Why does Intel try to deceive people with it's mobile CPU naming schemes?

[futurefields]

I find it egregious that they label dual core parts as i7's.

Dual core's are, and always have been i3's.

It goes Dual core = i3, quad core without hyperthreading = i5, and quad core with hyperthreading = i7





Is there any reason for Intel to label their dual core laptops as i7's other than they are trying to trick people?

 

[moonbogg]

Its to trick people. Seriously.

 

[mindless1]

You're reading too much into it, assuming i7 necessarily means something specific instead of just an indicator of where it sits on their product tearing for a specific application.

It would be unrealistic, and often undesirable, for a mobile processor to have the same performance with an associated rise in power consumption.

They could have gone that route, but consumers' artistic minds and weak muscles pushed the market towards thin and light. The ultimate mobile device takes up zero space and uses zero power, because there are no cores, lol.

 

[whm1974]

Its to trick people. Seriously.

Indeed, because they can and with their market share they are able to get away with it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Intel marketing: "Tricking Customers to buy our **** since God knows when".

 

[scannall]

It's just Intel being Intel.

When a dog pees on a fire hydrant, it isn't being a vandal. It's just being a dog.

 

[Burpo]

It goes Dual core = i3, quad core without hyperthreading = i5, and quad core with hyperthreading = i7

Says who? You?

Who are you to decide that intel is "trying to deceive people"?

I don't see anything deceitful about their CPU naming.

They name cpu's according to performance in a given TDP, not some notion of how "it goes".

 

[tential]

Its to trick people. Seriously.

Lol
But seriously, it is unfortunate because people who don't know much actually will think they are getting a huge upgrade.

It's simply just marketing OP.
They need to segment the CPUs with the same brands as the desktop line, and thus they do.

Gateway did GREAT with a gaming laptop reviewed on anandtech by utilizing the i3 with a high end mobile GPU because you're not getting much extra upgrading the CPU to an i7

If you don't do your research as a consumer, you'll get taken by marketing. That's just a given OP.

 

[antihelten]

Dual core's are, and always have been i3's.

Except for Westmere, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell, all of which had dual core i5's in their desktop lineup.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Except for Westmere, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell, all of which had dual core i5's in their desktop lineup.

Desktop i5, Sandy / Ivy / Haswell, not quad, but dual-core? Sorry, I think that you're mistaken.

 

[antihelten]

Desktop i5, Sandy / Ivy / Haswell, not quad, but dual-core? Sorry, I think that you're mistaken.

Sandy Bridge
Ivy Bridge
Haswell

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sandy Bridge
Ivy Bridge
Haswell

OK, apparently, I'm mistaken. But to be certain, none of those were retail models that enthusiasts would buy, those are OEM-specific.

("in their desktop lineup", to me, means that they were sold in the whitebox channel to enthusiasts.)

 

[Roland00Address]

Desktop i5, Sandy / Ivy / Haswell, not quad, but dual-core? Sorry, I think that you're mistaken.

Nope he isn't mistaken, and the more you try to save face the more the urge for me to post a Nelson from Simpson picture tease

 

[formulav8]

Nope he isn't mistaken, and the more you try to save face

He already admitted he messed up well before you even posted.

 

[VirtualLarry]

*Shrug*. I've never seen a T-series CPU, either in person, or online, or at a reseller, and certainly not retail-boxes, so in my mind, might as well be talking about Leprechauns.

 

[Crono]

People have gotten used to the idea of desktop CPUs being 2, 4, and 4-core with hyperthreading for the i3, i5, and i7, respectively, but I don't think Intel ever explicitly said that's the case as a rule. It's moot, anyway, with everything being pushed up 2 cores with Coffee Lake, and now laptops getting quad-core 8th gen (whatever that means - that's the real confusing issue for the public) processors.

I'm not even sure where the 3, 5, and 7 came from, except maybe imitation of the original BMW series lineup. Regardless, they just represent the lower, mid, and upper range of mainstream consumer processors, and AMD followed suit with Ryzen's numbering.

...something something Hanlon's razor and marketing practices...

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not even sure where the 3, 5, and 7 came from, except maybe imitation of the original BMW series lineup.

That was my understanding. Intel leveraging the psychology of luxury brands from a different product domain.

