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Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U vs Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H: Comparison
8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U vs 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H total cores compared
There is no decisive spec gap here. Total cores splits them by a margin most buyers will never feel, 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U 4 against 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H 6. L3 cache runs the same way, 8 MB on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U versus 9 MB on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H, another win for 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H. They differ on socket too, FCBGA1356 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U versus FCBGA1440 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H. There is a split on release year as well, 2017 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U versus 2018 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H.
Which should you buy, 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U or 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H?
Take the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U for buyers of this laptop generation wanting the premium tier within Intel's first genuinely 4-core U-series generation. It is the wrong buy for buyers with access to newer generations, considerably more recent U-series chips offer meaningful IPC and efficiency gains. Take the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H for premium mobile workstations from major OEMs wanting a modest step up over the mainstream i7-8750H. It is not the one for budget-conscious buyers, the mainstream i7-8750H delivers very close performance for typically less.
What 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U and 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H have in common
Where they agree, they agree completely, efficiency cores, integrated graphics, product line, form factor and market segment included, so the decision does not turn on any of those. They match on 1 further specification as well.
Frequently asked questions
Do the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U and 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H differ on performance cores?
Yes. Performance Cores reads 4 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U versus 6 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H.
Is the SMT Enabled the same on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U and 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H?
It is. Both are listed at Yes, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Specs and benchmarks
Brand
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Intel
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Intel
Product Line
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Core i7
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Core i7
Form Factor
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Laptop
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Laptop
Model Number
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 8550U
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 8850H
Codename
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Kaby Lake
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Coffee Lake
Release Year
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 2017
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 2018
TDP
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 15 W
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 45 W
iGPU
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
Market Segment
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Laptop
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Laptop
Microarchitecture
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Kaby Lake Refresh, 8th Gen Intel Core
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Coffee Lake, 8th Gen Intel Core
Socket
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- FCBGA1356
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- FCBGA1440
Process Node
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 14 nm
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 14 nm
Total Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 4
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 6Best
Performance Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 4
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 6Best
Efficiency Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 0
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 0
Total Threads
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 8
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 12Best
SMT Enabled
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Yes
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Yes
P-Core Base Clock
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 1.8 GHz
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 2.6 GHz
P-Core Boost Clock
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 4.0 GHz
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 4.3 GHz
L3 Cache
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 8 MB-11%
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 9 MBBest
Base Power
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- 15 W
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- 45 W
Memory Type
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- DDR4, LPDDR3Best
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- DDR3-2133, DDR4-2666
Integrated Graphics
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U
- Yes
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8850H
- Yes
Which one should you pick?
Choose 8550U if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Choose 8850H if you want the higher L3 cache (9 MB vs 8 MB).