Intel Core i7-8550U vs Intel Core i3-10110U vs Intel Core i5-8350U
Intel Core i7-8550U
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The Intel Core i7-8550U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation and was announced in August 2017. Contrary to its direct predecessors Core i7-7500U and i5-7260U, respectively, which were still dual-cores, the i7-8550U is equipped with four cores but at a lower base frequency of 1.8 GHz. The Turbo Boost is not specified yet, but should be at least 3.7 - 4 GHz and therefore also offer good short term single core speeds. The GPU is now named Intel UHD Graphics 620 but otherwise identical to the Intel HD Graphics 620. The integrated memory controller supports DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133 and dual channel memory.
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 of the i7-8550U depends on the cooling solution of the laptop and the defined TDP limits for short and long term performance. This leads to big differences in our benchmark scores ranging from the 15 Watt reference by Intel up to the 23% higher score of the Inspiron 17-7773 in the Cinebench R15 Multi benchmark. Especially when taxing the CPU for longer periods, these differences can be even higher.
In our usual benchmarks, the average i7-8550U is as fast as the 35 Watt rated Core i5-7440HQ. For single thread performance, the high Turbo Boost frequency helps achieving one of the highest scores for mobile CPUs.
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 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 an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm+), the same as the 7th Gen Kaby 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.
Intel Core i3-10110U
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The Intel Core i3-10110U is a dual-core SoC of the Comet Lake family. The i3 is designed for use in ultraportable laptops of the more affordable flavor as well as mini-PCs. It was announced in August 2019. Just like the other Comet Lake processors, this Core i3 features several advantages over the outgoing Whiskey Lake family including support for faster memory (up to LPDDR4-2933).
Core i3-10110U runs at 2.1 GHz to 4.1 GHz (only 3.7 GHz are reachable when under multi-thread load). Hyper-Threading support is enabled for 4 processing threads in total.
Performance
The average 10110U in our database shapes up to be a decent entry-level CPU, as of late 2021, its multi-thread benchmark scores nearly matching those of the AMD Ryzen 3 3250U and also the Core i3-8145U. While not a whole lot faster than Intel's more affordable Pentium Gold and Pentium Silver chips, the i3 will still let you run most apps with virtually no annoying slowdowns.
Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.
Graphics
The Intel UHD Graphics 620 runs at up to 1,000 MHz. What makes this specific iGPU peculiar is that it only has 23 Execution Units at its disposal, not the 24 EUs typical for a UHD Graphics 620. Otherwise, it's the usual affair with 4K monitor support (up to three displays at the same time) and a hardware video decoder that's friends with VP9, AVC, HEVC but not the newer AV1 video codec.
Power consumption
This Core i3 series chip has a default TDP (also known as the long-term power limit) of 15 W, a value that laptop makers are allowed to change to anything between 10 W and 25 W with clock speeds and performance changing correspondingly. By going for the lowest value, it will be possible to build a passively cooled system around the SoC.
The i3-10110U is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processees for low, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.
Intel Core i5-8350U
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The Intel Core i5-8350U is a power efficient quad-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation and was announced in August 2017. Contrary to its direct predecessor the Core i5-7300U, which were still dual-cores, the i7-8350U is equipped with four cores but at a lower base frequency of 1.7 GHz. The Turbo Boost can go up to 3,6 GHz and therefore also offer good short term single core speeds. The GPU is now named Intel UHD Graphics 620 but otherwise identical to the Intel HD Graphics 620. The integrated memory controller supports DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133 and dual channel memory.
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
According to Intel, the new quad core models are up to 40% faster than their dual core predecessors. Due to the reduced TDP and the same 14nm+ process, the long term performance and throttling behaviour will be interesting and depending on the laptop design. Therefore, the older 35 Watt quad-core models should be faster in applications that demand longer CPU loads.
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 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 an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors (14nm+), the same as the 7th Gen Kaby 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.
| Model | Intel Core i7-8550U | Intel Core i3-10110U | Intel Core i5-8350U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Codename | Kaby Lake Refresh | Comet Lake-U | Kaby Lake Refresh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series | Intel Kaby Lake Refresh | Intel Comet Lake | Intel Kaby Lake Refresh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series: Kaby Lake Refresh Kaby Lake Refresh |
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| Clock | 1800 - 4000 MHz | 2100 - 4100 MHz | 1700 - 3600 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L1 Cache | 256 KB | 256 KB | 256 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L2 Cache | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| L3 Cache | 8 MB | 4 MB | 6 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 | 2 / 4 | 4 / 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TDP | 15 Watt | 15 Watt | 15 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology | 14 nm | 14 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Socket | BGA1356 | BGA1528 | BGA1356 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Features | Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI | LPDDR3-2133/DDR4-2666/LPDDR4-2933 RAM, PCIe 3, 4 GT/s bus, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Hyper-Threading, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SGX | Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1150 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1000 MHz) | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (300 - 1100 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architecture | x86 | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $409 U.S. | $297 U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| max. Temp. | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | ark.intel.com |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-8550U → 100% n=37
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i3-10110U → 77% n=37
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-8350U → 96% n=37
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
