Intel Core i5-3550 vs Intel Core i7-8665UE Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data paints a clear picture: the Intel Core i7-8665UE wins every single benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, six out of six tests. The Intel Core i5-3550 does not claim a single victory in any Cinebench iteration, whether multi-core or single-core. That said, the margins are remarkably narrow, often within the range of what could be considered noise, so the practical use-case split is more nuanced than a simple sweep.

The i7-8665UE, a 15 watt mobile part from the Whiskey Lake generation, takes the lead in every recorded test. Its largest advantage appears in Cinebench R15 single-core, where it outperforms the i5-3550 by 1.8%. The other five tests show deltas between 1.2% and 1.3%. This consistency across both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads suggests the i7-8665UE has a slight architectural or clock advantage that scales uniformly, rather than a niche strength in one specific area.

The i5-3550, a 77 watt desktop chip from the Ivy Bridge era, is the older design by roughly six years, yet it remains competitive. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the i7-8665UE scores 415 against 410 for the i5-3550, a difference of just five points. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the gap is 4124 versus 4073, a 51 point spread. The i5-3550 holds its ground despite lacking hyper-threading and running on an older microarchitecture.

For workloads that rely on sustained multi-threaded throughput, the i5-3550 is not far behind, despite its lower thread count. The i7-8665UE, with eight threads, does edge ahead, but the margin is small enough that a user with a heavily threaded application might not notice the difference in real-world use. For single-threaded responsiveness, the i7-8665UE again leads, but again by a slim margin.

The data suggests the i7-8665UE is the better chip in absolute terms, but the i5-3550 is surprisingly close given its age and lower thread count. The use-case split is not about one chip winning a category outright; it is about the i7-8665UE being slightly faster everywhere, while the i5-3550 offers comparable performance in a desktop form factor with a much higher power envelope.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from different eras and target different market segments. The Intel Core i7-8665UE is a mobile part built on the Whiskey Lake architecture, using a 14 nm process node. It has 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its thermal design power is 15 watts, which is extremely low for a quad-core processor. It uses the Intel BGA 1528 socket, a soldered mobile package, and integrates UHD Graphics 620.

The Intel Core i5-3550 is a desktop chip built on the Ivy Bridge architecture, using a 22 nm process node. It has 4 cores and 4 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 3.70 GHz. Its thermal design power is 77 watts, more than five times that of the i7-8665UE. It uses the Intel Socket 1155 and integrates Intel HD 2500 graphics.

The transistor count and die size are only listed for the i5-3550: 1,400 million transistors on a 160 mm² die. The i7-8665UE does not have these figures recorded in the database, which is common for newer parts where such details are not published.

Cache configurations differ as well. Both chips have 64 KB of L1 cache per core and 256 KB of L2 cache per core, but the L3 cache differs: the i7-8665UE has 8 MB shared, while the i5-3550 has 6 MB shared. This gives the mobile chip a 2 MB advantage in the last-level cache.

Memory support is another differentiator. The i7-8665UE supports both DDR3 and DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s. The i5-3550 supports only DDR3, also dual-channel, with a memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s. This is a substantial difference: the newer mobile chip has 50% more memory bandwidth.

Both chips use PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU, and neither supports ECC memory. Neither is multiplier unlocked. The i7-8665UE was released in 2018 with a launch MSRP of $409, while the i5-3550 was released in 2012 with a launch MSRP of $194. Both are marked as end-of-life.

The i7-8665UE also carries a part number of SRF9W, while the i5-3550 is SR0P0. The market segments are explicitly different: Mobile for the i7-8665UE, Desktop for the i5-3550.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are consistent across all six Cinebench tests. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the i7-8665UE scores 415 against 410 for the i5-3550, a delta of 1.2%. In Cinebench R15 single-core, the i7-8665UE scores 58 against 57, a delta of 1.8%. This is the largest margin of any test.

Moving to Cinebench R20, the i7-8665UE scores 1732 in multi-core against 1710 for the i5-3550, a delta of 1.3%. In single-core, the scores are 244 and 241, a delta of 1.2%. The pattern repeats in Cinebench R23: multi-core scores of 4124 and 4073, a delta of 1.3%, and single-core scores of 582 and 575, a delta of 1.2%.

The most interesting result is the single-core R15 test, where the i7-8665UE's 1.8% lead is the only margin above 1.3%. This could reflect the boost clock advantage: the i7-8665UE boosts to 4.40 GHz, while the i5-3550 boosts to only 3.70 GHz. Even with the older architecture, the i5-3550's higher base clock of 3.30 GHz compared to 1.70 GHz for the i7-8665UE does not translate into a win, likely because the i7-8665UE's modern architecture and higher boost clock compensate.

In multi-core tests, the i7-8665UE benefits from hyper-threading, giving it 8 threads versus 4 for the i5-3550. Despite this, the i5-3550 stays remarkably close. The i5-3550's 77 watt TDP likely allows it to sustain high clocks across all cores, while the i7-8665UE's 15 watt envelope may force more aggressive power management. The data does not show sustained clock behavior, but the score proximity suggests the i5-3550's raw clock advantage helps it offset the thread deficit.

