The 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U higher-end laptop processor packs a serious punch without being power-hungry and without requiring very large cooling systems. With its four cores and a 15-Watt power consumption, it’s a great alternative to the 45-Watt i7 HQ quad-core series. The 8th Gen i7-8550U is also a noticeably more powerful substitute for the previous 7th Gen i7-7500U dual-core counterpart. The benchmark results confirm that advantage. Show Intel Core i7-8550U CPU Benchmark  The quad-core design and relatively high clock speeds of the Intel Core i7-8550U (and its slightly slower i5-8250U sibling) are the main contributors the CPU’s excellent User Benchmark score. The quad-core 35-Watt i7-7700HQ is only slightly ahead of the 15W i7-8550U. Therefore, the i7-8550U seems to be a better choice for most users, since it enables a longer battery life and similar performance to the 7700HQ. However, you should keep in mind that thin laptop designs can lead to noticeable CPU performance throttling due to constrained space and cooling. Also, you shouldn’t expect mind-blowing gaming potential of the Intel UHD 620 graphics, which is integrated in the 8th Gen i7-8550U. It’s an updated version of the entry-level Intel HD 620 from the previous 7th Generation Intel Core U CPU family and has slightly higher clock speed. Both graphics processors can be used for some basic gaming. Note: The benchmark scores of the listed processors are averages measured across various devices with these processors. The scores and real-world performance of the Intel Core i7-8550U and compared CPUs may vary depending on the notebooks' other components, settings, cooling, and other factors. However, the benchmark results are good indicators of the processors' performance. Specifications of the Intel Core i7-8550UHere are the most important specs of the Intel Core i7-8550U: Processor Name Intel Core i7-8550U CPU Family 8th Generation Intel Core "Kaby Lake R" Number of Cores Quad-core / 2 computing threads per core CPU Clock Speed 1.8 GHz – 4 GHz Cache Size 8MB Memory Support DDR3 (2133 MHz max. speed) DDR4 (2400 MHz max. speed) Integrated Graphics Intel UHD 620 Power Consumption 15W Production Technology 14-nanometer Typical Use Mainstream laptops & 2-in-1 PCs Notable Technologies Intel HyperThreading (enables two computing threads per physical processor core) Intel QuickSync Video (speeds up conversion of video files) Intel TurboBoost (dynamically boosts performance of cores, depending on power and thermal headroom) VT-d virtualization VT-x virtualization Year of Release 2017 User Reviews and Q&A on the Intel Core i7-8550UBelow you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the processor. Thank you for your contribution. I need a laptop for multi-purpose use. I am not a gamer. The laptop will be used for occasional editing, and I am fairly flexible on editing programs. Lightroom and Capture1 are my likely choices. I am looking at a couple laptops and am wondering about processor selection, particularly since the I7-8xxx now offer quad core processing. Lenovo 710S: i7-7500U HP ProBook 430 G5: Intel Core i7-8550U Both machines come with 16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM. The machines are roughly the same price. The Lenovo has a 512GB SSD, the HP a 256. Based on reviews, the HP wins on battery performance, The Lenovo on nice-to-have things that matter to me, as well as the 512 SSD Am I giving up much with the older generation processor? Again, most of my use will not be heavy lifting, and price difference is not important. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more ANSWER: This question has not been answered yet. (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 13, 2018 2 There are a lot of things to consider other than processor speed alone. And there are really no easy answers as everyone will have an opinion on processor and other things. All that said, in keeping things simple... look at it this way, the newer the processor the newer the notebook, and the better the battery life. Also the i7-8550U has the slightly better built in graphics processor vs. the 7500U, though both are 620's the 8550 has the UHD vs. the standard 620 in the 7500U. In the end I'd go with the notebook with the newer latest processor given the same price range. The newer processors denote the newest laptops. As I said, this is all opinionated so let the games begin... -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. Giklab • Contributing Member • Posts: 949 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 13, 2018 This is a tough one... On one hand, I am a Lenovo advocate simply because of the design, build quality and keyboard, on the other hand, you can't argue with a flat out better processor and battery. You can always upgrade the SSD later on to a larger model. How much are the comparable newer Lenovos with the same CPU? Canon EOS R6 Mark II Canon RF 24-105mm F4.0-7.1 IS STM Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to Giklab • Mar 13, 2018 I'm also an Lenovo fan having just bought a Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga X1 June of last year. Mine came with an i7-7600U, 16gig of RAM and a 1TB SSD drive. At the time of purchase only the 7th gen processors were available. Anyway you can get a Lenovo laptop with an 8th gen processor (example i7-8550U) but like anything else it all comes down to what you want vs. what you want to spend. My configuration was over the 2K mark at time of purchase. -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. CAcreeks • Forum Pro • Posts: 19,581 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 13, 2018 searun wrote: I don't understand these choices. Both cost near $1000, which seems a lot for a mere 13" laptop. So called "business" laptops are overpriced I guess. You get more PC for your money with a "gaming" laptop. To answer your question with numbers, the i7-7500U benchmarks at 5215 Passmark, while the i7-8550U benchmarks at 8239, quite a difference. You can buy a replacement 512GB SSD for $130. OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U ADMint wrote: I do prefer Lenovo, too. The Yoga would be nice but I need it now and they are a couple weeks out (have not yet checked resellers). The 710S I stumbled upon is US$1k which I think is a good deal. I cannot get close to that price with other configurations. The HP is just a bit more at $1070. $1k - $1.2k is a sweet spot for me and seems to buy plenty of tech. