Intel Core i7-8650U vs Intel Core i7-8086K

Intel Core i7-8650U

The Intel Core i7-8650U 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 i7-7600U, which were still dual-cores, the i7-8650U is equipped with four cores but at a lower base frequency of 1.9 GHz. The Turbo Boost can go up to 4,2 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. The performance however is highly depending on the TDP settings and cooling solution of the laptop. Especially, longer loads will show varying results in different laptops.

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 i7-8086K

The Intel Core i7-8086K is a high-end desktop processor with six cores based on the Coffee Lake architecture and was announced in mid 2018. It is a limited edition for the 40 year X86 anniversary and at the time of announcement the fastest Coffee-Lake CPU. The processor clocks at between 3.7 and 5 GHz and can execute up to twelve threads simultaneously thanks to Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, the CPU is manufactured in an improved 14nm (14nm++) process. The i7-8086K is comparatively easy to overclock thanks to the unlocked multiplier. Compared to the cheaper i7-8700K (-66 Dollars) only the single core Turbo clock speed is faster (5 GHz versus 4.7 GHz).

Performance

Due to the two additional cores, performance has increased by almost 50% compared to the Core i7-7700K when all cores are in use. Compared to the cheaper Core i7-8700K, the 8086K offers only a higher single core Turbo Boost and therefore in daily usage and gaming not faster. As a high-end model, the i7-8086K is suitable for the most demanding applications and games.

Graphics

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU is supposed to offer higher performance as its clock rate has been increased by 50 MHz. The build 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 95 watts. Therefore, well-dimensioned cooling systems should easily manage to deal with the created heat. We expect increased efficiency due to the higher performance.