Intel Core i5-8300H vs Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6

Intel Core i5-8300H

The Intel Core i5-8300H is a fast processor for laptops with four cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture and was announced early 2018. The processor clocks at between 2.3 and 4 GHz (3.9 with 4 cores) and can execute up to eight threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process.

The Coffee Lake architecture is similar to Kaby Lake and differs only in the amount of cores (now six cores for the high end versions) and the improved 14nm process (14nm++ according to Intel).

Performance

The Intel Core i5-8300H should perform similar as the older Core i7-7820HQ (2.9 - 4 GHz). The faster Coffee Lake CPUs, like the Core i7-8750H offers two additional cores and is therefore up to 50% faster in multithreaded benchmarks. Still, the performance of the i5-8300H should be sufficient for even demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer a slightly higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz (rumored). The architecture is identical to that of the Intel HD Graphics 630. We do expect a performance improvement, but as a low-end solution it will probably only display current games smoothly at reduced details - if at all.

Power Consumption

Intel specifies the TDP with 45 watts and therefore the i5 is only suited for big laptops with good cooling solutions. Using cTDP-down, the CPU can also be configured to 35 Watt resulting in a reduced performance.

Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6

The Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 is a fast quad-core processor for workstation notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2017. It is the top model of the mobile Kaby-Lake-H series at the time of the announcement. Besides four cores including Hyper-Threading support running at 3.1 - 4.2 GHz (4 cores up to 3.9 GHz, 2 cores up to 4.1 GHz), the processor is also equipped with the professional HD Graphics P630 GPU as well as a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L-1600/DDR4-2400). It is manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

The performance is a bit higher compared to the fastest Kaby Lake consumer CPU, the Intel Core i7-7920HQ, thanks to slightly higher Turbo clocks (100 - 200 MHz), so it is the fastest mobile consumer processor in the beginning of 2017. The performance is sufficient even for very demanding tasks and on par with powerful desktop quad-core processors.

Graphics

The integrated professional Intel HD Graphics P630 has 24 Execution Units (similar to previous HD Graphics 530) running at 350 - 1100 MHz. The performance depends a lot on the memory configuration; it should be comparable to a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 920M in combination with fast DDR4-2133 dual-channel memory. It offers certified drivers for 15 professional and CAD applications.

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

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel still specifies the TDP with 45 Watts, but it can also be reduced to 35 Watts by the notebook manufacturers (cTDP down). This will obviously affect the performance, because the Turbo Boost cannot be maintained for longer periods.