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Intel Core i3-7167U

Intel Core i3-7167U: Budget Processor for Basic Tasks. Comprehensive Review

Introduction

In 2025, the laptop market is overflowing with processors featuring 8 cores, neural accelerators, and AI support. However, there is still a demand for affordable devices for simple tasks. The Intel Core i3-7167U, released in 2017, can still be found in budget models. Let's analyze who this chip is suitable for and what compromises you will have to make.

1. Architecture and Manufacturing Process: What's Inside?

Kaby Lake: Evolution without Revolution

The i3-7167U is built on the Kaby Lake microarchitecture (7th generation Intel), which is an optimized version of Skylake. Key features include:

- 14nm manufacturing process — the third stage of Intel's "tick-tock" strategy (following Broadwell and Skylake), aimed at improving energy efficiency.

- 2 cores, 4 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading. The base frequency is 2.8 GHz, with no turbo mode available.

- Integrated graphics Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 — 48 EUs (execution units), frequency up to 1.1 GHz. Supports 4K via HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort.

What Sets the iGPU Apart?

The Iris Plus 650 is a step up from HD Graphics 620. It handles HEVC 10-bit and VP9 video decoding, which is important for 4K streaming. However, its gaming capabilities are limited: for instance, in CS:GO on medium settings (720p), you will get around 30-40 FPS.

2. TDP 28W: A Balance between Performance and Heat

Why 28W?

Most U-series processors have a TDP of 15W, but the i3-7167U is an exception. The higher thermal package allows it to maintain high frequencies for longer without throttling. However, this requires:

- A more robust cooling system.

- A larger heatsink, which affects the thickness of the laptop.

Practical Implications

Laptops with this processor are often thinner than "gaming" laptops but thicker than ultrabooks (for example, the Dell Inspiron 5567). Under load, the fans may be noisy, but for office tasks, the noise is minimal.

3. Performance: What Can the i3-7167U Do in 2025?

Office and Multimedia

- Google Chrome: 10-15 tabs + YouTube 1080p — smooth operation but with delays when switching.

- Microsoft Office: Word, Excel — no problems.

- Photo Editors: Lightroom (basic retouching) — acceptable, but exporting will take time.

Gaming

- Light Projects: Minecraft (40-50 FPS on medium), Dota 2 (720p, low settings — 35-45 FPS).

- Modern AAA Titles: Even at 720p, you shouldn't expect comfortable frame rates.

Turbo Mode

The absence of turbo is a downside. Under load, the frequency is fixed (2.8 GHz), limiting short bursts of performance.

4. Use Cases: Who Is It For?

Target Audience:

- Students — for lectures, text work, and Zoom.

- Office Workers — email, documents, spreadsheets.

- Older Adults — browsing, online banking.

Not Suitable For:

- Gamers — even cloud gaming (GeForce NOW) requires stable internet.

- Designers and video editors — insufficient power for rendering.

5. Battery Life: How Long Will It Last?

Impact of TDP

With a TDP of 28W, battery life is shorter than that of 15W counterparts. Typical metrics include:

- Web browsing: 5-6 hours (with a battery capacity of 45-50 Wh).

- Video playback (1080p): up to 7 hours thanks to optimized decoding.

Power Saving Technologies:

- Intel SpeedStep — dynamic frequency adjustment.

- C-States — disabling unused cores.

Tip: Choose laptops with a battery of at least 50 Wh. For example, the ASUS VivoBook 15 X505ZA (price in 2025 — $450) with this processor and 52 Wh offers up to 6.5 hours of operation.

6. Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 3 3200U (2019):

- Pros: 4 threads, Vega 3 iGPU (better for gaming).

- Cons: lower IPC (performance per core).

- Conclusion: Ryzen 3 excels in multithreaded tasks.

Apple M1 (2020):

- Pros: 3-4 times higher performance, 18 hours of battery life.

- Cons: macOS, price (laptops from $700).

Intel Core i5-7200U (Kaby Lake):

- Turbo mode up to 3.1 GHz, but at a higher price. Suitable for those who need single-threaded performance.

7. Pros and Cons of i3-7167U

Strengths:

- Affordable laptop prices ($400-600).

- Support for 4K video.

- Stable performance without overheating.

Weaknesses:

- Only 2 cores — multitasking is limited.

- No turbo mode.

- Outdated architecture — lags behind even budget AMD Ryzen 5000.

8. Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

Types of Devices:

- Budget Ultrabooks — for example, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IAU7.

- 2-in-1 Devices — if a touchscreen is needed (HP Pavilion x360).

What to Look For:

- RAM Size: at least 8GB (preferably 16GB for Windows 11).

- Storage: only SSD (256GB or more).

- Screen: Full HD — HD (1366x768) is outdated in 2025.

Example Model: Acer Aspire 5 A515-54G — Core i3-7167U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, IPS Full HD display. Price — $520.

9. Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i3-7167U in 2025 is an option for those who:

- Are looking for a cheap laptop for basic tasks.

- Do not plan to play games or work with "heavy" programs.

- Value reliability and simplicity.

Alternatives: If your budget allows for $600+, consider laptops with AMD Ryzen 5 5500U or Apple MacBook Air M1. They offer better performance and battery life.

Key Benefit of i3-7167U: The price-to-performance ratio is sufficient for everyday use. It is a "workhorse" that can handle basic tasks, but don't expect miracles from it.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

January 2017

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i3-7167U

Code Name

Kaby Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

2.80 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

28 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

1x4 | 2x2 | 1x2+2x1 and 4x1

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2133 | LPDDR3-1866 | DDR3L-1600

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

32 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

4 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

34.1 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

GPU Name

Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 650

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

300 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.00 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

32 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@30Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096x2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (VGA)

N/A

Number of Displays Supported

Graphics Output

Graphics Output defines the interfaces available to communicate with display devices.

eDP/DP/HDMI/DVI

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

3 MB

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

770

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

1857

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

694

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

1546

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

1705

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

3368

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

EPYC 7281

892 +15.8%

Core i7-5550U

843 +9.5%

Core i3-7167U

770

Core m5-6Y54

713 -7.4%

Athlon 300U

660 -14.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2430

2231 +20.1%

Core i3-4360

2033 +9.5%

Core i3-7167U

1857

Ryzen Embedded R2312

1706 -8.1%

Pentium Gold 6500Y

1535 -17.3%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

EPYC 7351P

737 +6.2%

Core i3-4130T

719 +3.6%

Core i3-7167U

694

Core i7-3630QM

677 -2.4%

Xeon E5-2687W v3

656 -5.5%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2450 v2

1750 +13.2%

Core i3-7100T

1635 +5.8%

Core i3-7167U

1546

Celeron J4125

1465 -5.2%

PRO A10-8770E

1387 -10.3%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i5-4430S

1759 +3.2%

Xeon D-2183IT

1728 +1.3%

Core i3-7167U

1705

Xeon E5-1410 v2

1680 -1.5%

Core i5-2500S

1637 -4%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Ryzen 3 2200U

3710 +10.2%

A10-9700

3536 +5%

Core i3-7167U

3368

Ryzen 3 3250C

3208 -4.8%

Athlon Silver 3050e

3043 -9.6%