The Intel Core i5 processor line debuted in 2009. It almost immediately became popular due to the combination of high performance and lower price than the top-end Core i7. How desktop Core i5 processors have developed from that time to the present day – we tell in our material.
1. Core i5-7xx
2008 ended well for Intel. The top segment was represented by the new Core i7 for the LGA1366 platform, and the lower segments were successfully closed by Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo – representatives of the LGA775 socket.
But the LGA775 platform has been on the market for a long time and during this time it has become quite outdated; it was time to prepare a successor for it. It became LGA1156, which was released in September 2009. Along with it, three new models were presented: i7-860, i7-870 and i5-750, which became the first Core i5 processor.
The heart of the Core i5-750 was the Lynnfield chip, which was also used in the older Core i7 for LGA1156. It was based on the 45 nm process technology and the Nehalem architecture with four computing cores, each of which had 256 KB of L2 cache. Next to them was an 8 MB L3 cache, which was common to all cores. The processor had support for Turbo Boost technology, which allowed it to increase the frequency from the base 2.67 to 3.2 GHz.
A dual-channel DDR-1333 controller was integrated into the chip, as well as all the functions of the north bridge, which was previously located on the motherboard. On the latter, only the south bridge remained, communication with which was supported via the DMI bus.
The only difference between the first generation Core i5 and Core i7 was slightly reduced frequencies and the absence of Hyper-Threading technology. Therefore, unlike older chips, it could only process four threads at a time, not eight. However, in those years, multithreading was not so developed. Therefore, in real tasks, the Core i5 was almost as good as the Core i7 due to the same four physical cores, while outperforming the former Core 2 Quad flagships.
In 2010, two derivative models were released, i5-760 and i5-750S. The first boost frequency increased to 3.33 GHz, and the second was the first economical Core i5: its heat dissipation was reduced from the standard 95 to 82 W.
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2. Core i5-6xx
2010 brought an expansion of the first generation Core i5 line towards inexpensive models. In January, series processors based on the new Clarkdale chip were presented – i5-650, i5-660, i5-661 and i5-670.
Under the hood of the new processors there were now two crystals: a processor, produced using 32 nm technology, and a graphics, produced using 45 nm standards. Yes, the Core i5 has integrated graphics for the first time – Intel HD Graphics. For most models it operated at a frequency of 733 MHz, and only for the i5-661 it was overclocked to 900 MHz. The DMI bus was not used for graphics output; this task was assigned to a separate FDI interface.
The new Core i5 had only two cores with 4 MB of shared L3 cache. But in return, they returned support for Hyper-Threading technology, which made it possible to organize the processing of four threads simultaneously. Like older models, the processors supported Turbo Boost technology and dual-channel DDR3-1333. Unlike the older i5 with four cores, almost all new products received lower heat dissipation within 73 W, and only the i5-661 reached 81 W.
In April 2010, the fastest model of the new line was released – i5-680. Its boost frequency reached 3.86 GHz, which is even higher than that of the Core i7 of the same generation. It was followed in May by the i5-655K, the first Core i5 to feature an unlocked overclocking multiplier.
3. Core i5-2xxx
In January 2011, the second generation of Intel Core debuted, including the new Core i5 processors, which moved to the new Sandy Bridge architecture and the LGA1155 platform.
There have been many improvements since the first generation. The computing cores received a noticeable increase in performance per clock and new AVX instructions, and the integrated graphics moved to the processor die. Now it, the cores and the L3 cache were connected by a fast ring bus. This had a positive effect on the speed of operation of all components. Communication with the chipset was now handled by a twice as accelerated DMI 2.0 bus.
Several quad-core models were presented at once – i5-2300, i5-2400, i5-2500 and i5-2500K. They differed from each other in clock frequencies. The K version also received an unlocked multiplier and a top-end version of the HD3000 integrated graphics, while other CPUs were equipped with a more modest HD2000. In addition to the basic models, the i5-2400 and i5-2500 were also produced in an economical version with the “S” prefix. Also for the first time, a model with ultra-low consumption around 45 W appeared – i5-2500T.
