The Core i3 series of the processors have become very popular and are part of the most of the notebooks released in recent times. In this part we will focus on the part numbers i3-330M , i3-350M and i3-370M. We will find differences between them and will briefly compare them with other series of processors. The chart below gives out a quick comparison of the frequency of operation of these processors.
Table : Intel Core i3 processors frequencies
| Model | Frequency | TDP |
| i3-330M | 2.13GHz | 35 Watts |
| i3-350M | 2.26GHz | 35 Watts |
| i3-370M | 2.40GHz | 35 Watts |
Obviously the top of the line – i3-370M is the best performing i3 processor. However, you will also find it to be the most expensive one. It is more likelihood that your notebook or the laptop is equipped with the cheaper core i3-330M or the core i3-350M processors.
Some Important Common Properties
1. Integrated Memory Controller – The Core i3 processors have Integrated Memory controller. Using the Integrated Memory Controller, the processor communicates with the memory directly. This unlike the earlier Core 2 Duo processors , in which, the processor first communicates with the North Bridge using Front Side bus, which in turn communicates with the memory. The Integrated memory controller, is one of the important reasons why a similarly clocked core i3 processor is faster than the earlier core 2 Duo processor
2. L3 Cache - The core i3 processors have 3 MB of L3 Cache that Intel calls Smart Cache. In Smart cache, the 3 MB of memory is shared by the two processors, which is dynamically shared by the two processors based upon the demand.
3. Integrated Graphics Unit – The core i3 mobile processors have Integrated Graphics Unit with decent performance for Video encoding and HD Display. The Integrated Graphics is not fast enough to let you play high end game at high setting but you may play some of the low end games at lower setting.
It must be noted that the i3-330M is different from the core i3-330UM which is a lower frequency ( 1.2 GHz) processor and it also happen to have low power consumption ( just 18 Watts). All of the of the i3-xxxM processors noted above – viz. i3-330M, i3-350M and i3-370M are 35 Watts processors.
You may also like to note down some of the differences in the i3 and i5 processors. The major difference being the absence of the Turbo Boost technology in teh core i3 processors. Turbo boost technology increases the processor clock on demand. For example the intel i5-450M has a nominal frequency of 2.4GHz which can increase to 2.66 GHz if a high processing power application demands so.
If you occasionally need high processing power ( for example if you are a developer and you need to compile your program once a while), you may prefer intel i5 based notebooks in place of the i3s. If you, however, spend time mostly on surfing, email, spreadsheets and word documents, the i3 processors is good enough for you.
If you have more questions about any of these processors, you may like to ask it in comment section and someone will be glad to reply.
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Hi there,
I’m looking for a laptop for my 16 year old, that will support most of the newer types of games that are out. He currently is a mad gamer when it comes to XBox.
He plays games online like COD (Black Ops), the Halo series, Assassins Creed, etc. A few people have recommended the Alienware series of laptops but I’m really not into buying a Dell product. Have had too many problems with them being proprietary in the past and don’t want to go there. Someone mentioned the ASUS N71JQ-XT1 but again, from where I live, it would have to be ordered online and it’s been my experience with the online orders like TigerDirect for example, there have been many problems with returns and warrantees when something didn’t work properly. I’d really like something that can be supported a little more locally or at least where I could go into a store and address the issues in person if possible. (ie: Futureshop or Best Buy)
Any suggestions for a good gaming laptop that I could buy for my son that won’t cost me $2000. Lots of people game on their laptops and not all have top of the line hardware. There must be a few options among Samsung, Gateway, HP products aren’t there? I’ve checked minimum requirements on some of the video games themselves but I don’t understand the differences with the Video memory, Integrated Video Memory, Dedicated Graphics, which Processors are better when comparing any two. (Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom X3 8750 or better – WHAT does better mean, which ones are ‘better’?) Help?! Many thanx in advance.
Hi!
I would like to buy an HP Probook 4520s laptop.
These laptops are equipped with the Intel Core i3 330-350-370M processors.(as well as with Intel Pentium, Intel Celeron, Intel Core i5 and so on, but I’m only interested in the i3 processors)
But I don’t know which one I should choose.
I am an average user, so all things I wanna do:
- MSN
- sending e-mails
- watch Youtube videos (mayve 720p or 1080p)
- play with some older games (about 2005)
What do you suggest?
Which performance would be the best for me?
I have to tell you, that here in Hungarian the the HP Probook 4520s equipped with Core i5 is much more expensive than the Coer i3. ( approx. 400$)
And I also realized that I don’t need the i5′s power…
Thank you in advance.
