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Intel Core i7-8565U

Intel Core i7-8565U: Processor Review for Mobile Devices in 2025

Relevance in 2025, key features, and selection recommendations

Architecture and Process Technology: Why is Whiskey Lake Still Relevant?

The Intel Core i7-8565U processor, released in 2018, continues to be utilized in budget and corporate laptops due to its balanced characteristics.

Cores, Threads, and Frequencies

- 4 Cores / 8 Threads: Multithreading enables comfortable operation with office applications and light creative tasks.

- Base Frequency of 1.8 GHz: A low base frequency reduces power consumption during idle periods.

- Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz: Temporary “boost” speeds up program launches and processing of short tasks (e.g., opening large PDF or Excel files).

14 nm Process Technology and Architecture

Despite the outdated 14 nm process (compared to 7 nm AMD and 5 nm Apple), Whiskey Lake has received optimizations:

- Improved power management.

- Support for Wi-Fi 6 (at release) and Bluetooth 5.0.

- Integrated UHD Graphics 620: 24 EUs (execution units), frequency up to 1.15 GHz. Suitable for 4K video, but weak for gaming (see the "Performance" section).

Power Consumption and TDP: Balancing Power and Battery Life

TDP of 15 W — a key parameter for ultrabooks. This means:

- Laptops with this CPU are thin (13–15 mm) and lightweight (1–1.5 kg).

- Cooling systems are compact, but prolonged loads may result in throttling (frequency drop due to overheating).

- The processor is adapted for “burst” operation: high performance in Turbo Boost is followed by a drop in frequencies for cooling.

Example: In the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 (price in 2025 — $600-700), the i7-8565U reliably maintains 3.5–3.8 GHz during video rendering, but after 10 minutes, frequency drops to 2.5 GHz.

Performance: What to Expect in 2025?

Office Work and Multimedia

- Geekbench 6: 1249 (Single-Core), 3461 (Multi-Core). For comparison: Ryzen 5 5500U (2021) scores ~1300/4800.

- Real Tasks:

- Chrome with 20 tabs + Zoom + Excel: delays are minimal.

- 4K video in VLC or YouTube: smooth playback due to hardware GPU decoding.

- Photoshop: yes for photo retouching — no for 3D effects.

Gaming

- UHD Graphics 620: 15–25 FPS in Dota 2 (720p, low settings), 10–15 FPS in Fortnite (720p).

- Recommendation: For gaming, connect an external graphics card via Thunderbolt 3 (supported by the processor).

Turbo Boost Mode: Pros and Cons

Turbo activates at temperatures below 70°C. Example:

- Converting a 10-minute video in HandBrake: first 2 minutes at 4.1 GHz, then 3.3 GHz.

- In laptops with poor cooling (e.g., HP Pavilion 14, $550), Turbo operates less stably.

Use Cases: Who is the i7-8565U Suitable For?

- Students: Working with text, presentations, online courses.

- Office Workers: Excel, CRM systems, video conferencing.

- Travelers: Compactness and battery life (up to 10 hours in reading mode).

- Not Suitable For: Video editing in DaVinci Resolve, 3D modeling, streaming.

Battery Life: How Does TDP Affect Runtime?

- Power-saving Technologies:

- Speed Shift: Dynamic frequency switching to reduce latency.

- C-States: Disable unused cores.

- Runtime:

- Web browsing: 8–10 hours (with a battery capacity of 50 Wh).

- Video playback: 6–7 hours.

- Gaming: 1.5–2 hours.

Tip: Choose laptops with batteries from 60 Wh (e.g., Dell Latitude 7400, $650) for increased battery life.

Comparison with Competitors: Which is Better — Intel, AMD, or Apple?

- AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (2021): 20% faster in multithreaded tasks, but worse optimization for Windows 10/11.

- Apple M1 (2020): Twice the performance at similar TDP, but macOS and limited compatibility with Windows programs.

- Intel Core i5-1135G7 (2020): Better graphics (Iris Xe), but more expensive.

Conclusion: In 2025, the i7-8565U is a candidate for budget Windows laptops, but it falls short compared to modern counterparts.

Pros and Cons

Strengths:

- High single-core performance for office tasks.

- Supports Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6.

- Low-cost laptops (starting from $500).

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14 nm process technology.

- Heating under load.

- Weak iGPU for gaming.

