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.

Related posts:

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3. Intel Core i3-350M Vs Pentium P6200 difference benchmark and comparison
4. Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 Vs Core i3-370M
5. AMD Turion ii P540 Vs Intel Core i3-370M