[sirodoht]

For the record, the naming scheme is something like this: e.g. i7 4770K

i[digit] is the series, i3 means starter, i5 mainstream and i7 performance (that's not entirely accurate but it is accurate enough).

Then the four digit number is of no obvious logic across the generations. But, the first digit shows the generation, so 4 means haswell, which is the fourth Core iX generation. 3 is ivy bridge, 2 is sandy bridge and the lack of it means nehalem. And beyond that, the higher the number, the more powerful it is.

The last letter is optional. K means unlocked, S or T mean low power consumption.

[nathanb]

Ooh, helpful! I haven't upgraded my home system in a while, so I have a Core 2 Quad Q9450. Imagine my confusion when I started seeing numbers in the 2, 3, and 4k range. Thanks for decoding it for me!

[elktea]

K also means virtualization features are missing. Hugely important, these days.

[boobsbr]

I thought 'K' meant unlocked multipliers.

You're right about virtualization, though. Some features are missing.

http://ark.intel.com/compare/75123,75122