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 Yeah, laptops can get pricy. Anyway I've got both 2013 Asus (13 inch) and a 2017 Lenovo (14 inch) Ultrabook. But while my Asus looks prettier than the Lenovo, the Lenovo is well built with a solid reputation. But like everything else it depends on level (model skew) and cost. What size are you looking for? If you're a mobile person some monstrous 17-inch gaming laptop is going to be too big and heavy to carry around all the time. People sometimes equate size with quality which is a fallacy. The reason most people (me included) opt for smaller lighter laptops is mobility. You don't want to be carrying some monstrous sized laptop around all day every day. You also need to consider space when out and about as well as battery life. Ultrabook's tend to have better battery life due their smaller screen size, less power-hungry graphics, and lower power requirements vs. gaming laptops. And yes, smaller laptops (aka Ultrabook's) can be more expensive than some their bigger brethren due to the complexity of cramming all those component into a smaller form factor while keeping heat down. Anyway, when I first looked into getting a laptop I was convinced I would be getting a 17-inch gaming one until I realized I was going to me using the laptop away from home and had to carry it around all the time. I also decided I wasn't going to game on it because I had a gaming rig at home, so Ultrabook I went. Have no regrets their and wouldn't get anything but an Ultrabook.... even if I gamed on it. Regardless the first thing you need to consider is use, followed by size, then cost. I'm sure you did this, but it might help to state it to keep the noise down. Peace:) -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to CAcreeks • Mar 14, 2018 CAcreeks wrote:searun wrote: Thanks...really appreciate the benchmark numbers. Makes it hard to go with the older processor under most circumstances. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U ADMint wrote: -- hide signature -- Thanks. Yes, I have done my homework as to size, and this one needs to be small. I have a 17" It really does come down on this decision to the processors. As to brand, I sold these some years ago, worked for a VAR, and have seen issues with all. Stuff happens, but with Asus I have seen incredibly poor customer service. YMMV, many people like their gear. I am trying to justify 7th generation I7 in the Lenovo, but it does look like a big performance hit. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more Lert • Senior Member • Posts: 1,076 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 searun wrote:ADMint wrote: I recently purchased a Lenovo ideapad 520 with the i7 8550U, 16GB RAM, Nvidia MX150 4GB GPU, 2TB HDD and matte IPS screen. I'm pretty happy with it for what I do, mainly photo processing and general duties. I understand the 8550U will throttle down the speed when it comes to some strenuous work but that's what you get with low power processors. Maybe you can find similar.. CAcreeks • Forum Pro • Posts: 19,581 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 1 searun wrote: Thanks...really appreciate the benchmark numbers. Makes it hard to go with the older processor under most circumstances. You say above that you already have a 17" laptop, so I understand the choices you presented. The only item I found that meets your requirements is an HP Envy 13t with i7-8550U and 360GB SSD for $849, however it can't be configured with > 8GB memory. http://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?catalogId=10051&langId=-1&storeId=10151&urlLangId=&catEntryId=3074457345618552820&quantity=1 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 Online reviews show the Lenovo having a better full HD IPS display with better colour coverage. The HP's HD display is listed as 1366 x768. That could be quite a difference if display quality is important. OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to Lert • Mar 14, 2018 Lert wrote:searun wrote:I recently purchased a Lenovo ideapad 520 with the i7 8550U, 16GB RAM, Nvidia MX150 4GB GPU, 2TB HDD and matte IPS screen. I'm pretty happy with it for what I do, mainly photo processing and general duties. I understand the 8550U will throttle down the speed when it comes to some strenuous work but that's what you get with low power processors. Maybe you can find similar..ADMint wrote: That sounds like a solid machine and I like that build. Don't want that much storage (okay, definitely the first time I've ever used those words) however. I was thinking that for $1k the deals I referenced are quite good, but perhaps I need to be a little patient! Thanks Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more You should check the Ark In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 4 Intel's Ark that is. https://ark.intel.com/compare/122589,95451 The 8th Gen part is a quad core, hyper threaded processor with 8 threads. The 7th Gen part is a dual core, hyper threaded to 4 threads. Both have 620 graphics, the 8th gen about 10% faster at 1.15Ghz. Turbo clock speed is ~15% faster on the 8th gen. Faster memory is supported on the 8th Gen, at 2400Mhz, vs 2133 - which will have most impact on the graphics performance. Oh, and the processor cache is double the size on the 8th Gen. Yes, the base frequency is lower on the 8th Gen, but that's because of the core count, and the turbo takes care of that when you're not thermally throttled anyway. Intel's 8th Gen is an unusually large increase in performance generation over generation, much more than usual. Roland. OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U Robert Zanatta wrote: Online reviews show the Lenovo having a better full HD IPS display with better colour coverage. The HP's HD display is listed as 1366 x768. That could be quite a difference if display quality is important. Oh yeah! Thanks. That is a huge difference. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: You should check the Ark Roland Wooster wrote: Thanks for your analysis and explanations, Roland. The Lenovo has all I need except 8th Gen and it is plain that I will appreciate the newer tech. Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: i7-7500U vs Intel Core i7-8550U In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 searun wrote: Thanks. Yes, I have done my homework as to size, and this one needs to be small. I have a 17" It really does come down on this decision to the processors. As to brand, I sold these some years ago, worked for a VAR, and have seen issues with all. Stuff happens, but with Asus I have seen incredibly poor customer service. YMMV, many people like their gear. I am trying to justify 7th generation I7 in the Lenovo, but it does look like a big performance hit. For clarity I wasn't pushing you towards a particular brand. I just listed the two I have. That said, and sidetracking for a moment, it's funny you mention Asus's bad customer service because I too had a bad experience with them (actually before I bought my Asus laptop), which is why I swore their products would never grace any of my custom build PC's I do. And they don't. To this day I refuse to buy their motherboard or graphic cards. For motherboards I go Gigabyte. For GPU's I go Sapphire. As you say YMMV. Anyway I see you decided on smaller seeing you already have a big 17 inch one. Yeah, for the mobile, smaller is better. Good luck in your purchase. Peace:) -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: You should check the Ark 1 Roland Wooster wrote: Agreed. What really stood out to me though is the cache. I really doubt anyone is going to use the machine where it's running full bore quad @2gig each. The cache though is more useful here as you can access more data from memory. That allows more frequently programs to open faster. This is where I wish my lappy came with an 8th gen processor. My 7600U only does 4meg as well. -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. (unknown member) • Veteran Member • Posts: 4,585 Re: You should check the Ark In reply to searun • Mar 14, 2018 1 searun wrote: Thanks for your analysis and explanations, Roland. The Lenovo has all I need except 8th Gen and it is plain that I will appreciate the newer tech. Lenovo does have models with 8th gen processors coming. It's just a matter of when they arrive, how long you can wait, and how much you want to spend. Now I know you've answered some of those questions but... That said, when you need it you need it. I get it, and it's precisely why I don't have a Microsoft Surface Book 2. I was all hyped and ready to get one but wasn't willing to spend the type of money I would have on last years model when we all knew a new one was on the horizon. In the end I could wait no longer and Microsoft was out, Lenovo in. BTW the new Surface Book Pro 2 didn't release until late November 2017. Five months after I purchased the Lenovo. But yeah, when you need it you need it. But if you can hold out, the 8th gen ones should be released sooner rather than later. Peace:) -- hide signature -- Look kid, there’s the beginning and the end; all that stuff in the middle is positioning for where you finish. OP searun • Veteran Member • Posts: 3,780 Re: You should check the Ark ADMint wrote:searun wrote: Thanks for your analysis and explanations, Roland. The Lenovo has all I need except 8th Gen and it is plain that I will appreciate the newer tech. Right....I did not say I am looking to pick something up now. I found the HP first, with Gen 8 processor. The Lenovo is superior in all ways excepting the Gen 7 processor. Compromise, spend more or accept lessor resolution. Thanks! Olympus E-M1 II OM-1 Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm 1:2.8-3.5 Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm 1:4.8-6.7 II Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro +2 more Keyboard shortcuts: FForum MMy threads Latest sample galleriesLatest in-depth reviewsThe fourth camera in Leica's SL series of full-frame mirrorless cameras sees the 60MP BSI sensor from the Q3 and M11 models arrive with a significant interface redesign. The Fujifilm X100VI is the sixth iteration of Fujifilm's classically-styled large sensor compact. 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How old is i7The Intel Core i7-8550U is a mobile processor with 4 cores, launched in August 2017. It is part of the Core i7 lineup, using the Kaby Lake-U Refresh architecture with BGA 1356. Is 8th gen i7 worth it?Conclusion. Intel 8th Gen processors are a good choice if you are planning to use it for another one or two years. But if you are thinking of using it for more than 2 years, it is recommended to invest in newer generation processors as it will offer good performance and longevity. Is Core i7 worth the extra money?If your computer is lagging or you use it for more demanding tasks, upgrading to the i7 can boost productivity and functionality. For high-end gaming, content creation, and other intensive tasks, it may be worth upgrading to the i7. |
