A comparison between processors was simple some years ago with a single core processor. All you had to look at was the clocking frequency and the cache size. The entry of multiple core chips changed it all and life became complicated. With dual, quad and even six core processors hitting the market, there are many more factors to be considered, than before. Intel's dual core and core 2 duo processors were the first ones to introduce multi-core processor based computing. The quad core processors created later have given rise to the quad core vs dual core debate, as well as the core i5 vs core i7 comparison which is something that high-end computing market consumers should think about. Prior to that, we only had the 32 bit vs 64 bit processors comparison to worry about.
Today, Intel has gone through a lot of designing and planning, to introduce core i3 processors that are an improvement over the core 2 duo line. The following Intel core i3 vs core 2 duo processor comparison will give you an idea about how the i3 processors are different from their dual core predecessors. The two points of comparison will be technical specifications and the only other factor which matters, which is performance.
Core i3 Vs Core 2 Duo: Technical Specifications
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Like the core 2 duo processors, the new core i3 line of processors, have two cores with many other technological enhancements including an integrated GPU (Graphic Processing Unit). The clocking frequency of the core i3 series of processors ranges from 2.26 GHz to 3.46 GHz. Each processor is endowed with the new line of advanced technologies including Intel developed hyperthreading, Intel virtualization and smart cache technology which makes these chips faster than core 2 duo processors. This is the most important point in the core i3 vs core 2 duo comparison.
The Intel codename for core i3 architecture is Clarkdale. They are based on the Westmere architecture with 32 nm fabrication and a direct media interface (DMI) bus. The socket type used for core i3 processors is LGA 1156 and the RAM type is DDR3. They support mother boards with the following types of chipsets- H55, P55, H57 and Q57.
Let us have a look at the latter processors in the core i3 vs core 2 duo comparison. Core 2 Duo processors come in three types of architectures, codenamed as Conroe, Wolfdale and Allendale. With 65 nm and 45 nm fabrications they are a tad slower and less power efficient than the 32 nm based core i3 processors. The socket used for core 2 duo processors is LGA 775 and they come with a FSB bus. The FSB bus is a lot slower in operation than the DMI bus in core i3 processors.
Coupled with the fact that the i3 processors have a L2 cache size of 2 x 256 kb and a L3 cache size of 4MB, with hyperthreading and smart cache enabled, core 2 duo processors are indeed slower. On top of that, DDR3 RAM compatibility in core i3 processors, compared to DDR2 compatibility of core 2 duo processors makes them even more faster. The price range of Intel core i3 is $100 to $133, which makes them top options in the entry level market.
another summary:Architecture
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The Core 2 Duo processors are based off the Core 2 architecture. The Core and Core 2 architectures were arguably Intel's most successful architectures, as they replaced the Pentium 4 processors in desktop systems and made Intel competitive in that space once again.
The Core i3 is based off a new architecture called Nehalem. The Nehalem architecture has numerous advantages over the Core 2 architecture. Nehalem is better constructed for quad-core processors, has hyper-threading available, and can use a feature called Turbo Boost which maximizes processor speed. However, because the Core i3 is the low-end Nehalem variant, most of these features are disabled or not relevant - the Core i3 is a dual core processor and Turbo Boost is disabled, but hyper-threading is enabled.
Core i3 Vs Core 2 Duo: Performance
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The technical specifications have made it clear that Intel core i3 beats its predecessor, core 2 duo in almost all departments. This is but natural as they were indeed designed to replace them. Be it processing speed, multitasking or graphic output, opting for core i3 processors is the logical choice to make!
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