Intel Core i5-3330 vs Intel Core i7-8665UE Comparison

The Intel Core i5-3330 and Intel Core i7-8665UE represent two very different design philosophies from Intel, separated by six years of architectural evolution. The i5-3330 is a 77W desktop part built on the 22nm Ivy Bridge process, while the i7-8665UE is a 15W mobile processor on the 14nm Whiskey Lake node. Despite their contrasting power envelopes and market segments, benchmark data shows they land in nearly the same performance class overall, with the i7-8665UE holding a decisive edge across every head-to-head test. The average benchmark scores are remarkably close—1200 for the i5-3330 versus 1193 for the i7-8665UE—placing both in the lower third of all CPUs, with the i5 at the 34th percentile and the i7 at the 33rd.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data paints a consistent picture: the Intel Core i7-8665UE wins all five head-to-head Cinebench comparisons, with a narrow but uniform margin of roughly 15.4–15.6% across every workload. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the i7-8665UE scores 415 against the i5-3330's 351, a delta of -15.4% from the i5's perspective. The pattern holds through newer test versions: Cinebench R20 multi-core shows the i7 at 1732 versus 1464 for the i5, and single-core R20 sees 244 against 206—both reflecting approximately a 15.5% advantage for the mobile chip.

The gap persists in the most demanding tests. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the i7-8665UE posts 4124 while the i5-3330 reaches 3486, a difference of 638 points. Single-core R23 shows the same relative margin: 582 for the i7 versus 492 for the i5. The consistency of this ~15.5% delta across single- and multi-threaded workloads suggests a fundamental architectural advantage rather than a boost-clock or thermal anomaly. Interestingly, the i7-8665UE achieves this despite a base clock of 1700 MHz—far lower than the i5-3330's 3.00 GHz—indicating that IPC improvements and the higher 4.40 GHz boost clock more than compensate.

The i5-3330's only statistical consolation is proximity to its rivals. Its nearest competitor, the AMD Athlon PRO 200GE, matches it exactly at 1200 average score with 0% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G sits just 0.2% higher at 1202. The i7-8665UE similarly mirrors the Intel Core i3-4170 at 1193 and the AMD Athlon PRO 300U at 1193, both with 0% delta. This places both CPUs in a tight performance cluster, but the head-to-head results leave no ambiguity about which part is faster in direct comparison.

Where Each One Wins

The i7-8665UE claims every benchmark category available in the data, so the "wins" split is one-sided: 0 for the i5-3330 and 5 for the i7-8665UE. However, the nature of those wins reveals where each chip might be preferable in real-world use. The i7-8665UE's advantage in Cinebench R23 multi-core (4124 vs 3486) indicates it handles heavily threaded rendering workloads with greater efficiency, a result of its 8 threads versus the i5-3330's 4 threads. The single-core R23 result (582 vs 492) shows the i7 also leads in lightly threaded tasks like legacy application responsiveness or everyday productivity.

The i5-3330's domain is not performance but platform flexibility. It uses the Intel Socket 1155, a desktop standard, whereas the i7-8665UE is soldered to Intel BGA 1528, making it a mobile-only part. The i5 supports DDR3 memory exclusively, while the i7 supports both DDR3 and DDR4, with a rated memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s—a figure the i5 lacks in the data. For users with existing Socket 1155 motherboards and DDR3 modules, the i5-3330 offers a drop-in path; for those seeking a low-power embedded or laptop solution, the i7-8665UE's 15W TDP is a significant operational advantage over the i5's 77W, though the data does not quantify the thermal or energy impact.

Neither chip supports ECC memory, and both are multiplier-locked, so overclocking is not a differentiator. The i7-8665UE carries a launch MSRP of $409, which reflects its mobile engineering and integrated UHD Graphics 620, while the i5-3330's integrated HD 2500 is a less capable IGP. The i5-3330's production status is not listed, but the i7-8665UE is marked as end-of-life, which may affect availability for new designs.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two CPUs is substantial. The i5-3330 is built on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture using Intel's 22 nm process, with a die size of 133 mm². The i7-8665UE uses Whiskey Lake-U on a 14 nm node, a newer process that allows for significantly lower power consumption at comparable performance levels. Both have 4 physical cores, but the i7-8665UE doubles the thread count to 8 via Hyper-Threading, while the i5-3330 runs 4 threads. This thread advantage is the most direct explanation for the multi-core benchmark deltas, though it does not fully account for the single-core lead.

