Intel Core i3-8145U vs AMD Ryzen 3 3200U

Intel Core i3-8145U

The Intel Core i3-8145U is a power efficient dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Whiskey Lake generation and will probably be announced in August 2018. Compared to the similar named Kaby Lake-R processors (e.g. Core i3-8130U), the Whiskey Lake CPUs are now produced in a further improved 14nm process (14nm++) and offer higher clock speeds. The architecture and features are the same. The i3-8145U offers e.g. high Turbo clock speeds of 3.9 GHz (versus 3.4 GHz of the i3-8130U) for a single core (3.7 GHz for 2 cores) but a slightly lower base clock of 2.1 versus 2.2 GHz. The integrated GPU is still named Intel UHD Graphics 620 and the dual-channel memory controller still supports the same RAM speeds as Kaby-Lake-R (DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133). Thermal Velocity Boost is not supported (only in the Core i7-8565U).

The Whiskey Lake SoCs are used with a new PCH produced in 14nm that supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and CNVi WiFi/BT parts.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake and Kaby Lake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. That means Whiskey Lake is a Kaby Lake chip manufactured in the improved 14nm++ process.

Performance

Due to the higher Turbo Boost (+12% single core), the Core i3-8145U should be faster than the old Core i3-8130U (Kaby Lake-R). The single core Turbo Boost is similar to the old high end model, the Core i7-7600U. However, the guaranteed base clock of 2.1 GHz is a lot lower (2.8 GHz for the i7-7600U) and also the 2-core Turbo is lower (3.7 versus 3.8 GHz). Therefore, the performance should be similar to the Core i7-7500U (Kaby Lake).

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Intel Gen 9.5) is untouched from the 8th Gen Kaby Lake chips. With fast dual-channel memory it can reach the performance of a dedicated GeForce 920M.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake and Whiskey Lake now also supports H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The dual-core Kaby Lake processors announced in January should also support HDCP 2.2.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in a further improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm++), the same as the 8th Gen Coffee Lake processors. Intel still specifies the TDP with 15 Watts, which is typical for ULV chips. Depending on the usage scenario, the TDP can vary between 7.5 (cTDP Down) and 25 Watts.

Warning: Above information is partly still based on rumors and leaks and may therefore change till release.

AMD Ryzen 3 3200U

The AMD Ryzen 3 3200U is a dual-core SoC designed for laptops that was announced in January 2019. The Ryzen features two Zen cores with support for the thread-doubling SMT tech, clocked at 2.6 GHz - 3.5 GHz. The built-in Radeon RX Vega 3 iGPU has 3 CUs (192 unified shaders) clocked at up to 1,200 MHz. The default TDP is 15 W which makes the Ryzen a good fit for thin mid-range laptops.

In comparison to the faster Ryzen 3000 CPUs, the 3200U is not using the newer Zen+ microarchitecture and is still manufactured in 14nm. Compared to the old Ryzen 3 2200U, the 3200U therefore only offers a 100 MHz higher clock speed.

The Ryzen 3 is compatible with single-channel or dual-channel DDR4-2400 RAM.

Please go to our Raven Ridge launch article for details on the architecture and more.

Performance

The average 3200U in our extensive database is anything but a performance monster, its multi-thread benchmark scores only just matching those of the Core i3-8130U and the Pentium N6000. While not as atrociously slow as most N-series and J-series Intel chips, this specific Ryzen is good enough for basic day-to-day activities only.

Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.

Power consumption

This Ryzen 3 series chip has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 15 W. Laptop makers are free to change that to anything between 12 W and 25 W; most will go for a higher value to extract more performance out of it. Either way, an active cooling solution will be needed to dissipate the heat.

The R3 3200U is built with a 14 nm manufacturing process for low, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.