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Programs need to be written to take advantage of multi-core processors. Today, most software that benefits from high processing power does this, so in general, high-power games and programs will run faster on a quad-core processor. That gives the Core i5 desktop chip a substantial advantage over its Core i3 counterpart.
Some (but not all) Core processors also feature Hyper-Threading, a proprietary Intel technology that allows more effective scheduling of CPU tasks, especially for multi-core architectures. While this technically makes the whole computer faster, it’s most visible on those high-intensity programs like media editing. Hyper-Threading has been available on some Core i5 processors as of the second generation (Core i5-2XXX CPUs and later) and on Core i3 processors as of the fourth generation (i3-4xxx and later). Not all processors in the same generation or those that follow have Hyper-Threading enabled, and system builders need to make sure that their motherboard BIOS supports Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology to see the benefit.