The processors still supported the same DDR3-1333, but the efficiency of the memory controller was improved. The caches have been accelerated, although the L3 size has been reduced from 6 MB to 8 MB compared to the previous generation. However, the smaller cache was compensated by a much more powerful architecture.
Starting from this generation, overclocking was blocked for all processors without the “K” prefix. But the new i5s were 10-20% faster than their predecessors, even at the same frequency. The frequencies themselves were also increased: older models, thanks to the second generation of Turbo Boost technology, reached a peak of 3.7 GHz. The heat dissipation remained at 95 W.
A month after the new products, the only dual-core Core i5 of this generation was released. It was the i5-2390 with the prefix “T”, meaning ultra-low consumption. The unusual model was limited to a TDP of 35 W, had support for Hyper-Threading and 3 MB of L3 cache. Essentially, it was an economical Core i3 with Turbo Boost support.
In 2011, the series expanded with several more processors. The i5-2310 and i5-2320 differed from the first models only in frequencies, and the i5-2405S was an economical variation of the regular i5-2400 with HD3000 graphics. The latest addition to the line occurred in January 2012. Then the first i5 of this generation without integrated graphics were released – i5-2350P and i5-2450P. They were accompanied by the i5-2550K, which differs from its unlocked predecessor in having a frequency increased by 100 MHz.
4. Core i5-3xxx
June 2012 brought the third generation Core i5 to the market. From its predecessors it inherited the LGA1155 platform, four cores with 6 MB cache and comparable frequencies. The main innovation is the optimized architecture, transferred to the 22 nm process technology and called Ivy Bridge. It brought compatibility with faster DDR3-1600, updated integrated graphics HD2500/HD4000 and PCI-E 3.0 bus support for the video card slot.
The first-borns of the new line were the i5-3450, i5-3550 and i5-3570K. The older model received a peak frequency of 3.8 GHz and an unlocked multiplier. Performance has hardly increased compared to the previous generation, but heat dissipation has decreased to 77 W. But there was no hope for the same overclocking – the solder under the cover of the processors in this generation was replaced by thermal paste.
In June of the same year, the series was expanded with the i5-3470 and i5-3570 models, as well as economical varieties of previously introduced processors with the “S” prefix. The only dual-core Core i5 of the previous generation received a successor in the form of the i5-3470T processor. In September, the younger i5-3330, a pair of S-models, and the i5-3350P appeared – the only processor of this generation without integrated graphics.
The last third generation Core i5 was the i5-3340, released in September 2013.
5. Core i5-4xxx
In June 2013, the next LGA1150 platform and the fourth generation of Core processors were introduced. They received a new Haswell architecture, which acquired many internal improvements: increased performance per clock, accelerated caches, support for AVX2 and FMA instructions.
At the time of their introduction, these improvements provided a small increase. But with the advent of software that can take advantage of the new architecture, the difference with previous generations began to reach 15-20%.
The debut line of processors was quite wide. It included the i5-4430, i5-4570 and i5-4670 with economical S variants for all models. In addition, the traditional dual-core i5-4570T was presented, as well as the top-end i5-4670K.
Unlike previous generations, where only K-variants were equipped with the most powerful integrated graphics, this year all Core i5s have a new “built-in” HD4600. For the first time, the mass graphics of Intel desktop processors made it possible to play fairly modern games, albeit in low resolution and at minimum settings.
In September 2013, the i5-4440 was released. But a major update to the line followed only in May 2014, when Haswell Refresh processors were released: i5-4460, i5-4590, i5-4690, i5-4690K and the corresponding S-models. The frequencies have increased slightly, but have not been able to overcome the 3.9 GHz barrier, which was also characteristic of the previous two generations of Core i5.
