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7th Gen i7 Vs 8th Gen i7

idata
Employee
9,694 Views

Hi ,

I saw that in

7th Gen i7 (7700 HQ) --> 2.8 GHz and upto 3.8 GHz

8th Gen i7 (8550 U) --> 1.8 GHz and upto 4.0 GHz

So when compared to 7th Gen i7, 8th Gen i7 is having low performance ?

am not clear with this.

and also still I see 8th Gen i7 (8550 U) is having 4 cores with 8 threads as 7th Gen does.

whats the major difference ?

am looking to purchase laptop and confused to purchase which laptop now. Can anyone suggest here.

Regards,

Bharat

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16 Replies
n_scott_pearson
Super User
4,900 Views

Hhmmm, let's see, you are comparing an Embedded (U) SOC-based Kaby Lake processor with a Mobile (HQ) Kaby Lake processor and wondering why the Mobile part is higher performance? The i7-8550U is being provide as an alternate choice for the top end of the Embedded line, not as an alternate for something in the Mobile line.

Just my opinion...

...S

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idata
Employee
4,900 Views

So I should wait for Mobile Line version of 8th Gen ?

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
4,900 Views

Well, that kind of depends on what you are looking for. What kind of system are you interested in? Neither of these are for desktop systems, unless you are looking for a SFF design (like the NUCs, which mostly use the U Series processors). The HQ series would appear in laptops/notebooks.

...S

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idata
Employee
4,901 Views

Am looking for a laptop for gaming, and for business purpose to work with some programming stuff as well for data mining stuff too.

Looking for quad core processor laptops. I came across 8th Gen i7 and I thought this is more powerful than 7th Gen i7.

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MartyG
Honored Contributor III
4,901 Views

According to a TrustedReviews report, the first versions of the mobile 8th Generation chips are based on a refined version of the 7th Generation chips, and have lower clock speeds than the dual-core predecessors to help manage heat output. Overall performance should still be better than 7th Gen though.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/intel-8th-gen-core-specs-technology-explained-2952599 Intel 8th-gen CPUs Revealed: Double the cores, but where's Coffee Lake?

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idata
Employee
4,901 Views

So, even when compared with Quad Core Processors like below:

7th Gen i7 (7820 HQ) having 2.9 GHz as base Clock Speed and upto 3.9 GHz ,

and

8th Gen i7 (8550U) is having 1.8 GHz as base Clock Speed and upto 4.0 GHz

Base Clock speed will not impact the system performance ?

So as I thought of purchasing laptop with 7820 HQ Processor, can I go with 8th Gen i7 (8550U) processor laptop to get more better performance than the 7th Gen i7 (7820 HQ) Laptops does ?

Regards,

Bharat

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MartyG
Honored Contributor III
4,901 Views

As I understand it, although the clock speed may be less on this first version of 8th generation mobile processors, it does not lose performance because the new chips are more efficient at multi-tasking than the previous generation.

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idata
Employee
4,901 Views

Thank you MartyG, am going to purchase HP Spectre which is having 8th Gen i7 (8550U) instead of purchasing Lenovo P51 which is having 7th Gen i7 (7820 HQ).

I expect better performance than Lenovo with 7th Gen i7 now. So am glad to have that 8th Gen i7.

Regards,

Bharat

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MartyG
Honored Contributor III
4,901 Views

You are very welcome. Good luck with your 8th generation purchase!

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
4,901 Views

Sorry Marty but I have to disagree...

Intel's statements regarding performance improvements are specifically targeted at situations where the 8 Series processor (typically with additional Cores, cache, etc.) is a replacement for a 7 Series processor. When we talk about the Core i7-7700HQ processor, we are talking about a Kaby Lake 14nm, 4 Core, 8 Thread, 45 Watt Mobile processor. When we talk about the new Core i7-8550U, we are talking about a Kaby Lake 14nm, 4 Core, 8 Thread, 15 Watt Embedded processor. Yes, I know, ARK calls it a Mobile segment part, but this is, in my mind, quite the stretch. Intel may consider the performance improvement to be enough to call it a Mobile part, but it is still an Embedded U family 15 Watt SOC part and I don't believe that it's improved cache and more-efficient multitasking is going to be enough to beat the existing Mobile HQ family 45 Watt non-SOC part with equivalent Core and thread counts. The Core i7-8550U is not, in my mind, an upgrade for the Core i7-7700HQ. A more reasonable statement would be that the Core i7-8550U is the replacement -- and yes, a significant performance upgrade -- for the Core i7-7600U processor.

At the end of the day, we're still talking about something that is only going to be decided when someone does a full and proper comparison of these parts in action. Intel can make all the claims they want about how much of an improvement you get from these larger "SMART" caches and more-efficient multi-threading, but the proof is in the pudding.

...S

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idata
Employee
4,901 Views

So 8th Gen i7 is to replace 7th Gen Dual Core Processors ?

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n_scott_pearson
Super User
4,901 Views

Yes, that's what the 8th Gen is all about.

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SSaad
Beginner
4,901 Views

Hi BharatG, did you go with 8550U and do you run Virtual Machine on the laptop? How's your experience?

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SJohn22
Beginner
4,902 Views

Don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but when they say the i7-8550U will do 4.00Ghz turbo, (vs 3.8Ghz for the 7700) it's only for one core. When using turbo for all 4 cores, 8550U will only hit 2.50Ghz, where the 7700HQ will hit 3.40Ghz using all 4 cores. That's a 36% higher turbo level with the 7700HQ, along with the 56% higher base level of the 7700HQ. For mobile gaming most recommend staying away from the U series and getting an HQ series. HQ seems to be built for performance, and U series for great battery life. My guess is the 7700HQ will stomp the 8550U regarding game performance. That being said, the 8550 specs are pretty impressive for a U series, and could almost be considered an entry or mid level HQ type chip, considering it has 4 actual cores instead of 2.

SSaad
Beginner
4,902 Views

Any idea how these two will handle virtual machines and development tools like visual studio for compilation?

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FGuy
Beginner
4,902 Views

https://youtu.be/HxlHioejSEw 8550U vs 7700HQ - Laptop CPU Comparison and Benchmarks - YouTube

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