Sorry for jumping in on an older thread,
Is there anything you see now or on the horizon that would drive you towards a Core 5 instead of a Core 3 for optimal performance of newer drivers like you describe?
I'm in a position where I'm going to be upgrading and adding a CA-10, where I previously had two HC800s. Because of the size of my Zigbee mesh, I need to decide if I am buying two Core 5s, a Core 3 and a Core 5, or two Core 3s. I'm trying to avoid the cost of the Core 5 since these are just going to be secondary processors to the CA-10, and I think realistically with the size and complexity of my project, a CA-10 may be underutilized as is.