When buying a new laptop or PC, there’s one spec you really need to understand first: The PROCESSOR
The processor (CPU) is the heart of your device. It tells you how fast, smooth, and capable your laptop or PC will be. Before anything else, always check the processor. It’s the biggest clue to knowing what kind of performance you can expect.
Let’s take Intel Core 7 150U as an example.
Corporate Brand – the company or manufacturer behind the product. (Who makes it)
Product Brand – the specific product line or category that defines what type of product it is and what performance level or purpose it serves. (What kind of product it is)
Here are Intel product brands:
Why does Intel have different product brands?
Intel uses these product brands to categorize their processors by capability and target users:
- Some users only need basic performance (documents, browsing).
- Some need more power for multitasking and creative work.
- Some need extremely heavy processing power for professional tools and computation.
So instead of one processor for everyone, Intel uses branding to guide buyers to the right CPU based on use case.
Previously, Intel processors had an “i” before the number (like i3, i5, i7), but this has been removed in their new naming scheme starting 2023.
Here’s the updated tier chart:
What do these numbers actually mean?
The higher the performance tier:
- the more cores the CPU typically has
- the faster it runs
- the more tasks it can handle at once
- the better it performs in demanding workloads
And naturally, as performance rises, price also goes up.
Under Intel’s old naming system, generations were easy to spot like 12th Gen, 13th Gen, or 14th Gen. But with Intel’s updated naming scheme, the generation numbers were reset back to 1.
In the model Intel Core 7 150U, the “1” represents the first generation of Intel’s new naming system.
Think of it like software versioning, where 1.0 is the first release of a product. As Intel continues to launch new generations, the number will simply progress upward to 2, 3, 4, and so on.
This helps differentiate each wave of processors in the new naming format while keeping things more streamlined for future releases.
In our example: Intel Core 7 150U, the “50” part is the model number, and this tells you how powerful that specific processor is within the same generation.
Just like performance tier numbers, a higher model number means stronger performance, because the CPU has more cores, more threads, higher clock speeds, and better overall capability.
You can visualize it like this:
In the Processor column, all of these are first-generation (1) processors, but the different model numbers (25, 35, 55) create a difference in performance.
The numbers here are just examples, but the concept is the same:
- Higher model number = higher performance.
- Even if they are all Gen 1, the power level still depends on the model number.
The last part of the processor name is the SUFFIX, and it’s important to know that laptops and desktops use different suffix letters.
Laptop suffixes usually indicate power level, performance class, and efficiency, while desktop suffixes indicate overclocking support or special features.
Understanding Intel’s new processor naming system may look complicated at first, but once you know what each part means (the brand, performance tier, generation, model number, and suffix) it becomes much easier to choose the right laptop or PC.
Whether you’re a student, gamer, creator, or professional, the processor plays a huge role in how smooth and fast your device will be. With this guide, you’ll be more confident reading specs and picking a machine that truly fits your needs.
You can also check out our video guide on How to Read an Intel Processor.
