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Intel Core i7-8557U vs Intel Core i5-8257U vs Intel Core i3-8109U

Intel Core i7-8557U

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The Intel Core i7-8557U is a quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Coffee Lake architecture that was announced in the new entry level MacBook Pro 13 in mid 2019. Compared to its predecessor, the CPU is now a quad-core with Hyperthreading support for the execution of up to 8 threads simultaneously. The base frequency is only 1.7 GHz, but the Turbo goes all the way up to 4.5 GHz. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 GPU with 128 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to slower Core i5 model with eDRAM and 15 Watts, the i5-8557U features 8 MB smart cache and the fastest clock of the Iris Plus GPU.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Kaby Lake, 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 up to 4.5 GHz, the Core i7-8557U should offer an excellent single thread performance. The multi core performance is greatly improved due to the two additional cores (compared to the predecessor) but may be limited by the 15 Watt TDP (especially for sustained workloads).

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 645 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Coffee Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1150 MHz  and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 930M or 940MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Plus 650, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

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, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 15 Watts and therefore suited for thin and light laptops.

Intel Core i5-8257U

► remove from comparison

The Intel Core i5-8257U is a quad-core SoC for notebooks based on the Coffee Lake architecture that was announced in the new entry level MacBook Pro 13 in mid 2019. Compared to its predecessor, the CPU is now a quad-core with Hyperthreading support for the execution of up to 8 threads simultaneously. The base frequency is only 1.4 GHz, but the Turbo goes all the way up to 3.9 GHz. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 GPU with 128 MB eDRAM, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm process with FinFET transistors.

Compared to faster Core i7-8557U model with eDRAM and 15 Watts, the i5-8257U only features 6 MB smart cache and the slowest clock of the Iris Plus GPU.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Kaby Lake, 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

Thanks to the relative high Turbo Boost clock, the single thread performance should be very good, but still behind the faster i7 model. The short burst all core performance is clearly better compared to the old dual core predecessors thanks to the additional cores. In sustained workloads, the performance is usually limited by the TDP and cooling. In these workloads the difference to the Core i7 should be also smaller.

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 645 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Coffee Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 930M or 940MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Plus 650, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

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, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 15 Watts and therefore suited for thin and light laptops.

Intel Core i3-8109U

► remove from comparison

The Intel Core i3-8109U is a dual-core SoC for notebooks based on the Coffee Lake architecture and was announced in April 2018. Compared to its predecessor Core i3-7167U, the CPU now supports Turbo boost with up to 3.6 GHz. Thanks to Hyperthreading the CPU can execute up to 4 threads simultaneously. It is also equipped with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 GPU with 128 MB eDRAM (but with 300 - 1050 MHz it is the slowest Iris Plus), a dual-channel memory controller (DDR4) as well as VP9 and H.265 video decoding as well as encoding. The chip is still manufactured in a 14nm++ process (3rd generation) with FinFET transistors.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Kaby Lake, 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

Thanks to the Turbo Boost, the processor performance should be a bit above the old Core i7-7500U (max. 3.5 GHz, 15 Watt). Therefore the Core i3-8109U should be fine for most applications. Some games however already need four real cores for optimal performance (paired with a dedicated GPU e.g.).

Graphics

The integrated Intel Iris Plus 655 Graphics is the GT3e model of the Kaby Lake GPU (Intel Gen. 9.5). It has 48 Execution Units running at 300-1050 MHz  and the performance is comparable to a GeForce 930M or 940MX thanks to fast eDRAM cache. However, there aren't any significant improvements compared to the old Iris Plus 650, so modern games can often not be played smoothly or only at the lowest or medium settings, respectively.

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 (14nm++, 3rd generation of 14nm) with FinFET transistors, which improves the efficiency even further. Intel specifies the TDP with 28 Watts, which can be reduced to 23 Watts (cTDP Down) depending on the usage scenario. The TDP is pretty high compared to the common 15-Watt TDP for quad-core processors, but allows a better utilization of CPU and GPU Turbo.

