Hardware Pentium Dual Core vs i3

[skaman55]

My Dad wants a new laptop for internet browsing and light office use. He was going to buy the cheapest version with a Pentium Dual Core. I told him to go with the next model up that comes with the i3 for $50 more.

Any thoughts on difference between the processors?

 

[kegnkiwi]

Just gone exactly the same thing mate dads old pc was just to slow so we decided to get him a lappy. They where going to get something like a AMD E1 or an AMD A4 but we went for a grade a acer aspire I3 refurb with 750gb hd and 6gb ram. It's like lighting with very fast boot times, it kicks my acer aspire with AMD turion II. Get the best processor you can. Also make sure you look at the machine first I also bought a lenovo AMD a8 for my son to play minecraft on, no where near as nicely made as acers.

 

[Him Her]

Both processors are dual-core but the I3 supports hyper-threading which means it looks to a lot of software like a quad processor. For most people it's probably worth the extra few quid as they'll get zippier performance. Gamers should probably be moving up even further as many games don't support hyper-threading so they probably need higher cpu density.

Effectively, dual-core means two cpus in the same package, I3 looks like four cpus to the OS but performs like three etc.

 

[jokoko]

it makes no difference if your dad only uses office or internet ... let him buy the cheapest laptop

 

[AJT]

My Dad wants a new laptop for internet browsing and light office use. He was going to buy the cheapest version with a Pentium Dual Core. I told him to go with the next model up that comes with the i3 for $50 more.

Any thoughts on difference between the processors?

It's best to look at the speed of the processor rather than a name..2.6ghz is great but anything above 2ghz will give computer a bit of speed...also look at 32 and 64 bit architecture

 

[shabbaranks]

I think its fair to say these days the bottle necks are elsewhere like hdd or ram (obviously mechanical hdd's).

 

[jamesyboyjim]

Both processors are dual-core but the I3 supports hyper-threading which means it looks to a lot of software like a quad processor. For most people it's probably worth the extra few quid as they'll get zippier performance. Gamers should probably be moving up even further as many games don't support hyper-threading so they probably need higher cpu density.

Effectively, dual-core means two cpus in the same package, I3 looks like four cpus to the OS but performs like three etc.

Could be mistaken matey but isnt hyper threading an i7 only feature?

 

[Him Her]

Could be mistaken matey but isnt hyper threading an i7 only feature?

Hope you're mistaken M8 because otherwise Intel would be wrong!

Intel® Core? i3 Processor

 

[jamesyboyjim]

Hope you're mistaken M8 because otherwise Intel would be wrong!

Intel[emoji768] Core? i3 Processor

A quick google suggests that hyper threading only works on i3 and i5 (true quad core i5's don't have hyper threading) CPUs that are dual core to make windows think they are quads but on the i7's it works with 4 cores to appear as 8.

 

[Him Her]

Erm, yes

 

[jamesyboyjim]

Erm, yes

Haha yes, all very exciting

 

[trevortron]

Why did they have to complicate things? 286, then 386, 486.. Pentium came along (586?), then confused.com :'(

I have a core2 quad something-or-other (Q9400) desktop, which I bought around the time the i's were still new. Not that I needed anything particularly fast, I just wanted a bit of future-proofing. It still does everything I ask of it.