Intel Core i7-7500U vs Intel Core i3-8130U vs Intel Core i7-7700HQ

Intel Core i7-7500U

The Intel Core i7-7500U is a dual-core processor of the Kaby Lake architecture. It offers two CPU cores clocked at 2.7 - 3.5 GHz and integrates HyperThreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. The architectural differences are rather small compared to the Skylake generation, therefore the performance per MHz is very similar. The SoC includes a dual channel DDR4 memory controller and Intel HD Graphics 620 graphics card (clocked at 300 - 1050 MHz). It is manufactured in an improved 14nm FinFET process (14nm+) at Intel. Compared to the old Skylake Core i7-6500U (2.5 - 3.1 GHz), the i7-7500U clock speed is up to 400 MHz higher.

Intel Core i3-8130U

The Intel Core i3-8130U is a power efficient dual-core SoC for notebooks and Ultrabooks (most likely) based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation (and not Coffee Lake). It was announced in February 2018. Compared to its direct predecessor, the Core i3-7130U, the 8130U offers Turbo Boost for an increased single thread performance. 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

Clocked at 2.2 to 3.4 GHz, the Core i3-8130U offers a much better single core performance than the Core i3-7130U (2.7 GHz, no Turbo). Therefore, the overall performance should be comparable to the older Core i5-7260U (also 2.2 - 3.4 GHz). The Core i5-8250U offers four processor cores and therefore offers a much better multi-threaded performance.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Intel Gen 9.5) is untouched from the 8th Gen Kaby Lake chips. In the Core i3-8130U it is rather low clocked with 1 GHz compared to the 1.1 GHz in Core i7 models. 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 most likely 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. According to Intel it can be configured to 10 Watt at 800 MHz (cTDP-down).

Intel Core i7-7700HQ

The Intel Core i7-7700HQ is a fast quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake H architecture (7th generation Core), which was announced in January 2017 at CES. It is the successor to the Core i7-6700HQ from the Skylake generation and is manufactured in an improved 14 nm+ process, so the clocks are 200 MHz higher at the same TDP. The architecture was not changed, only the video engine got an update (see our Kaby Lake article).

The integrated graphics card is called Intel HD Graphics 630, but the architecture does not differ from the 530 GPU from the Skylake generation and only the clocks are slightly higher. 

Performance

Thanks to the 200 MHz higher clocks (5.5-7.6% depending on the Boost), the CPU performance is increased and roughly on par with the Core i7-6970HQ (2.8-3.7 GHz but with 128 MB eDRAM). The TDP can also be reduced to 35 Watts (cTDP down), but this will reduce the performance.

Power Consumption

Due to its 45-Watt TDP, the CPU will be used in bigger notebooks with at least 15 inches most of the time.