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In June 2017 Apple updated its 13" MacBook Air with a newer Broadwell Intel Core i5 processor, resulting in slightly increased performance and battery life.

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MacBook Air Quad Core and Dual Core Processors Comparison

In Macbook Air, I have noticed that they came with Intel Core i7 dual and quad core processors. How this thing become possible that I can't able to understand!!

How many threads and cores we will get in each one?

Overall my understanding say that

  1. if we have i3 processor then we will have dual core processor so we will get 2 cores within it
  2. if we have i5 processor then we will have quad core processor so we will get 4 cores within it
  3. if we have i7 processor then we will have octa core processor so we will get 8 cores within it

Then how dual core with i7 be possible?

May be with i7 processor, we will get 4 cores but you will get 8 threads support that is definitely true.

Please share your knowledge into this.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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When you where a kid did you ever play the Pea under the Shell game? Its a great game to loose your money! This is Intels version of the game!

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Amazing trick sir :)

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Core count and thread count are not the same! Intel started off with a one to one setup until hyper-threading came out then a single core could toggle between two threads so a dual core CPU could support four threads concurrently, and a quad core could offer eight threads!

Let's look at a cars engine: A four cylinder vs a six vs an eight! Clearly the four cylinder is the weaker engine and the eight the strongest! But do we really need the more powerful engine, maybe a four is all we need. Then again maybe we need something in-between as we have to tow a tailer sometimes. To be sure all of these engines can move you equally well! Its only if you have a lot of stuff in the car or if you are towing something big or heavy.

So what does this have to do with cores and threads? Quite a lot! Your workflow makes a difference on which meets your need.

Sadly Intel loves to confuse! don't look at the i3/i5/i7 names as they don't hold any real meaning! Focus on the core count and if you are using apps which offer multithreading look at the hyper-threading. But don't over think it! You'll never get the full thread count with hyper-threading.

Now to blow you mind! Hyper-threading is not a true value! So a dual core CPU with hyper-threading is still less powerful to a straight four core CPU which is the same generation! And lastly if the App doesn't offer multi-threading then its a waste!

But!! Running two programs concurrently which are single threading can leverage each core independently of a dual core CPU!

Now the last shoe! Multi-threading apps which are accessing hyper-threading can starve out concurrently running apps! So you end up encountering application stuttering! That is the top most application is unable to gain enough threads to run smoothly. The depth of L2/L3 caching and the amount of RAM and lastly free storage space can effect performance as well. How Does CPU Cache Work? What Are L1, L2, and L3 Cache?

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This is really a ocean of knowledge so really thank you sir for all this proper explanation :)

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@danj One more question arise after seeing multiple laptops of different brands, specially considering their price.

1) HP 840 G3 laptop with i7-6600U processor configuration which has 2 cores and 4 threads - Cost $300

2) Dell Latitude E5470 laptop with i5-6440HQ processor configuration which has 4 cores and 4 threads - Cost $250

Now if I am checking the processor performance than Dell laptop has better performance than HP laptop from the above 2. This can't able to understand because HP laptop is costing more. Is it because of other features available in the laptop?

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@siddharth3322 - Sory I can't give you as clean an answer as I can on core and threads.

There are too many variables to tick them all off. Why do you buy a given car even if the engine is not as powerful? Clearly getting a Formula-1 race car to drive to work wouldn't be the best choice for the fastest car one can buy. Likewise getting a old 1960 Volkswagen wouldn't be the best choice to race either. Or how about trying to go on vacation with your four kids and a mate vs a sizable SUV or van.

Buying a computer is no different!

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@danj Thank you sir for making a point clear in different way :)

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There was no quad core i7 offered for MBA, it was a dual core machine from 2008 to 2017.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Ai...)

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@tomchai yes I understand this but this does not matter for this topic, overall I want to clear the concept. We can compare i7 macbook air and pro which have dual and quad core processors exist.

Mainly the concept is important for me, actual system does not matter :)

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@siddharth3322 Which actually confuses me, where did you get the idea that MBA gets i7 quad core?

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Siddharth will be eternally grateful.
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