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Intel Core i5-8500T

Intel Core i5-8500T: Compact Power for Basic Tasks

April 2025

Introduction

The Intel Core i5-8500T processor, released in 2018, remains a popular choice for budget PCs and compact systems. Despite its age, its energy efficiency and balanced performance keep it relevant in 2025. In this article, we will explore who this chip is suitable for, how to build a PC based on it, and how it differs from competitors.

1. Key Specifications

Architecture and Process Technology

The i5-8500T is built on the Coffee Lake architecture (14 nm). This is the sixth generation of Intel Core processors, optimized for multi-threaded tasks. The 14 nm process ensures moderate heat output, which is critical for systems with low TDP (35 W).

Performance

- 6 cores / 6 threads: The absence of Hyper-Threading limits multitasking but is sufficient for basic scenarios.

- Base clock speed: 2.1 GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz.

- L3 Cache: 9 MB — adequate for handling data in office applications and light gaming.

- Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 (base clock 350 MHz, dynamic up to 1.1 GHz).

Geekbench 6:

- Single-Core: 1171 — on par with modern budget CPUs (e.g., Intel Core i3-12100T).

- Multi-Core: 4063 — lower than 8-core Ryzen processors but sufficient for document work and browsing.

Key Features:

- Support for Intel Quick Sync Video for fast video encoding.

- Power-saving technologies (Speed Shift, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep).

2. Compatible Motherboards

Socket: LGA 1151 v2 (not compatible with the first version of LGA 1151!).

Chipsets:

- H310/B360/H370: Budget options without overclocking. For example, ASUS Prime B360M-A ($70-90 in 2025).

- Z370/Z390: For enthusiasts — supports RAM overclocking and more PCIe lanes. Example: MSI Z390-A Pro ($120-150).

Choosing Recommendations:

- Ensure that the motherboard’s BIOS is updated to a version that supports Coffee Lake.

- For compact builds, Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX boards are suitable (e.g., Gigabyte H370N WiFi).

3. Supported Memory Types

- Type: DDR4-2666 (official support).

- Modes: Dual-channel — for maximum performance.

- Recommendations:

- 16 GB (2x8 GB) — optimal for Windows 11 and multimedia tasks.

- 32 GB — for virtualization or working with large databases.

Important: DDR5 and LPDDR4x are not supported.

4. Power Supplies

With a TDP of 35 W, the processor does not require a powerful PSU, but it is important to consider other components:

- Integrated Graphics: A PSU rated at 300-400 W (e.g., be quiet! Pure Power 11 400W, $55).

- With a discrete graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA GTX 1650): 450-500 W (Corsair CX550, $65).

- Certification: 80+ Bronze or higher.

5. Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Low power consumption — suitable for mini-PCs and servers.

- Quiet operation even with the stock cooler.

- Adequate performance for office tasks and streaming video (4K via HDMI 1.4).

Cons:

- No Hyper-Threading — lags behind in multi-threading compared to Ryzen 5 2600.

- Limited upgrade options: Socket LGA 1151 v2 is outdated.

6. Use Cases

- Office and Study: Working with Office applications, browsers (20+ tabs), Zoom.

- Media Center: Streaming content (Netflix, YouTube) through HDMI.

- Light Gaming: CS:GO (60 FPS on low settings), Minecraft.

- Work Tasks: Photoshop, Visual Studio Code, 3D modeling in SketchUp (with discrete GPU).

Practical Example: A PC with an i5-8500T + 16 GB RAM + NVMe SSD boots Windows 11 in 8-10 seconds.

7. Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores / 12 threads, TDP 65 W):

- Better in multi-threaded tasks (Geekbench 6 Multi-Core ~5500).

- Higher price ($130 compared to $90 for a used i5-8500T).

- Intel Core i5-9500T (9 MB cache, Turbo at 3.7 GHz):

- 5-10% improvement in single-threaded performance.

- Rarely available for sale.

8. Practical Build Tips

- Case: Choose compact models (Fractal Design Node 304) for HTPC.

- Cooling: The stock cooler is sufficient, but install a Noctua NH-L9i for quieter operation.

- Drives: Use NVMe SSDs (via PCIe adapter if the motherboard lacks an M.2 slot).

- Networking: Add a Wi-Fi 6 card (e.g., TP-Link Archer TX3000E).

9. Final Conclusion

The Intel Core i5-8500T is suitable for:

- Office PCs: Low power consumption + stability.

- Home Theaters: 4K video and quiet operation.

- Budget Builds: Market price is $70-90 (April 2025).

Do not choose this processor if:

- You need high FPS in AAA games.

- You plan to use heavy editors (Blender, Premiere Pro).

In the context of 2025, the i5-8500T remains a niche solution for those who value a balance of price, energy efficiency, and adequate performance.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

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.

i5-8500T

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

2.10 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.

3.50 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

3.50 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.

L3 Cache

9 MB

CPU Socket

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

FCLGA1151

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

35 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

Max Memory Size

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

128 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).

41.6 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.

1.10 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@24Hz

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

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.

9 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 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

Source of information

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1171

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

4063

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

856

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3618

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2015

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

7697

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i3-N305

1251 +6.8%

Core i5-8257U

1207 +3.1%

Core i5-8500T

1171

Xeon E3-1275 v3

1140 -2.6%

Core i7-10510U

1103 -5.8%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Ryzen 5 1600

4567 +12.4%

Xeon E3-1270L v4

4271 +5.1%

Core i5-8500T

4063

Core i5-8257U

3851 -5.2%

Core i5-4670K

3600 -11.4%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i5-4670

886 +3.5%

Ryzen 7 3750H

871 +1.8%

Core i5-8500T

856

Xeon E5-2687W v4

838 -2.1%

Core i7-2600K

819 -4.3%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i9-10980HK

3950 +9.2%

Core i5-1035G7

3778 +4.4%

Core i5-8500T

3618

Xeon E3-1270 v6

3503 -3.2%

Xeon L5640

3370 -6.9%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i7-3770K

2072 +2.8%

Core i5-6440EQ

2044 +1.4%

Core i5-8500T

2015

Core i5-7260U

1987 -1.4%

Core i7-7560U

1963 -2.6%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E3-1585 v5

8408 +9.2%

Xeon E3-1285L v4

8074 +4.9%

Core i5-8500T

7697

Xeon E5-2608L v4

7447 -3.2%

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U

7215 -6.3%