This article is really very informative. I have gone through this article and now very easily i can differentiate basic difference between Core i3 series.
Thankyou so much..
Jiya :
This article is really very informative. I have gone through this article and now very easily i can differentiate basic difference between Core i3 series.
Thankyou so much..
hi
i’m a packaging designer and need to run both illustrator and photoshop together could someone recommend which processor would be best i5 or i7??
What is better
i3 370m with 6GB ram
or
i5 560m with 4GB ram
planning to use 64 bit os.
either will do, get the cheaper one and use the money saved to get as much ram as u can get
I wish to buy a laptop which one i should choose among these
Dell inspiron n Core i3 with processor 2.4 4GB of Ram and 500 GB of hard or
HP probook Core i 5 with processor 2.53 2GB of Ram and 500 GB of hard disk both have 1 year waranty price is almost same should i got DELL OR hp
Please give ur professional opinion
I want to buy a laptop within budget of 52K. I want to use it for general stuffs like movie, surfing and ssome sort of games like Red Alert.
I am confused between two laptops:
1. Dell XPS 15 (i5,4gb ram , 500 gb hd, 1 gb nvidia graphics card, 9 cell battery, backlit key board, 2.1 JBL speaker) costing around INR 52000
2. Sony VAIO EB 36 (i3,4gb ram , 500 gb hd, 1 gb ATI graphics card, 6 cell battery, Full HD screen,moderate sound, great look) costing around INR 49000
Please suggest me best option for me. Also suggest whether paying INR 6000 for Full HD in 15 inch screen is worth or not?
hi…sy pake laptop acer as 4741-350M,core i3…
kalo sy pake utk main game misalnya counter-strike apa nga apa2?
trus sy mw pasang HD graphics mandiri,misalnya ati radeon,,,,bisa ngak?
Hello, I would like a laptop with core i3 or core i5, i’m not sure. I’m going to use it for internet, text processors, develop applications as a programmer, edit video or using design programs as photoshop. I know I need 4GB DDR3 but what about the processor?
Thanks!!
Hi kiss,
The Core i5 definitely has some advantage in your kind of application. As a programmer you will need high demand in occasional power when you compile the program. To know how much difference the core i3 Vs core i5 makes, read the comparison of two processors core i3-380M and Core i5-460M – both are clocked 2.53 GHz.
http://starredreviews.com/intel-core-i5-460m-vs-core-i3-380m/5971/
@khan
The core i5 option does look definitely better not only because of the higher clock frequency but also because of the turbo boost function. Please read my comment just above this comment to see how much difference the core i3 Vs Core i5 makes.
The only question is how much is the price difference between the two system. If the price difference is only 10% or so ( like $500 Vs $550 ), I would go for i5. If the price difference is like 30% ( like $500 Vs $650), I will have to check my budget and my requirement.
@Vinny
Vinny
The Core i5 with 4 GB is definitely better. Here is the reason – in real life computing, it is very unlikely that your memory requirement will exceed 3 GB. So even when you will have 6 GB, you are not going to use it – unless your requirement is very specific, like, you use few large programs which have very large memory foot print.
With core i5′s turbo boost your real life computing gets serious boost. If the prices are comparable or even slightly higher, core i5 is recommended.
Hi,
I am planning to buy i3-370M (2.40GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics Sany Vaio laptop. Will I be able to play Counter Strike game on that?
This has been very helpful in explaining the core-i processors… thank you
HI
I am planning to buy a sony vaio with i3-350M processor (2.23 GHZ), 320 Gb hard disk , DDR3 SDRAM – 1066 MHz , ati mobility rodeon 5470 HD (512mb)
i am interested in developing applications as a programmer, but also playing some games ( like pes 2011 , assasin’s creed , nba 2k11 )
will my laptop be good enough for these things ?
How many processors are working at same time in core i3 and corei5.
@M. Amir
There are two cores in core i3 as well as core i5. The Core i5, however, supports hyperthreading, with which you can see 4 processes running in parallel. Hyperthreading is not the “real core” but the operating system see it at virtual processor. This does improve the performance.
Hi
I am planning to buy Asus K52JT-SX061V ( intel core i7 740qm triple core with 1.7 GHz processor speed , 4 GB ram ddr3-1066 , 500 Hard drive capacity ,ATI mobility radeon hd 6370 – 512mb ) can anyone tell me if this laptop is good enough for programming .. and some gaming ( pes 2010 , nba 2k11 …)
Regards