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Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y vs Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H: Comparison

What is the difference between 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y and 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H?

The gap that matters here is l3 cache: 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y 4 MB against 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H 12 MB, which puts 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H 67% ahead. L2 cache runs the same way, 0.5 MB on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y versus 1.5 MB on the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H, another win for 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H. There is a split on tdp as well, 5 W on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y versus 45 W on the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H. They differ on socket too, FCBGA1515 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y versus FCBGA1440 on the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H.

Which should you buy, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y or 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H?

Take the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y for premium fanless 2-in-1 and ultraportable designs wanting the strongest available chip in Intel's ultra-low-power tier. Avoid it for any performance-focused computing, the 5W power budget is a genuine ceiling on sustained throughput. Take the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H for gaming and creator laptops of its generation wanting solid 6-core Coffee Lake Refresh performance. It is not the one for buyers with access to the later 10th Gen i7-10750H, that chip offers a modest generational improvement on a similar core configuration.

Where the two are identical

Where they agree, they agree completely, efficiency cores, integrated graphics, product line, form factor and release year included, so the decision does not turn on any of those. They match on 2 further specifications as well.

Frequently asked questions

Do the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y and 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H differ on total cores?

Yes. Total Cores reads 2 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y versus 6 on the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H.

Is the Market Segment the same on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y and 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H?

It is. Both are listed at Laptop, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.

Specs and benchmarks

  • Brand

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Intel
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Intel
  • Product Line

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Core i7
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Core i7
  • Form Factor

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Laptop
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Laptop
  • Model Number

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    8500Y
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    9850H
  • Codename

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Amber Lake Y
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Coffee Lake
  • Release Year

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    2019
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    2019
  • TDP

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    5 W
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    45 W
  • iGPU

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Intel UHD Graphics 615
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
  • Market Segment

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Laptop
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Laptop
  • Microarchitecture

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Amber Lake, 8th Gen Intel Core
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Coffee Lake Refresh, 9th Gen Intel Core
  • Socket

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    FCBGA1515
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    FCBGA1440
  • Process Node

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    14 nm
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    14 nm
  • Total Cores

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    2
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    6Best
  • Performance Cores

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    2
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    6Best
  • Efficiency Cores

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    0
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    0
  • Total Threads

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    4
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    12Best
  • SMT Enabled

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Yes
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Yes
  • P-Core Base Clock

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    1.5 GHz
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    2.6 GHz
  • P-Core Boost Clock

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    4.2 GHz
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    4.6 GHz
  • L2 Cache

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    0.5 MB-67%
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    1.5 MBBest
  • L3 Cache

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    4 MB-67%
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    12 MBBest
  • Base Power

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    5 W
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    45 W
  • Memory Type

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    DDR3L-1600, LPDDR3-1866
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    DDR4-2666, LPDDR3-2133Best
  • Integrated Graphics

    Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8500Y
    Yes
    Intel 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H
    Yes

    Which one should you pick?

    Choose 8500Y if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.

    Choose 9850H if you want the higher L2 cache (1.5 MB vs 0.5 MB) and the higher L3 cache (12 MB vs 4 MB).

    More comparisons in Processors (CPUs)