In the Intel CPU offering there are several different types available. The older Intel Core 2 CPUs are still available, but they have been superceded by the Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processor. The Core i3 is at the budget performance end of the range and the Core i7 delivers high-end performance. An additional feature of the Core i range is that they now come in two main chipsets.
The mainstream Core i3, i5 and i7 processors are available in the Socket LGA1156 chipset. The Sandy Bridge CPUs are the latest Core i3/ i5/ i7 processors and come in a LGA1155 chipset. They are 40% faster than the Socket LGA1156 CPUs and they come with an on-board graphics chip, so if you don’t require high video performance then you don’t need an additional graphics card.