The fourth generation Core i5 was somewhat more gluttonous than the third. Although the technical process has not changed, the TDP of conventional models was 84 W. This was partly due to the voltage converter, which in this generation moved under the cover of the processors. But in return, the new CPUs have become much more economical when idle.
In this generation, Core i5 with the prefix “R” appeared for the first time. It designated models that were soldered directly onto the boards of monoblocks and nettops, which made them the closest relatives of laptop processors. But that wasn’t the main highlight of the i5-R. Inside them was a quad-core chip with much more powerful Iris Pro Graphics 5200 graphics, 4 MB of L3 cache and an additional 128 MB eDRAM die. In the socket version, a similar model will appear in the next, fifth generation.
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6. Core i5-5675
The fifth generation of Core i5 for desktops is notable for the fact that it is represented by only one socket model i5-5675C. Its appearance occurred in June 2015. The processor is based on the updated Broadwell architecture, which is in many ways similar to Haswell. The new 14 nm process technology has increased its energy efficiency. Internal optimizations also contributed to this. Thanks to this, the bulk of the new CPUs went into laptops.
The i5-5675C is a further development of the ideas of the fourth generation i5-R soldered processors, but in the version for the LGA1150 socket. The 128 MB eDRAM cache, which could be used for integrated graphics and processor cores, contributed to noticeable speed increases in some tasks.
The updated integrated graphics Iris Pro 6200 became even faster and, compared to the HD4600, could boast a multiple increase in performance. But the processor cores received a reduced frequency – only up to 3.6 GHz in boost. Despite the fact that the processor had an unlocked multiplier, the eDRAM crystal did not allow it to be significantly increased. But the heat dissipation was reduced – only 65 W.
7. Core i5-6xxx
In September 2015, Intel introduced the sixth generation Core i5 based on the Skylake architecture. The new architecture received a slight increase in performance per clock, faster caches and an increased execution rate of AVX2 and FMA instructions.
An additional increase in speed was provided by support for the new DDR4-2133 memory, although compatibility with DDR3-1600 also remained. Thanks to the new LGA1151 platform, the communication channel with the chipset was doubled – now the DMI 3.0 bus was used for this. The integrated graphics of the new generation HD530 did not impress with performance. Its speed was at a level slightly higher than HD4600, only the functionality was noticeably updated.
This time the entire range was released almost simultaneously. These are i5-6400, i5-6500, i5-6600 and their variants with lower power consumption (T). Processors with the “S” prefix were abandoned from this generation, because even conventional models now had a modest heat dissipation of 65 W.
The older i5-6600 traditionally acquired a K-version with an unlocked multiplier and increased heat dissipation to 91 W. But in stock, its frequencies did not rise above the 3.9 GHz barrier characteristic of earlier generations of Core i5.
8. Core i5-7xxx
The sixth generation Core i5 brought a new architecture and platform. The seventh could not boast of this, but it gave a slight increase in performance due to the optimized third-generation 14 nm process technology and higher frequencies.
The seventh generation Core i5 line, codenamed Kaby Lake, was released in January 2017. It was represented by the models i5-7400, i5-7500, i5-7600, their economical varieties and the top-end i5-7600K – the first processor in the series to reach a frequency of 4.2 GHz out of the box.
Support for DDR4-2400 memory has appeared, but compatibility with DDR3-1600 has not gone away. The integrated graphics have been renamed HD630, adding no functionality or performance.
9. Core i5-7640
In June 2017, the “rare beast” Core i5-7640X was introduced – the first and only Core i5 processor for the high-performance LGA2011 platform. Essentially, it was an i5-7600K with a disabled graphics core, adapted for a different socket.
The free multiplier, 112W TDP and DDR4-2666 support were the perfect combination for overclocking. However, compared to the Core i7 and Core i9 for LGA2011, the model looked faded – it, like the bulk of the Core i5 released before, had only four cores and four threads.
