For decades, Intel® has made the most trusted CPUs on the market, but the thicket of model numbers, names, and generations can make it challenging to choose the best Intel Core CPU for your PC.
Below, we explain the Intel processor brands, generations, and models in plain, easy-to-understand English. We’ll also look at naming conventions, so when you see Intel Core™ i3-8145U or Intel Core i7-10510Y, you’ll know exactly what each part of the name means.
We also demystify the Intel CPU generations and “Lake” monikers, and the latest Intel processors – 11th Generation – and how they support the new Evo platform (and why that’s exciting). Finally, we’ll clarify Intel’s Core, Xeon®, Pentium®, and Celeron® processors, with the generations, brand modifiers, and suffixes of each.
For a comprehensive list of all Intel processor model numbers, see the Intel product specs site.
What are Intel processors?
Intel processors are the most popular CPUs for desktops and laptops in the world. They’re offered in a range of model families, with names like Core, Xeon, Pentium, and Celeron. They come in multiple generations, like 9th, 10th, and 11th, also called Coffee Lake, Comet/Ice Lake, and Rocket/Tiger Lake.These household-word processors power most of the PCs on the market, with specific models engineered for enhanced speed, mobility, creative workflows, gaming performance, business news, big data, and other applications.
Intel processor naming conventions
To sift out the differences between the unique Intel CPUs, you have to know the parts of each name. Each processor name has a brand, brand modifier, generation, SKU, and product line. Once you know what each of those means, you can identify each processor at a glance. Let’s take a look:THE PARTS OF AN INTEL PROCESSOR NAME:
- Brand: The overall product line, such as Core, Xeon, Pentium, or Celeron.
- Brand modifier: In the Core brand of Intel chips (and only there), you’ll find a brand modifier such as i3, i5, i7, or i9 after the “Core” name. Higher modifier numbers generally mean better performance and more features. (The Xeon, Pentium, and Celeron brand names don’t have these modifiers.)
- Generation indicator: After the brand and modifier, you’ll find a generation indicator like 9, 10, or 11, closely followed by an SKU number sequence. This indicates when the chip was made. (9th Gen Intel chips came out in 2018-2019, 10th Gen in 2019-2020, and 11th Gen in 2020-2021.)
- SKU: This is a more specific model number within each brand and generation. Generally, a higher model number means a more full-featured processor. But you can’t compare model numbers from one brand to another, such as Core vs. Xeon.
- Product line: The product line suffix at the end of each Intel processor name lets you know what each processor is generally meant for. For instance, the “XE” at the end of an Intel Core processor’s name denotes a max-performance desktop chip.
Intel processor generations
One of the stickiest parts of Intel processor names is the generations. The good news? It’s easy to grasp once you see it explained. Techies often talk about 9th Gen, 10th Gen, and 11th Gen processors and the different “Lake” processor families, like Whiskey, Ice, and Sky. But actually, “lakes,” “generations,” and “microarchitectures” are the same thing.Each generation delivers significant performance upgrades, increasing productivity and connectivity, such as longer battery life, faster clock speeds at up to 5.3 GHz with Turbo Boost, Intel WiFi 6 (Gig+), Thunderbolt™ 3 technology, and immersive 4K HDR.
INTEL CORE PROCESSORS, RANKED BY GENERATION:
- 8th Generation, released 2017 to 2019; Coffee Lake, Kaby Lake, Whisky Lake
- 9th Generation, released 2018 to 2019; Coffee Lake Refresh (Desktop)
- 10th Generation, released 2019 to 2020; Comet Lake (Desktop), Ice Lake (Mobile)
- 11th Generation, released 2020 to 2021; Rocket Lake (Desktop, Comet Lake Refresh (Desktop), Tiger Lake (Mobile)
What’s the latest Intel processor?