The average benchmark score in the database tells a similar story: the i7-8665UE has an average score of 1193, while the i5-3550 has 1178. The i7-8665UE sits at the 33rd percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-4170 and AMD Athlon PRO 300U, both with an average score of 1193 and a delta of 0%. The AMD Opteron 3365 is 0.1% behind, and the AMD Opteron 6234 is 0.2% ahead.

The i5-3550 also sits at the 33rd percentile, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i5-4440 (0.1% behind), Intel Core i3-7320 (0.4% ahead), Intel Core i7-3635QM (0.7% ahead), and Intel Core i5-2400 (0.7% behind).

FAQ

Q: Which processor is faster in single-core performance?

A: The Intel Core i7-8665UE wins all three single-core Cinebench tests. It scores 58 versus 57 in R15, 244 versus 241 in R20, and 582 versus 575 in R23. The largest margin is 1.8% in R15 single-core.

Q: Does the i5-3550 win any benchmark?

A: No. The i7-8665UE wins all six head-to-head benchmarks. The i5-3550's best result is a 410 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, but the i7-8665UE scores 415.

Q: How do the thread counts compare?

A: The i7-8665UE has 4 cores and 8 threads, while the i5-3550 has 4 cores and 4 threads. The i7-8665UE supports hyper-threading; the i5-3550 does not.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The i7-8665UE has a memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s and supports both DDR3 and DDR4. The i5-3550 has 25.6 GB/s and supports only DDR3.

Q: Are both processors still in production?

A: No. Both are marked as end-of-life in the database. The i7-8665UE was released in 2018, and the i5-3550 was released in 2012.

Q: Which chip has more L3 cache?

A: The i7-8665UE has 8 MB of shared L3 cache, while the i5-3550 has 6 MB of shared L3 cache.

The Verdict

The data indicates that the Intel Core i7-8665UE is the faster processor in every recorded benchmark, but the margins are slim. A user upgrading from an i5-3550 to an i7-8665UE would see a small improvement in both single-core and multi-core Cinebench scores, ranging from 1.2% to 1.8%. That is not a transformative upgrade, but it is a consistent one.

The i7-8665UE is clearly the better choice for mobile applications. Its 15 watt TDP, support for both DDR3 and DDR4, and higher memory bandwidth make it suitable for compact, power-constrained systems. Its integrated UHD Graphics 620 is also a newer generation than the Intel HD 2500 in the i5-3550, though the database does not provide graphics benchmarks.

The i5-3550, despite being older and lacking hyper-threading, remains competitive in raw compute. Its 77 watt TDP and desktop socket mean it is not portable, but for a stationary desktop build, the performance gap is small enough that the i5-3550 could still handle similar workloads. The i5-3550 also has a lower launch MSRP of $194 compared to $409 for the i7-8665UE, though both are end-of-life products.

For a user prioritizing low power consumption and modern memory support, the i7-8665UE is the logical pick. For a user with an existing Socket 1155 platform who wants to keep a desktop system running, the i5-3550's comparable scores mean it is not obsolete by the numbers. The 33rd percentile ranking for both chips against all CPUs reinforces that neither is a high-end part; they sit in the same performance tier.

The verdict from the data is simple: the i7-8665UE is the better chip, but by a narrow margin. The i5-3550 is the more surprising chip, given its age and lower thread count, it nearly matches a modern Whiskey Lake part in every test.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Core i7-8665UE | Intel Core i5-3550 |

|---|---|---|

| Cores | 4 | 4 |

| Threads | 8 | 4 |

| Base clock | 1700 MHz | 3.30 GHz |

| Boost clock | 4.40 GHz | 3.70 GHz |

| TDP | 15 W | 77 W |

| Socket | Intel BGA 1528 | Intel Socket 1155 |

| Architecture | Whiskey Lake | Ivy Bridge |

| Process node | 14 nm | 22 nm |

| Transistors | Not recorded | 1,400 million |

| Die size | Not recorded | 160 mm² |

| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 6 MB (shared) |

| Memory support | DDR3, DDR4 | DDR3 |

| Memory bandwidth | 38.4 GB/s | 25.6 GB/s |

| Integrated graphics | UHD Graphics 620 | Intel HD 2500 |

| Market segment | Mobile | Desktop |

| Release date | 2018 | 2012 |

| Launch MSRP | $409 | $194 |

| Part number | SRF9W | SR0P0 |

Both processors share the same L1 and L2 cache sizes (64 KB and 256 KB per core), dual-channel memory bus, PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes, no ECC support, and no unlocked multiplier. Both are end-of-life products from Intel. The i7-8665UE's average benchmark score is 1193, while the i5-3550's is 1178, and both rank at the 33rd percentile of all CPUs.