Main differences among Intel 64-bit processors: Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i3, i5, i7, ...

If you plan to buy a desktop computer with Intel 64-bit processor, you will find there are plenty of Intel processor families available in the market.

Of course, their obvious differences are on performance and price. Beside that, I have summarized some of their main differences from the technical points of view:

• Core 2 Duo (E-series) - 2 cores, 2 threads; LGA 775 socket.
• Core 2 Quad (Q-series) - 4 cores, 4 threads; LGA 775 socket.
• Core i3 (500 series) - 2 cores, 4 threads; LGA 1156 socket; Integrated GPU; 4M cache.
• Core i5 (600 series) - 2 cores, 4 threads; LGA 1156 socket; Integrated GPU; 4M cache.
• Core i5 (700 series) - 4 cores, 4 threads; LGA 1156 socket; Turbo boost technology; 8M cache.
• Core i7 (800 series) - 4 cores, 8 threads; LGA 1156 socket; Turbo boost technology; 8M cache.
• Core i7 (900 series) - 4 cores, 8 threads; LGA 1366 socket; Turbo boost technology; 8M cache.

The current main stream Intel 64-bit processors should be those using LGA 1156 socket. Those in Core i5 (700 series) and Core i7 (800 series) worth consideration.

Performance wise, you can always refer to the PassMark CPU Benchmarks. It seems that Core i7 860 @ 2.80GHz performs very well, and Core i5 750 @ 2.67Ghz currently has the most attractive price/performance ratio.

For current price of the processors, you can always refer to the HardwareZone Price Guide.