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Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U vs Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H: Comparison
What is the difference between 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U and 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H?
L3 cache is where these two genuinely part company, 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U 8 MB against 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H 24 MB, a 67% lead for 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H. L2 cache runs the same way, 1 MB on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U versus 10 MB on the 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H, another win for 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H. Tdp is not the same on both, 15 W on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U versus 45 W on the 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H. They differ on socket too, FCBGA1528 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U versus FCBGA1787 on the 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H.
8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U vs 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H: which one fits your build
Take the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U for premium ultraportable laptops wanting genuinely stronger integrated graphics than standard UHD configurations. Avoid it for buyers needing dedicated gaming or heavy creative graphics capability, a discrete GPU remains necessary for that. Take the 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H for premium gaming and mobile workstation laptops wanting Intel's Tiger Lake H flagship-tier 8-core performance. It is the wrong buy for enthusiasts specifically wanting mobile overclocking, the unlocked i9-11980HK offers that instead.
What 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U and 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H have in common
Where they agree, they agree completely, efficiency cores, integrated graphics, form factor, market segment and smt enabled included, so the decision does not turn on any of those.
Frequently asked questions
Do the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U and 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H differ on total cores?
Yes. Total Cores reads 4 on the 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U versus 8 on the 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H.
Specs and benchmarks
Brand
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Intel
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Intel
Product Line
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Core i7
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Core i9
Form Factor
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Laptop
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Laptop
Model Number
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 8557U
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 11950H
Codename
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Coffee Lake
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Tiger Lake
Release Year
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 2019
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 2021
TDP
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 15 W
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 45 W
iGPU
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Intel UHD Graphics Xe 750 (32 EU)
Market Segment
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Laptop
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Laptop
Microarchitecture
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Coffee Lake, 8th Gen Intel Core
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Tiger Lake H, 11th Gen Intel Core
Socket
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- FCBGA1528
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- FCBGA1787
Process Node
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 14 nm
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 10 nm
Total Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 4
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 8Best
Performance Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 4
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 8Best
Efficiency Cores
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 0
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 0
Total Threads
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 8
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 16Best
SMT Enabled
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Yes
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Yes
P-Core Base Clock
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 1.7 GHz
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 2.6 GHz
P-Core Boost Clock
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 4.5 GHz
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 5.0 GHz
L2 Cache
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 1 MB-90%
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 10 MBBest
L3 Cache
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- 8 MB-67%
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- 24 MBBest
Memory Type
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- DDR4-3200, LPDDR4X-4267
Integrated Graphics
- Intel 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8557U
- Yes
- Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i9 11950H
- Yes
Which one should you pick?
Choose 8557U if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Choose 11950H if you want the higher L2 cache (10 MB vs 1 MB) and the higher L3 cache (24 MB vs 8 MB).