Most of the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs have four or more cores, which is what we consider the sweet spot for most mainstream users. Many late-model desktop Core i5 and Core i7 chips have six cores, and a few ultra-high-end gaming PCs come with eight-core Core i7s.

As of 2017, Core i7 CPUs had Hyper-Threading on desktops, but the more recent generations do not. These processors have higher core counts (up to eight in the ninth generation) than the i5's, a larger cache, and a bump in graphics performance, but they have the same memory capacity as the Core i5's (although, that could change in the future).