10. Core i5-8xxx
October 2017 brought the world the next generation of Intel Core – the eighth. Along with it, the updated LGA1151 v2 platform was presented, designed to accommodate a larger number of cores. It lost support for DDR3, but gained compatibility with the faster DDR4-2666.
The processors of this generation were codenamed Coffee Lake, although the good old Skylake architecture was hidden in their depths. For the first time, Core i5 received not four, but six cores. The L3 cache has increased proportionally – from 6 to 9 MB. True, Hyper-Threading support did not appear, so the new Core i5 could only handle six threads. But even without this, multi-threaded performance has increased by one and a half times compared to the previous generation.
The first to be released were the i5-8400 and i5-8600K. The top model learned to overclock to 4.3 GHz, but 4 GHz on the younger one looked respectable. The processors received integrated UHD630 graphics, which remained architecturally identical to their predecessors HD530/HD630, but received an update to some functions.
The official TDP values for processors remained at a fairly low level – 65 W and 95 W, respectively. Starting with this generation, Intel began to specify the heat dissipation limit for long-term load (PL1), which implies stock frequencies. In fact, in boost, the processors consumed noticeably more: the i5-8400 dissipated up to 81 W, and the i5-8600K reached as much as 118 W.
In April 2018, the line expanded with several more models: i5-8500, i5-8600 and several economical variations with the letter “T”.
11. Core i5-9xxx
The ninth generation Core i5 debuted in October 2018 in the form of the only top-end model, the i9-9600K. Unlike the Core i7 and Core i9, which received more cores or threads compared to the previous generation, the Core i5 did not receive any changes in the configuration. The hardware also remains the same: Skylake cores, UHD630 graphics, DDR4-2666 support and LGA1151 v2 socket. The main difference was that the processor learned to boost up to 4.6 GHz.
Mass models were released a little later, in January 2019. From this generation, Core i5 appeared with the prefix “F”, which denoted a disabled graphics core. As a rule, they cost a little less than regular models. Economical processors with the letter “T” are still here. Thus, from the basic i5-9400, i5-9500 and i5-9600, a line with a dozen different models was obtained.
Core i5-10xxx
The next LGA1200 platform appeared in April 2020. Along with it, 10th generation Core processors were presented. They were the last models based on the Skylake architecture.
The new processors have inherited a lot from their predecessors, but their configuration has changed. The models acquired a more capacious 12 MB L3 cache and support for Hyper-Threading, allowing them to process 12 threads simultaneously. This gave a good increase in multi-threaded performance.
The entire Core i5 line was presented at the same time. As in the previous series, the i5-10400, i5-10500 and i5-10600 processors received versions with disabled graphics (F) and reduced consumption (T).
The top-end i5-10600K was also released with and without integrated graphics. The boost frequency was increased to 4.8 GHz, which affected the consumption: now its peaks could reach 182 W.
12. Core i5-11xxx
The next, 11th generation Core i5 debuted in March 2021. With it, the new Sunny Cove architecture finally came to desktops after the five-year reign of Skylake. Thanks to the new architecture, processors codenamed Rocket Lake received an increase in performance per clock. In some tasks it could reach 15-20%, although more often it was a little more modest.
For the first time, the L2 cache size was increased: now each core was assigned 512 KB. Added support for AVX-512 instructions and support for faster DDR4-3200 memory. At the same time, the manufacturing process remained “ancient” – it was still the same 14 nm used in previous generations.
In addition to the new processor architecture, the integrated graphics have finally been updated. Now it was represented by the much more modern and productive UHD750. The younger models used its somewhat stripped-down variation UHD730.
Despite using the same LGA1200 socket, the processors have received improvements in peripheral capabilities. The DMI 3.0 bus was expanded from four to eight lines, doubling its throughput. The PCI-E controller received support for the fourth version of the bus and 20 lines, four of which were intended for NVMe SSD.
