New i5-8265u vs old i7-8550u

[discus5491]

Hi,

I am currently in the process of buying a new laptop. Within my bugdet, laptop configurations either have the i5-8265u or the i7-8550u:
- The new i5-8265u (4 Cores, 8 Threads @1.60 GHz, Whiskey Lake. Release date ≈ Q3 2018. cache 6mb)
- The old i7-8550u (4 Cores, 8 Threads @1.80 GHz, Kaby Lake R. Release date ≈ Q3 2017. cache 8mb).

Common sens would be that the i7 performs better. However, I have been going through some google researches to find out which one performs best yet results are very different from one test to the other.

Which one should I consider?

Thanks in advance Have a nice day!

 

[hang-the-9]

Yes results will be different between different tests, depending on the benchmark or program they use. Look at what programs you will be running on the computer and check on those specifically.

 

[scottdrmyers]

I had the Dell XPS 13 with the 8550u, I returned it due to WiFi issues and a dead pixel. I purchased the Dell 14" 2 in 1 which has the 8265u. Benchmarks are basically on par with the 8265u beating the 8550u in some cases. The only draw back is depending on the laptop you might be power throttled. So while the CPU will boost to 3.9GHz, real world usage will be boosting to 2.9GHz due to the 20w power limit on most notebooks. The Dell XPS 13 I believe had a 25w/45w power limit. The CPU would boost to it's highest clock and will still not thermal or power throttle.

The good thing is you can try out a laptop for a week or so and return it if you don't like it. At least for Dell the return process was easy.


I'm happy with the 8265u even if it does power limit. There's ways around that too but I'm not going to other this time around.

https/cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8550U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-8265U/m320742vsm566107

 

[discus5491]

I had the Dell XPS 13 with the 8550u, I returned it due to WiFi issues and a dead pixel. I purchased the Dell 14" 2 in 1 which has the 8265u. Benchmarks are basically on par with the 8265u beating the 8550u in some cases. The only draw back is depending on the laptop you might be power throttled. So while the CPU will boost to 3.9GHz, real world usage will be boosting to 2.9GHz due to the 20w power limit on most notebooks. The Dell XPS 13 I believe had a 25w/45w power limit. The CPU would boost to it's highest clock and will still not thermal or power throttle.

The good thing is you can try out a laptop for a week or so and return it if you don't like it. At least for Dell the return process was easy.


I'm happy with the 8265u even if it does power limit. There's ways around that too but I'm not going to other this time around.

https/cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8550U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-8265U/m320742vsm566107

Hi Thanks for your reply.

I bought the Dell Inspiron 7000 with i5-8256u and returned it 3 hours later. Even tough I updated both the bios and windows, fans were running at 100% whatever the CPU usage was. Not mentionning that the battery was draining at a 10% rate each 10 mins...

How is the XPS? Did you faced the same issues?

thanks

 

[scottdrmyers]

I had the Dell XPS 13 with the 8550u, I returned it due to WiFi issues and a dead pixel. I purchased the Dell 14" 2 in 1 which has the 8265u. Benchmarks are basically on par with the 8265u beating the 8550u in some cases. The only draw back is depending on the laptop you might be power throttled. So while the CPU will boost to 3.9GHz, real world usage will be boosting to 2.9GHz due to the 20w power limit on most notebooks. The Dell XPS 13 I believe had a 25w/45w power limit. The CPU would boost to it's highest clock and will still not thermal or power throttle.

The good thing is you can try out a laptop for a week or so and return it if you don't like it. At least for Dell the return process was easy.


I'm happy with the 8265u even if it does power limit. There's ways around that too but I'm not going to other this time around.

https/cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8550U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-8265U/m320742vsm566107

Hi Thanks for your reply.

I bought the Dell Inspiron 7000 with i5-8256u and returned it 3 hours later. Even tough I updated both the bios and windows, fans were running at 100% whatever the CPU usage was. Not mentionning that the battery was draining at a 10% rate each 10 mins...

How is the XPS? Did you faced the same issues?

thanks

The XPS 13 (New model with USB-C ports) 8550u, the fans would kick in now and then but nothing like you described.

The Dell 14" 2-in1 I have now, 8265u the fans barely come on. If you're browsing the internet, watching movies, etc, no fans at all. I've only heard the fan pop on when doing a large Windows update or rendering 1080p video with Davinci Resolve.

The exact model for the 14" 2-in-1 is 5482: https/www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-laptops-netbooks-and-tablets/new-inspiron-14-5000-2-in-1/spd/inspiron-14-5482-2-in-1-laptop

It may not have a 4K screen like my XPS 13" did but it's a hell of a lot cheaper with the same performance. I added another 8GB stick of RAM and another SSD. Everything is upgrade-able and nothing soldered to the main board (except for the CPU which I didn't check).

Photos here: https/drive.google.com/open?id=1vmtFPUnjsZAHJrxA-GPWmNG9c4Ctb-OV