 

[epsilon84]

Its marketing. Not sure if deceitful is the word. Its like saying is Ford deceitful for making a 4 cylinder turbo Mustang as well as the V8? If you actually do your research you will notice pretty soon that the previous U model i7s were 2c/4t chips.

Still the OP does have a point, for example my cousin (relatively tech savvy, though not an enthusiast) was impressed that I had an i7 in my previous laptop and I had to explain to him that it was a low power dual core model - he was surprised and thought all i7s were quads.

 

[Dufus]

It goes Dual core = i3, quad core without hyperthreading = i5, and quad core with hyperthreading = i7
...
Is there any reason for Intel to label their dual core laptops as i7's other than they are trying to trick people?

Is this an assumption or you read it somewhere so it must be true? (has been stated on the internet before). The only reference I remember seeing regarding i-core mobile was when a 'Q' was in the name depicting quad core otherwise nothing to indicate the number of cores.

If looking for something specific in a CPU one should IMHO check the part numbers, the intel ark can help a lot here. Also one should not assume other features are present. Best check first.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html

OK, apparently, I'm mistaken. But to be certain, none of those were retail models that enthusiasts would buy, those are OEM-specific.

I still have my i5-655k dual core desktop processor.

they just represent the lower, mid, and upper range of mainstream consumer processors

Something like that IMHO.

 

[stans]

For laptops they are all over the place a just released Lenovo Yoga 720 can have a i5-8250U which is quad core and 8 threads or a i7-8550U which has a higher clock speed and more cache.

 

[NTMBK]

No no, see, it's totally logical that "i7" means anything from dual core up to ten cores.

It's not just Intel that's responsible, it's the OEMs. Just look at the backlash to "m3/m5/m7" processors. Intel tries to change their naming to indicate that these chips are lower power (and lower performance) than the full-fat 15/28W i7. OEMs completely hate it, because it makes their products look slow, so Intel promptly drops it the next year for everything but m3.

Remember that Intel's biggest customers aren't individuals, they're OEMs. Keeping the customer happy means making OEMs able to sell laptops. Same logic behind branding Kaby Lake Refresh as "Gen 8", even though it's fundamentally the same silicon as Gen 6.

 

[John Carmack]

No no, see, it's totally logical that "i7" means anything from dual core up to ten cores.

It's not just Intel that's responsible, it's the OEMs. Just look at the backlash to "m3/m5/m7" processors. Intel tries to change their naming to indicate that these chips are lower power (and lower performance) than the full-fat 15/28W i7. OEMs completely hate it, because it makes their products look slow, so Intel promptly drops it the next year for everything but m3.

Remember that Intel's biggest customers aren't individuals, they're OEMs. Keeping the customer happy means making OEMs able to sell laptops. Same logic behind branding Kaby Lake Refresh as "Gen 8", even though it's fundamentally the same silicon as Gen 6.

You have the # of cores mess between i3/i5/i7 (quad core i5's exist now) and the m3/i5/i7 mess with the lower TDP chips but let's not forget the Celeron/Pentium swamp with the is it big core or is it small core question.

 

[antihelten]

OK, apparently, I'm mistaken. But to be certain, none of those were retail models that enthusiasts would buy, those are OEM-specific.

("in their desktop lineup", to me, means that they were sold in the whitebox channel to enthusiasts.)

T models are not really OEM specific, seeing as they are readily available at retailers (although they are arguably aimed more at OEMs than end consumers).

None of that is really relevant though, since the original claim was "Dual core's are, and always have been i3's. ". No mention was made of mainstream models or enthusiasts or any other goal post moving shenanigans. Not to mention that this whole thread is about mobile CPU naming schemes, and mobile CPUs are by their very nature pretty much completely OEM specific.

And as I also mentioned Westmere also had dual core i5's and those were certainly mainstream and models that enthusiast would buy (Dufus already mentioned the 655K)

 

[Rifter]

Intel has never been a very honest company. Not sure why you would expect them to start now.

They are out there to make money, and if Tricking their customers will do that you can bet intel will do it.

 

[FIVR]

Because if they didn't deceive people nobody would ever buy mobile i7s. Nobody would ever buy anything but the base intel processor for a given TDP.


In certain Apple l laptops you get a better computer if you buy the cheapest intel processor for it. The 12" Macbook is a battery hog and a lap-warmer if you buy it with the highest spec mobile i7 but it works fine with the cheapest version of the same processor.