Intel Core

Intel Core is Intel's brand name for various mid-range to high-end home and business microprocessors. These processors displaced the existing mid-to-high end Pentium processors of the time, moving the Pentium to the entry level, and bumping the Celeron series of processors to low end. Identical or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server and workstation market.

As of 2015 the current lineup of Core processors included the Intel Core i7, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i3, and Core M.

Overview

Clock speed slowest 1.2 GHz to the fastest 4.0 GHz (Intel Core i7-4790K) (or 4.4 GHz via Intel Turbo Boost Technology)

Enhanced Pentium M based

The original Core brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs, which derived from the Pentium M branded processors. The processor family used a more enhanced version of the Intel P6 microarchitecture. It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst microarchitecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The Core brand comprised two branches: the Duo (dual-core) and Solo (Duo with one disabled core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor).

Intel Core 2

Core 2 is a brand encompassing a range of Intel's consumer 64-bit x86-64 single-, dual-, and quad-core microprocessors based on the Core microarchitecture. The single- and dual-core models are single-die, whereas the quad-core models comprise two dies, each containing two cores, packaged in a multi-chip module. The introduction of Core 2 relegated the Pentium brand to the mid-range market, and reunified laptop and desktop CPU lines, which previously had been divided into the Pentium 4, Pentium D, and Pentium M brands.

The Core 2 brand was introduced on 27 July 2006, comprising the Solo (single-core), Duo (dual-core), Quad (quad-core), and in 2007, the Extreme (dual- or quad-core CPUs for enthusiasts) subbrands. Intel Core 2 processors with vPro technology (designed for businesses) include the dual-core and quad-core branches.

Models

The Core 2-branded CPUs include: "Conroe"/"Allendale" (dual-core for desktops), "Merom" (dual-core for laptops), "Merom-L" (single-core for laptops), "Kentsfield" (quad-core for desktops), and the updated variants named "Wolfdale" (dual-core for desktops), "Penryn" (dual-core for laptops), and "Yorkfield" (quad-core for desktops). (Note: For the server and workstation "Woodcrest", "Tigerton", "Harpertown" and "Dunnington" CPUs see the Xeon brand.)