This makes a big difference to how powerful your PC will be.įor example, a computer that’s labelled as having a ‘Core i5’ processor could have any number of different specifications. When looking at what sort of processor a computer has, be sure to check the full specification sheet to see the precise processor model. This is where things start to get a little bit confusing and is where Intel’s naming convention disguises how powerful a laptop actually is. Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 – More complicated than they seem These machines tend to score very poorly in our tests and negate many of the advantages you get from having bought a desktop in the first place.

You can also find Celerons inside some very cheap desktops. They’re perfectly usable for web browsing and basic office work. These chips are power-efficient, meaning they’re great when you want a laptop with a long battery life. Newer Pentium models, such as those launched in 2017 onwards, are becoming more common on laptops costing between £250 and £300. Nowadays, it sits just above Celeron in terms of performance. You might be familiar with the Pentium brand, with the name being a mainstay of more powerful computers of the late 1990s. Intel Celeron and Pentium – Cheap laptops and very cheap desktopsĬeleron and Pentium processors are at the very bottom of Intel’s range. They’re not fast by any means, but they make up for their lack of oomph with impressive battery life figures and their ability to fit into very thin devices. Nowadays, these chips are generally relegated to very cheap Windows tablets costing under £200. These chips offered four cores for sprightly everyday computing performance. Intel Atom – Tiny tabletsĪtom processors heralded the arrival of ultra-thin, ultra-light laptops in the mid-2000s. You’ll appreciate more cores if you often have lots of programs running or open lots of web browser tabs. The more cores, the better, because it allows your computer to run multiple tasks at the same time without slowing down. Some newer models have six and even eight. Typically, laptop and desktop chips have two or four cores (known as dual- and quad-core). The second term you’ll see is number of cores.

You’ll notice a higher clock speed when opening programs, files and exporting photos. The higher the number, the faster the computer (when comparing like-for-like laptop/desktop models). This is measured in gigahertz (GHz, one billion hertz), and tells you how many operations a processor can do each second. When looking at a processor, there are two main figures you’ll see time and time again. In this guide, we’ll explain what different Intel processor models mean and what sort of user they’re best suited for. If you’re buying a computer, chances are it’ll have an Intel processor on board, although a small number come with AMD chips.

Rate intel processors by speed