Core
i5 laptops.
Intel Core
is a brand name used for various mid-ranges to high-end consumer and
business microprocessors. In general, processors sold as Core are more
powerful variants of the same processors marketed as entry-level Celeron and
Pentium. Similarly, identical or more capable versions of Core
processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server market. The
current lineup of Core processors includes the latest Intel Core i7,
Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i3, and the older Intel Core 2 Solo, Intel
Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Core 2 Extreme lines.
The Core brand was launched on January 6, 2006 by the release of the
32-bit Yonah CPU – Intel's first dual-core mobile (low-power)
processor. Its dual-core layout closely resembled two interconnected
Pentium M branded CPUs packaged as a single die (piece) silicon chip
(IC). Hence, the 32-bit microarchitecture of Core branded CPUs –
contrary to its name – had more in common with Pentium M branded CPUs
than with the subsequent 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2
branded
CPUs. Despite a major rebranding effort by Intel starting January
2006, some computers with the Yonah core continued to be marked as
Pentium M.
Core i5, like Core i7, is based on the Nehalem microarchitecture. The
first Core i5 was introduced on September 8, 2009 and is a mainstream
variant of the Core i7, initially only quad-core desktop processors
based on Lynnfield, with dual-core mobile (Arrandale) and desktop
processors (Clarkdale) following in 2010. As of 2010, Core i7 is the
high end of the Core brand, which was introduced with the Bloomfield
Quad-core processor in late 2008. In 2009, new Core i7 models based on
the Lynnfield desktop quad-core processor and the Clarksfield quad-core
mobile were added, and models based on the Arrandale dual-core mobile
processor have been announced. The first six-core processor in the Core
lineup is the Gulftown, which was launched on March 16, 2010. Both the
regular Core
i7 and the Extreme Editition are advertised as five stars
in the Intel Processor Rating.