Laptop Selection Recommendations

1. Device Type: Ultrabook or business laptop (e.g., Asus ZenBook 14, $600).

2. Cooling: 2 fans + copper heat pipes (check reviews for throttling).

3. RAM: Minimum 16 GB DDR4.

4. Storage: 512 GB NVMe SSD.

5. Display: IPS panel with 1920×1080 resolution.

Avoid models with TN panels and 8 GB RAM — these are a "bottleneck" for multitasking.

Final Conclusion: Is it Worth Buying a Laptop with i7-8565U in 2025?

This processor is suitable for:

- Users who need an affordable ($500–700) laptop for working with documents and online.

- Those who value battery life and portability.

- Corporate clients upgrading device fleets on a limited budget.

Key Advantages: Reliability, established platform, compatibility with Windows 11. However, if your budget allows, consider laptops with Intel 12th generation processors or AMD Ryzen 7000 — they offer better performance and energy efficiency.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Laptop

Launch Date

October 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.

i7-8565U

Code Name

Whiskey 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.

Performance-cores

Performance-core Base Frequency

1.8 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

4.6 GHz

L1 Cache

64K per core

L2 Cache

256K per core

L3 Cache

8MB shared

Unlocked Multiplier

Multiplier

18x

Bus Frequency

100MHz

CPU Socket

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

BGA-1528

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

15 W

Max. Operating Temperature

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

100 °C

PCIe Version

PCI Express is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard used for connecting high-speed components, replacing older standards such as AGP, PCI, and PCI-X. It has gone through multiple revisions and improvements since its initial release. PCIe 1.0 was first introduced in 2002, and in order to meet the growing demand for higher bandwidth, subsequent versions have been released over time.

3.0

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.

x86-64

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.

DDR4-2400

Max Memory Size

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

64GB

Memory Channels

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

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).

37.5 GB/s

ECC Memory 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.

True

GPU Max Dynamic Frequency

1150 MHz

GPU Base Frequency

300 MHz

Execution Units

The Execution Unit is the foundational building block of Intel’s graphics architecture. Execution Units are compute processors optimized for simultaneous Multi-Threading for high throughput compute power.

Max Resolution

4096x2304 - 60 Hz

Graphics Performance

0.38 TFLOPS

Miscellaneous

Extended Instruction Set

SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX-2

PCIe Lanes

Benchmarks

Cinebench R23

Single Core Score

1057

Cinebench R23

Multi Core Score

3130

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1249

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

3461

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1020

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

3064

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2527

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

6187

Blender

Score

Compared to Other CPU

Cinebench R23 Single Core

Snapdragon X Elite

1772 +67.6%

M1 Pro

1545 +46.2%

Core i9-10940X

1260 +19.2%

Core i7-8565U

1057

Pentium N3710

201 -81%

Cinebench R23 Multi Core

Core i9-10920X

15767 +403.7%

M1 Max

12629 +303.5%

Core i7-5960X

9720 +210.5%

Core i5-8365U

3567 +14%

Core i7-8565U

3130

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i9-9940X

1328 +6.3%

Xeon W-2140B

1284 +2.8%

Core i7-8565U

1249

Core i5-7600T

1207 -3.4%

Ryzen Threadripper 1900X

1171 -6.2%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon E-2278G

3913 +13.1%

Xeon E5-2623 v3

3683 +6.4%

Core i7-8565U

3461

Core i7-3960X

3214 -7.1%

Core i3-8100T

3017 -12.8%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Ryzen 5 4600GE

1065 +4.4%

Xeon W-2170B

1042 +2.2%

Core i7-8565U

1020

Core i7-4770K

1001 -1.9%

Xeon Platinum 8158

973 -4.6%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

FX-8300

3309 +8%

Core i7-4770R

3189 +4.1%

Core i7-8565U

3064

Core i7-6820EQ

2918 -4.8%

Core i5-4590S

2775 -9.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon W-2155

2599 +2.8%

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

2565 +1.5%

Core i7-8565U

2527

Xeon Gold 5315Y

2480 -1.9%

EPYC 8534P

2444 -3.3%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Ryzen 3 PRO 2200G

6704 +8.4%

Xeon E5-2420

6358 +2.8%

Core i7-8565U

6187

Opteron 6378

5889 -4.8%

Xeon E3-1240L v3

5634 -8.9%

Blender

Xeon Silver 4310

224 +409.1%

M1 Pro

172 +290.9%

112 +154.5%

Ryzen 3 2200G

45 +2.3%

Core i7-8565U