The processor line was formed by the i5-11400, i5-11500 and i5-10600, as well as their modifications without graphics (F) and with reduced consumption (T). Regular versions reached a heat dissipation of 154 W, and for the unlocked i5-11600K/KF models, the limit was extended to 250 W. The new i5 did not reach it, but at the same time they were still noticeably hotter than the previous generation.
13. Core i5-12xxx
No sooner had the 11th generation Core i5 come out than their replacement arrived. Along with the new LGA1700 platform, the 12th generation Core i5, codenamed Alder Lake, was introduced in November 2021.
New processors and platforms have brought many innovations. The CPU is based on a hybrid design with two types of cores: productive Golden Cove and economical Gracemont. Older cores are up to 20% faster than the previous generation. Each productive core now has 1.25 MB of L2 – 2.5 times more than its predecessors.
Low-end cores were not inferior in performance to Skylake, but lost Hyper-Threading support, so they could only execute one thread at a time. For each cluster of four economical cores, the L2 cache has a total size of 2 MB. The integrated graphics have slightly increased frequencies, updated functionality and changed the name, now it is called UHD770.
Like their predecessors, the processors have 20 PCI-E lanes. But 16 of them now have support for the latest version of PCI-E 5.0. The DMI bus connecting the processor and the chipset has been updated to the fourth version, which once again doubled the connection speed. The memory controller received support for the new DDR5-4800 memory, without losing compatibility with the old DDR4-3200.
The first to be released were the older i5-12600K/KF, which had an unlocked multiplier and 20 MB of L3 cache. Six productive cores and four economical ones could reach 4.9 and 3.6 GHz in boost, respectively. Thanks to the new Intel 7 process technology (10 nm), heat dissipation did not exceed the threshold of 150 W.
Regular models were released in January 2022: i5-12400, i5-12500, i5-12600 and their “F” and “T” variants. Unlike the older ones, they lost a cluster of small nuclei. They still have six powerful cores and 18 MB of L3 cache in their arsenal. But the maximum heat dissipation dropped to 117 W.
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14. Core i5-13xxx
In October 2022, the 13th generation Core i5, codenamed Raptor Lake, was released. According to tradition dating back to the last generation, the unlocked i5-13600K/KF models were presented first.
The architecture has not changed, but older processors have received some internal improvements. They acquired two clusters of economical cores, in each of which the L2 cache was doubled – from 2 to 4 MB. In addition to this, the L2 cache was increased to 2 MB for each of the productive cores, and its operating algorithms became more efficient.
Due to the additional cores, the L3 cache was increased to 24 MB. Support for DDR5-5600 has appeared. Peak frequencies have also increased slightly: up to 5.1 GHz for high-performance cores, up to 3.9 for economical ones. The integrated graphics also increased in frequency. A combination of improvements has allowed for a slight increase in single-threaded performance. Multi-threading has increased more noticeably due to additional cores. However, all this directly affected the heat dissipation, which reached 181 W.
Regular models were introduced in January 2023. As before, they were represented by varieties without a prefix, with the letters “F” and “T”. Processors of the i5-13400 series received four economical cores, and i5-13500 and i5-13600 received eight each. However, they were deprived of L2 cache improvements, being on par with the previous generation in this parameter.
15. Core i5-14xxx
The next update to the Core i5 line was presented in October 2023 with two unlocked models – i5-14600K/KF. They differ from their direct predecessors i5-13600K/KF only in core frequencies: productive ones can be boosted up to 5.3 GHz, economical ones – up to 4 GHz. In addition, according to Intel, the updated processors overclock better.
Platform, architecture, core configuration, integrated graphics, process technology, heat dissipation – all this has remained unchanged since the last generation. In January 2024, models of the i5-14400 and i5-14500 series were released, which also retained all the features of their 13th generation predecessors, differing only in slightly increased frequencies. As before, for each of these models variations without integrated graphics (F) and with reduced consumption (T) were presented.
The only exception was the i5-14600 line. Unlike the i5-13600, it received increased L2 cache sizes and improved algorithms for their operation, in this parameter becoming on par with older K-series processors.