When we talk about Intel processors, they all have a nomenclature that gives us an understanding of their generation and their range. However, and especially when we talk about laptop processors, some letters are also added at the end, as a suffix. In this article we are going to explain what those letters mean in Intel processors so that you know how to identify them just by looking at their model.
Index
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The nomenclature of Intel processors
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processor groups
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Core range
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Meaning of the letters of the processors
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Deciphering the name of the CPUs
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Why do I need to know all this?
Next, we are going to explain what each of the letters that Intel uses when naming the enormous number of processors that are launched on the market with each new generation means. As you will see at the end, the name alone tells you a lot of information about the processor, or rather what you can expect from it due to its range.
The nomenclature of Intel processors
Currently in the market we can find up to six groups of different Intel processors. Then, within some of them, such as the Intel Core, there are different ranges. We are going to try to explain everything to you, the main ranges within the main commercial CPUs and we are even going to explain what each part of the name of a processor means.
processor groups
Intel classifies its processors into different types, depending on their potential use. The main ones are:
- Pentium Silver: It is the most basic range of Intel processors designed for simple tasks. They are a processor without HyperThreading and with a really low consumption
- Pentium Gold: According to the company, they are ideal for everyday use, such as browsing or office automation. Some of these processors may be interesting for entry-level gaming equipment.
- Celeron: Very basic range processor that usually has few cores (at most four) and that may lack, among other things, support for Boost frequencies
- Core: It is the range of desktop processors that is divided into four groups, which we will see later. They are the most versatile, since they are designed for gaming, office automation, etc.
- Core-X: Range of advanced processors from Intel that are a kind of hybrid between Core and Xeon (which we will see below). More focused on photo and video editing, streaming, programming, etc.
- Xeon: Processors for servers, where very demanding and intensive workloads are carried out.
Core range
As we have mentioned, within Core processors we have four product divisions. What this nomenclature does is divide the processors according to the number of cores. These are the “optimal” ranges and uses according to the company:
- Core i3: They are the simplest within this range and are designed more for light tasks. The most modern ones can be quite interesting to build a cheap gaming PC
- Core i5: They are usually the most demanded for their great versatility, being highly chosen by video game fans
- Core i7: They are more focused on gaming and are a great option for those who want to play at 4K resolutions, for example.
- Core i9: They are powerful processors that can be perfectly used for streaming or content editing, being the ones with the most cores
Meaning of the letters of the processors
The nomenclature that Intel uses for its processors has another important characteristic that we must take into account: the suffix. Although Intel assigns numbers to its processors to align them in the company’s product catalog, not all products allow for easy differentiation. A quad-core processor will obviously have an advantage over a dual-core model, but what about processors made for laptops or embedded systems? That’s where the suffix system comes in.
The suffix on Intel processors is consistent across all generations of processors, although not all generations have used them. In the following list you will find all the letters that you can find in Intel processors, along with their meaning.
- No identifier: processors (usually) intended for desktops with slightly cut frequencies, which means adjusted consumption
- K: Indicates that this processor has the multiplier unlocked, and is therefore suitable for overclocking
- KS: these are K-type processors that have a higher Boost frequency, but also a higher consumption
- KF: These processors are overclockable, but lack integrated graphics
- T: they are desktop processors with very low consumption, usually with very low frequencies and, therefore, very low consumption
- X: Found on HEDT higher performance processors
- XE: intended for HEDT maximum performance processors, which also indicates that they are “Extreme Edition”
- XS – special HEDT processors with 8 cores and whose frequency in at least one of the cores exceeds 5.0 GHz (deprecated)
- U: indicates that it is a processor of low power and consumption, normally used in laptops
- H: indicates that it is a processor for gaming laptops
- HK: they are the same as the “H” type processors, but in this case with overclocking capacity
- HQ: high-performance processors that are limited to four cores (very rare these days)
- HF: These laptop processors have high-end specs, but no iGPU
- G: Used in processors that include third-party graphics. An example is the Intel Core i7-8809G for the Intel NUC system NUC8i7HVK, which includes AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics. Currently the company no longer offers these processors and this denomination is in disuse.
- G1-G7: indicates the characteristics of the graphics integrated in the processor, specifically, the number of graphics cores and, therefore, its power. Found in very certain processors
- U: are low-power processors usually intended for laptops
- QM: denomination that was used in the processors for second and third generation laptops (deprecated)
- B: processors that use a different architecture than the family to which they belong (deprecated)
- And: they are processors for very low consumption laptops
- E: identifier used in processors for embedded systems (quite rare)
- M: comes from “mobile” (portable, not mobile in this case) and was widely used in the brand’s first laptop processors, although right now they have stopped using it except for some Xeon processors
- C: temporarily used in some fifth-generation processors that used the LGA1150 socket
- A: It was used in some fourth and fifth generation processors that implemented a BGA1364 socket design.
Deciphering the name of the CPUs
Intel processors within the Core range have different numbers and letters. We will try to explain each of these elements in a simple and clear way. We must emphasize that this is only for Core and Core-X processors, since the rest of the processor groups have other names.
The first digit indicates the family of the processor in question. For example, the Core i9-12900K, what the ’12’ indicates is that this processor belongs to the 12th Generation of Intel Core processors. The next three digits are used to classify the processor within the same range. The higher the 3 digits in the SKU, the better the processor is within that range.
Finally, many of the processors carry a product suffix at the end. This is what gives us additional information, such as if it is a laptop processor, if it supports overclocking or if it is a low consumption processor.
In summary:
- Brand: Manufacturer of the processor, which in this case is Intel
- Product: In our case it is a Core processor for gaming, but it could perfectly be a Xeon or a Celeron
- Range: Division made by Intel according to the number of cores and processing threads, come on, according to performance
- Generation Identification: What it tells us is the generation of this processor, the higher this value is, the more recent the processor family will be
- SKU: It would come to identify the processor within the range. It may be that within a range there are several SKUs
- Product suffix: This indicates certain characteristics or the market for which it is intended
Why do I need to know all this?
When you’re not too knowledgeable in the matter, in this case in PC processors, the names of these devices may sound like Chinese to you and mean nothing to you. However, knowing this data that we have exposed in this article, you will be able to know just by knowing the name what you can expect from any of Intel’s processors, including its range, generation and even relative performance.
It is, therefore, an excellent way to get an idea (not to measure exactly) of what to expect from each of the brand’s processors. After all, we all know that a Core i5 is usually better than a Core i3 and that, in turn, a Core i7 is better than a Core i5, but in this way you will also be able to know its generation, if it can be done overclock and so on (for example, any 10th generation Core i5 is better than a 3rd generation Core i7 in terms of performance, so not just because it’s a Core i7 it’s “good”).
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