Cache hierarchies are similar in structure but not capacity. Each core in both chips has 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2, but the shared L3 cache differs: the i5-3330 has 6 MB, while the i7-8665UE has 8 MB. This 33% larger last-level cache likely contributes to the i7's single-threaded performance edge, as more working set can reside on-die. The memory controller also differs: the i5-3330 is restricted to DDR3, while the i7-8665UE supports DDR3 and DDR4, with a documented 38.4 GB/s bandwidth figure for the latter.

The i7-8665UE's clock behavior is notable. Its base clock is listed as 1700.00 MHz, which is extremely low, but the boost clock reaches 4.40 GHz—a 2.7x multiplier. The i5-3330, by contrast, has a narrow range from 3.00 GHz base to 3.20 GHz boost. This suggests the i7-8665UE relies heavily on burst behavior and single-core turbo to achieve its benchmark scores, while the i5-3330 operates closer to its sustained frequency. The process node difference (14 nm vs 22 nm) enables the i7 to switch between low idle states and high boost clocks more efficiently, which is critical for a 15W mobile part.

Other differences: PCIe support is identical (Gen 3, 16 lanes CPU-only), and both use dual-channel memory buses. Integrated graphics differ—HD 2500 on the i5-3330 versus UHD Graphics 620 on the i7-8665UE—though the data does not include graphics benchmarks. The i5-3330 launched in September 2012, while the i7-8665UE arrived in September 2018, but the release dates are not used for performance analysis in this comparison.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Intel Core i7-8665UE is the faster processor in every tested workload, beating the i5-3330 by a consistent 15.5% margin across Cinebench R15, R20, and R23, in both single- and multi-threaded tests. The i7's win count is 5-0, and its closest rival match (Intel Core i3-4170 at 1193 average score) still trails its own 1193 average—a statistical tie that does not diminish its head-to-head superiority. For any user prioritizing raw compute performance, the i7-8665UE is the clear choice, especially given its 8 threads versus 4, its 8 MB L3 versus 6 MB, and its higher boost clock of 4.40 GHz versus 3.20 GHz.

However, the i5-3330 is not without a niche. Its Socket 1155 compatibility means it can be installed in existing desktop motherboards without the BGA soldering limitation of the i7-8665UE, which is effectively a fixed mobile component. The i5's 77W TDP, while higher, is not a disadvantage in a desktop chassis where cooling is less constrained. Users building a low-cost system from spare or used desktop parts may find the i5-3330 viable, and its average score of 1200 places it in the same performance tier as the i7-8665UE's 1193—a 0.6% difference that is negligible outside synthetic benchmarks.

The decisive factors are thread count and power. The i7-8665UE's 8 threads deliver measurable multi-core gains, and its 15W TDP makes it suitable for fanless or battery-powered designs that a 77W part cannot serve. The i5-3330's only advantages are platform availability and a lower launch position in the desktop market, though its launch MSRP is not listed. In pure performance terms, the i7-8665UE wins outright; the i5-3330 is recommended only for specific desktop upgrade paths where the i7's BGA package is not an option.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has a higher multi-core score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i7-8665UE scores 4124 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, while the Intel Core i5-3330 scores 3486, giving the i7 a 15.5% lead.

Q: Do both processors have the same number of cores?

A: Yes, both have 4 physical cores, but the i7-8665UE has 8 threads via Hyper-Threading, whereas the i5-3330 has 4 threads.

Q: What is the L3 cache difference between the two?

A: The i5-3330 has 6 MB of shared L3 cache, while the i7-8665UE has 8 MB of shared L3 cache.

Q: Can the i5-3330 use DDR4 memory?

A: No, the i5-3330 supports only DDR3 memory, while the i7-8665UE supports both DDR3 and DDR4.

Q: What is the TDP of each processor?

A: The i5-3330 has a TDP of 77 watts, and the i7-8665UE has a TDP of 15 watts.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The i5-3330 has an average benchmark score of 1200, and the i7-8665UE has an average of 1193, a difference of less than 1%.

Q: Which processor has a higher boost clock?

A: The i7-8665UE boosts to 4.40 GHz, while the i5-3330 boosts to 3.20 GHz, a 1.20 GHz advantage for the i7.