Core i5-8250U vs Core i7-3770S

Both the Core i5-8250U and Core i7-3770S share an identical 4-core/8-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 3.4 GHz on the Core i5-8250U versus 3.9 GHz on the Core i7-3770S — a 13.7% clock advantage for the Core i7-3770S (base: 1.6 GHz vs 3.1 GHz). The Core i5-8250U uses the Kaby Lake Refresh (2017−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i7-3770S uses Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Core i5-8250U scores 6,158 against the Core i7-3770S's 6,173 — a 0.2% lead for the Core i7-3770S. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,127 vs 694, a 47.6% lead for the Core i5-8250U that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 6 MB (total) on the Core i5-8250U vs 8192 kB (total) on the Core i7-3770S.

The Core i5-8250U uses the BGA1356 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i7-3770S uses LGA1155 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-2400 on the Core i5-8250U versus DDR3-1600 on the Core i7-3770S — the Core i5-8250U supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 12 (Core i5-8250U) vs 16 (Core i7-3770S) — the Core i7-3770S offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Kaby Lake-R (Core i5-8250U) and Z77,H77,B75,Z68,P67,H67 (Core i7-3770S).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-8250U) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-3770S). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 620 (Core i5-8250U) and HD Graphics 4000 (Core i7-3770S) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i5-8250U targets Mainstream Laptop, Core i7-3770S targets Budget. Direct competitor: Core i5-8250U rivals Ryzen 5 2500U.