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Intel Core i7-8850H

Intel Core i7-8850H: Review of the 2025 Laptop Processor

April 2025

Although the Intel Core i7-8850H was released in 2018, this processor remains relevant for many users today. Its popularity can be attributed to the balance it offers between performance, energy efficiency, and affordability. In this article, we will explore who should pay attention to this CPU in 2025, how it handles modern tasks, and what alternatives are available.

1. Architecture and Manufacturing Process: Coffee Lake on 14nm

Code Name and Technology

The Core i7-8850H belongs to the Coffee Lake generation, built on a 14nm manufacturing process. Despite Intel's shift to thinner 7nm and 5nm standards by 2025, 14nm chips are still used in budget and mid-range laptops due to their proven technology and low production costs.

Cores, Threads, and Cache

- 6 Cores / 12 Threads: Multithreading allows for efficient handling of resource-intensive applications (video editing, 3D rendering).

- Base Clock: 2.6 GHz, with a maximum in Turbo Boost of 4.3 GHz.

- L3 Cache: 12 MB — sufficient for quick data access in multitasking scenarios.

Integrated Graphics

The Intel UHD Graphics 630 is an integrated GPU with a base clock of 350 MHz and a maximum of 1.15 GHz. It is suitable for:

- Watching 4K videos.

- Light gaming (for example, CS:GO at low settings — 40-50 FPS).

- Working with graphic editing software (Photoshop, Lightroom).

However, for modern AAA games or 4K video editing, a discrete graphics card (such as the NVIDIA RTX 3050) is required.

2. TDP 45W: Power Consumption and Heat Generation

What Does TDP 45W Mean?

TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the maximum heat output that the cooling system must dissipate. For the i7-8850H, this is 45W — a specification typical for performance laptops (gaming or workstations), but not for ultrabooks.

Cooling Features

- In compact cases (up to 18 mm thick), the processor may overheat and throttle (reduce frequencies).

- In gaming laptops with powerful coolers (such as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus), temperatures remain within 75-85°C under load.

Energy Efficiency

Compared to modern 7nm processors (such as the AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS), the i7-8850H lags in power consumption. However, Intel's Speed Shift and Dynamic Tuning technologies help reduce battery drain during idle periods.

3. Performance: Real-World Task Testing

Office Work

- Microsoft Office, browser with 20+ tabs: CPU usage is 15-20%, temperature is 50-55°C.

- Zoom conferences + work in Figma: Threads distribute load evenly, with no delays.

Multimedia

- Premiere Pro (rendering 1080p video): The 6-core CPU handles it in 8-10 minutes (compared to 6-7 minutes for Ryzen 7 5800H).

- Streaming (OBS + gaming): With a discrete GPU (like RTX 3060), the CPU does not become a bottleneck.

Gaming

- Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, medium settings + RTX 3050 Ti): FPS 50-60, CPU load 70-80%.

- Turbo Boost: Under peak loads, the frequency rises to 4.3 GHz, but only on 1-2 cores.

Geekbench 6

- Single-Core: 1308 — comparable to Ryzen 5 5600H (1315).

- Multi-Core: 4586 — close to Apple M1 (4650), but lower than M2 (6200+).

4. Use Cases: Who Should Consider the i7-8850H?

- Professionals: Designers, programmers, engineers needing stable multithreaded performance.

- Gamers: In combination with a GPU of RTX 3060 level or higher.

- Students and office users: For document work, online courses, light creative tasks.

Examples of 2025 Laptops with this CPU

- Dell XPS 15 (2023): Starting at $900 (refurbished models).

- Lenovo ThinkPad P52: Starting at $1100 (new, with professional Quadro graphics).

5. Battery Life: How Long Does the Laptop Last?

TDP Impact on Battery Life

Under heavy loads (gaming, rendering), a laptop with the i7-8850H runs on battery for 1.5-2 hours. In office mode (brightness at 50%, Wi-Fi enabled) — up to 5-6 hours.

Power-Saving Technologies

- Intel SpeedStep: Dynamically adjusts frequency.

- C-States: Disables unused cores.

Tip: Choose laptops with batteries of at least 70 Wh (such as the HP Envy 17) for better battery life.

6. Comparison with Competitors

AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS (4nm, 2024):

- Pros: Better energy efficiency, integrated RDNA 3 graphics.

- Cons: Higher price (laptops from $1200).

Apple M2 (5nm, 2023):

- Pros: Battery life up to 18 hours, cool operation.

- Cons: Limited compatibility with Windows software.

Intel Core i5-12450H (10nm, 2022):

- Pros: Newer architecture, higher IPC.

- Cons: Only 8 threads.

7. Pros and Cons of i7-8850H

Strengths:

- High multithreaded performance.

- Supports up to 64 GB DDR4.

- Compatible with most Windows software.

Weaknesses:

- Outdated 14nm manufacturing process.

- Heating under load.

- No support for PCIe 4.0.

8. Recommendations for Choosing a Laptop

- Gaming Laptop: A discrete GPU (RTX 3050 or higher) and a cooling system with 2+ fans are essential.

- Workstation: 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, screen with accurate color representation.

- Ultrabook: Not recommended — the processor is too "hot" for thin cases.

What to Look For:

- RAM size (at least 16 GB).

- Type of storage (NVMe SSD).

- Ports (Thunderbolt 3 is not available in all models).

9. Final Conclusion: Is it Worth Buying in 2025?

The Intel Core i7-8850H is an option for those seeking an affordable (laptops from $800) and high-performing CPU for:

- Working with "heavy" programs.

- Gaming in conjunction with a discrete graphics card.

- Multitasking without major compromises.

Who Should Avoid It:

- Users for whom battery life is critical (better to get a laptop with Apple M2).

- Those working with 8K video or neural networks (modern 12-core CPUs are needed).

Key Benefits: Price-performance ratio, proven reliability, compatibility with most peripherals.

If you find a laptop with the i7-8850H priced under $1000 and can tolerate heating issues, it is an excellent choice for work and entertainment. However, for flagship tasks in 2025, consider more modern models.

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.

i7-8850H

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

2.60 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.

4.30 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

4.30 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

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.

1.15 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.

4096 x 2304@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.

4096 x 2304@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.

4096 x 2304@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.

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 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

1308

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

4586

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1050

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

5095

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2390

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

10298

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-9700T

1386 +6%

Core i5-10600T

1352 +3.4%

Core i7-8850H

1308

EPYC 7552

1267 -3.1%

Core i7-4770

1225 -6.3%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Xeon D-2166NT

5157 +12.5%

Ryzen 7 4750U

4858 +5.9%

Core i7-8850H

4586

Core i7-9700TE

4304 -6.1%

Core i5-10500TE

4084 -10.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Ryzen 5 1600X

1093 +4.1%

Core i7-9700E

1070 +1.9%

Core i7-8850H

1050

EPYC 7543

1025 -2.4%

Xeon E3-1275

1005 -4.3%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon Gold 6230R

5672 +11.3%

Core i5-8600K

5376 +5.5%

Core i7-8850H

5095

Ryzen 5 PRO 5650U

4846 -4.9%

Xeon E5-2643

4654 -8.7%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i5-10200H

2453 +2.6%

Xeon E3-1240 v6

2425 +1.5%

Core i7-8850H

2390

Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U

2355 -1.5%

Xeon E3-1260L v5

2323 -2.8%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Xeon E5-2640 v3

11180 +8.6%

Ryzen 5 7235HS

10746 +4.4%

Core i7-8850H

10298

Core i7-5820K

9857 -4.3%

Xeon E-2134

9317 -9.5%