel Processors

Versions

The popular versions are,

* Intel Core i3, dual-core, 3-4MB cache, 2.93-3.9GHz Clock Rate, no Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading, DDR3 or DDR4 RAM (2008).

* Intel Core i5, dual-core or four-core, 2.4-3.5GHz Clock Rate, 3-6MB cache, Turbo Boost(up to 3.9GHz), no Hyper-Threading, DDR3 or DDR4 RAM (2008).

* Intel Core i7, dual-core or four-core, 1.6-4GHz Clock Rate, 4-25MB Cache, Turbo Boost(up to 4.2GHz), Hyper-Threading, DDR3 or DDR4 RAM (2008).

* Intel Core i9, 8-18 cores, 1.8-4GHz Clock Rate, 20-33MB cache, Turbo Boost(up to 5.3GHz), Hyper-Threading 6 per core, DDR4 RAM (2017).

The following are outdated versions and you shouldn't worry about them.

• (1993) Intel Pentium, Pentium Pro
• (1997) Intel Pentium 2, Pentium 2 Celeron, Pentium 2 Xeon
• (1999) The Intel Pentium 3, Pentium 3 Xeon, Pentium 3 Celeron
• (2000) The Intel Pentium 4, Pentium 4 Celeron, Pentium 4 Xeon, Pentium 4 Core, Pentium 4 Dual Core, Pentium M, Pentium M Celeron, Pentium M Core, Pentium M Core 2 Dual, Pentium M Xeon, Pentium D, Pentium D Xeon, Pentium 4 Quad Core, Pentium 4 Core 2 Dual, Pentium 4 Core 2 Quad

  All these are outdated now. You may refer through following Wikipedia article if you need more information.

Intel CPU Generations

  Generation of a processor is different from the version and different generations have their own architecture(s). With generations, CPUs have higher compatibility, high performance, reduced power consumption, durability etc. It is denoted as first few digits of a CPU's model number. The latest generation of Intel CPU is 10 and 11th generation is going to be launched September 2020.

• 1st generation - Nehalem
• 2nd generation - Sandy Bridge
• 3rd generation - Ivy Bridge
• 4th generation - Haswell
• 5th generation - Broadwell
• 6th generation - Sky lake
• 7th generation - kaby lake
• 8th generation - kaby lake, Coffee lake, Amber lake, Whiskey lake, Cannon lake,
• 9th generation - Sky lake, Coffee lake
• 10th generation - Cascade lake, Ice lake, Comet lake, Amber lake

To read more about generations of Intel processors, Intel Processor Generations

AMD Processors

Versions, generations and the architectures are treated analogously in AMD brand.

The popular architectures are,

* (2007) AMD K10, dual/tri/quad/octa-cores, 1.7-3.7 GHz Clock Rate, 2-8MB cache.

* (2011) AMD K10 APUs, dual/tri/quad/octa-cores, 3-3 GHz Clock Rate, 2-8MB cache.

* (2017) AMD Zen core, Ryzen/Athlon Brand, up to 64 cores, 1.7-3.7 GHz Clock Rate, 4-64MB cache, Precision boost(up to 4.7 GHz).

* (2018) AMD K10 Zen+.

* (2019) AMD K10 Zen 2.

The following are outdated and you shouldn't worry about them.

• (1996) AMD K5, 133 MHz max Clock Rate
• (1997) AMD K6, 300 MHz max Clock Rate
• (1999) AMD K7, 2.33 GHz max Clock Rate, 256-512KB cache
• (2003) AMD K8, 1.6-3.2 GHz Clock Rate, 512-1024KB cache

Information collected By J Jeyakeethan
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