ModelIntel Core i7-8557UIntel Core i5-8257UIntel Core i3-8109U
SeriesIntel Coffee LakeIntel Coffee LakeIntel Coffee Lake
CodenameCoffee Lake-UCoffee Lake-UCoffee Lake-U
Series: Coffee Lake Coffee Lake-U
Intel Core i7-8559U2.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8557U « 1.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8269U2.6 - 4.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8279U2.4 - 4.1 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8259U2.3 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8257U1.4 - 3.9 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i3-8109U3 - 3.6 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8559U2.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8557U1.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8269U2.6 - 4.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8279U2.4 - 4.1 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8259U2.3 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8257U « 1.4 - 3.9 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i3-8109U3 - 3.6 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8559U2.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i7-8557U1.7 - 4.5 GHz4 / 8 cores8 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8269U2.6 - 4.2 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8279U2.4 - 4.1 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8259U2.3 - 3.8 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i5-8257U1.4 - 3.9 GHz4 / 8 cores6 MB L3
Intel Core i3-8109U « 3 - 3.6 GHz2 / 4 cores4 MB L3
Clock1700 - 4500 MHz1400 - 3900 MHz3000 - 3600 MHz
L1 Cache256 KB256 KB128 KB
L2 Cache1 MB1 MB512 KB
L3 Cache8 MB6 MB4 MB
Cores / Threads4 / 84 / 82 / 4
TDP28 Watt15 Watt28 Watt
Technology14 nm14 nm14 nm
max. Temp.100 °C100 °C100 °C
SocketFCBGA1528FCBGA1528FCBGA1528
FeaturesDual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI, Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE 4.2Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI, Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE 4.2Dual-Channel DDR4 Memory Controller, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, Quick Sync, Virtualization, AES-NI, Intel SSE4.1, Intel SSE 4.2
iGPUIntel Iris Plus Graphics 645 (300 - 1150 MHz)Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 (300 - 1050 MHz)Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (300 - 1050 MHz)
Architecturex86x86x86
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.comark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-8257U
28.2 pt (39%)
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i3-8109U
25.1 pt (35%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
4033 Points (4%)
2004 Points (2%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
1003 Points (43%)
906 Points (39%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 388     avg: 393     median: 393 (44%)     max: 398 Points
351 Points (39%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 1494     avg: 1520     median: 1519.5 (4%)     max: 1545 Points
772 Points (2%)
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 629     avg: 634     median: 633.5 (4%)     max: 638 Points
min: 324     avg: 352.5     median: 352.5 (2%)     max: 381 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 156     avg: 157.7     median: 157.7 (47%)     max: 159.3 Points
min: 124.3     avg: 138.7     median: 138.7 (42%)     max: 153 Points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
19620 MIPS (11%)
9489 MIPS (5%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
4083 MIPS (49%)
3752 MIPS (45%)
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
5.3 fps (9%)
2.9 fps (5%)
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
714 Seconds (5%)
1328 Seconds (9%)
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
0.9 sec (19%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
7866 Points (21%)
4921 Points (13%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
3604 Points (9%)
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
8936 Points (16%)
5138 Points (9%)
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
2740 Points (12%)
min: 1932     avg: 2134     median: 2134 (9%)     max: 2336 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
1079 Points (46%)
948 Points (40%)
888 Points (37%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
4119 Points (7%)
3858 Points (7%)
1880 Points (3%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
989 Points (4%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
4181 Points (13%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
4608 Points (46%)
4540 Points (45%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
16580 Points (18%)
8974 Points (10%)
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 901     avg: 914     median: 913.5 (1%)     max: 926 ms
1199 ms (1%)
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 38704     avg: 39388     median: 39387.5 (35%)     max: 40071 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
210 Points (44%)
131.3 Points (27%)
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
35.9 Watt (6%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
32.4 Watt (6%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
10 Points per Watt (7%)

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i7-8557U → 100% n=2

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-8257U → 91% n=2

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i3-8109U → 64% n=2

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

v1.26
log 29. 01:39:51

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#14 min, max, avg, median took s +0.139s ... 0.224s

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)