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Intel Core i9-8950HK

Intel Core i9-8950HK in 2025: Is it Worth Considering an Outdated Flagship?

Analysis of capabilities, use cases, and relevance of the processor for modern tasks

Architecture and Manufacturing Process: Legacy of the 14 nm Era

The Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, released in 2018, belongs to the Coffee Lake generation and is still found in some budget gaming and work laptops. Its architecture is based on a 14 nm manufacturing process, which appears archaic in 2025 compared to the 5 nm chips from Apple M3 or the 4 nm AMD Ryzen 8000 series. Nonetheless, its specifications are still impressive:

- 6 cores and 12 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading;

- Base frequency of 2.9 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.8 GHz;

- 12 MB of L3 cache;

- Integrated graphics of Intel UHD Graphics 630 with a base frequency of 350 MHz and a maximum frequency of 1.2 GHz.

Architecture Features:

- Support for DDR4-2666 memory;

- Overclocking capability (the ‘HK’ model is unlocked);

- 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes for connecting discrete graphics or NVMe storage.

iGPU UHD 630 is a weak point in 2025. It handles office tasks, streaming video (including 4K), and less demanding games like CS:GO or Dota 2 on low settings (30-40 FPS). For modern titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Alan Wake 2, a discrete graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA RTX 4050 or higher) is required.

Power Consumption and TDP: A Compromise Between Power and Heat

The nominal TDP of the processor is 45 W, but the actual power consumption under load can reach 90-100 W in Turbo mode. This creates two problems:

1. Heat Generation. Without an effective cooling system (such as substantial heat sinks and fans), the processor can quickly overheat, leading to throttling—reduction in frequencies to prevent damage.

2. Battery Life. In laptops with a 60-70 Wh battery, runtime under load rarely exceeds 2-3 hours.

Power-Saving Technologies:

- Intel Speed Shift — dynamic frequency management to reduce power consumption during idle periods;

- Adaptix Thermal Framework — optimization of fan operations based on load.

Performance: How Does It Handle Modern Tasks?

Geekbench 6:

- Single-Core: 1372;

- Multi-Core: 4916.

For comparison:

- Apple M1 (2020) — 2300 (Single), 8300 (Multi);

- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (2023) — 2700 (Single), 13500 (Multi).

Real-World Scenarios:

1. Office Work (Chrome, Excel, Zoom):

The processor performs seamlessly, even with a dozen tabs and background applications.

2. Multimedia (Premiere Pro, Blender):

Rendering a 10-minute 1080p video takes about 12 minutes (compared to about 5 minutes with the Ryzen 7 7700). In 2025, this is an average result.

3. Gaming:

Paired with an RTX 4060 at Full HD:

- Apex Legends — 90-110 FPS;

- Shadow of the Tomb Raider — 75 FPS;

- Cyberpunk 2077 (without ray tracing) — 45-55 FPS.

Turbo Boost Mode:

With good cooling, the frequency maintains around 4.5-4.7 GHz, but after 10-15 minutes of heavy load, throttling down to 3.8-4.0 GHz may occur.

Use Cases: Who Would Benefit from the i9-8950HK in 2025?

1. Budget Gamers. Laptops with this CPU and RTX 4050/4060 can be found for $800-1000. For gaming at Full HD on medium settings, it's an acceptable option.

2. Professionals on a Tight Budget. Suitable for video editing, 3D modeling, and programming if maximum rendering speed is not required.

3. Users Upgrading Old Devices. If your laptop from 2018-2020 has burned out and your budget is limited—this is a temporary solution.

Battery Life: The Price for Performance

In web browsing and document work, the laptop will last 4-5 hours (with a 70 Wh battery). In gaming or under load — 1.5-2 hours. To save battery life, users can:

- Disable Turbo Boost using utilities like ThrottleStop;

- Use the "Power Saving" mode in Windows;

- Replace HDD with SSD and eliminate background processes.

Comparison with Competitors

1. AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (2021):

- 8 cores / 16 threads;

- Better multi-threaded performance (+20%);

- 7 nm manufacturing process, lower heat output.

2. Apple M1 (2020):

- Energy efficiency is 2-3 times better;

- Powerful iGPU, but limited compatibility with Windows applications.

3. Intel Core i5-13420H (2024):

- 10-core hybrid CPU;

- 30% faster in single-threaded tasks;

- TDP of 45 W, but higher IPC.

Conclusion: The i9-8950HK lags behind modern counterparts but excels in price.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- High performance for its age;

- Unlocked multiplier for overclocking;

- Compatibility with Windows 10/11 and Linux.

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14 nm manufacturing process;

- Low energy efficiency;

- Weak integrated graphics.

Laptop Selection Recommendations

1. Type of Device:

- Gaming Laptops (ASUS TUF, MSI Bravo) — focus on cooling and discrete graphics.

- Workstations (Dell Precision) — large RAM (32 GB recommended) and 1 TB SSD.

2. What to Look For:

- Cooling System: at least 2 fans, copper heat pipes.

- Battery: at least 70 Wh.

- Ports: USB-C, HDMI 2.0, Thunderbolt 3.

Prices in 2025:

- New laptops with i9-8950HK — $800-1200;

- Similar models with Ryzen 5 7600H — starting from $1000.

Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i9-8950HK in 2025 is a niche solution for:

- Gamers willing to compromise between price and performance;

- Users needing a temporary laptop for basic professional tasks;

- Enthusiasts experimenting with overclocking on a budget platform.

Key Benefits: low cost, proven reliability, compatibility with most software. However, for long-term prospects, it's better to consider ARM models (Apple M series) or modern hybrid CPUs from Intel/AMD.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Mobile

Launch Date

April 2018

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.

i9-8950HK

Code Name

Coffee 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

2.90 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.80 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.

2.0

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

L3 Cache

12 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCBGA1440

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

45 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.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

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.

DDR4-2666 | LPDDR3-2133

Max Memory Size

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

64 GB

Memory Channels

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

Bus Speed

8 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).

41.8 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

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

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

350 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.

1.20 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 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.

12 MB Intel® Smart Cache

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 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 Flex Memory Access

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

1372

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

4916

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1076

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

4922

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2452

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

10567

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 3 3100

1470 +7.1%

Xeon Gold 5520+

1414 +3.1%

Core i9-8950HK

1372

Xeon E3-1285 v4

1333 -2.8%

Core i7-8557U

1288 -6.1%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E5-2675 v3

5545 +12.8%

Xeon E5-1650 v3

5289 +7.6%

Core i9-8950HK

4916

Xeon W-2223

4623 -6%

Xeon E5-2648L

4386 -10.8%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-1130G7

1119 +4%

Ryzen 9 4900HS

1103 +2.5%

Core i9-8950HK

1076

Xeon E-2236

1061 -1.4%

Pentium Gold 8500

1035 -3.8%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Gold 6132

5431 +10.3%

Xeon X5670

5151 +4.7%

Core i9-8950HK

4922

Core i5-10500E

4678 -5%

Xeon Gold 5120

4454 -9.5%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon Gold 6334

2545 +3.8%

Core i3-1125G4

2501 +2%

Core i9-8950HK

2452

Xeon Gold 6242R

2424 -1.1%

Core i5-8400

2388 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i3-13100E

11650 +10.2%

Core i3-1215U

11053 +4.6%

Core i9-8950HK

10567

Xeon Silver 4110

10146 -4%

Core i7-7700K

9655 -8.6%