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Intel Core i5-8250U
Intel's first quad-core Core i5 U-series chip, launched in Kaby Lake Refresh as a direct response to AMD's push into thin laptops with quad-core Ryzen Mobile parts. It doubled multi-core throughput over the dual-core i5-7200U at the same 15W TDP.
Pros
- Doubles core count over the previous-generation dual-core i5-7200U at the same 15W TDP
- Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz across four cores
- Widely adopted across budget and mid-range laptops starting in late 2017
- DDR4-2400 support with up to 32GB capacity
Cons
- 1.6GHz base clock is low; sustained loads run well under boost speeds
- 6MB L3 cache, less than the higher-tier i7 SKUs of the same generation
- UHD Graphics 620 iGPU is entry-level, unsuitable for gaming
- 14nm process, now several generations behind current nodes
Below average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Intel Core i5-8250U
General
- Announced
- 2017
- Process
- 14 nm
- Base TDP
- 15 W
- Max TDP
- 25 W
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 4
- Performance cores
- 4
- Efficiency cores
- 0
- Threads
- 8
- Base clock
- 1.6 GHz
- Boost clock
- 3.4 GHz
- L3 cache
- 6 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Intel UHD Graphics 620
- iGPU clock
- 1,100 MHz
Memory
- Memory support
- DDR4-2400 / LPDDR3-2133
- Max memory
- 32 GB
Benchmarks
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 874Bottom 6%
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 3,108Bottom 7%
- PassMark
- 5,777Bottom 7%
- 3DMark Time Spy Graphics (iGPU)
- 389Bottom 8%
Quick answers
Is the Intel Core i5-8250U good in 2026?
The Intel Core i5-8250U earns an Inno Score of 34.1/100 (“Below average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. Intel's first quad-core Core i5 U-series chip, launched in Kaby Lake Refresh as a direct response to AMD's push into thin laptops with quad-core Ryzen Mobile parts. It doubled multi-core throughput over the dual-core i5-7200U at the same 15W TDP.
Does the Intel Core i5-8250U count as "Core i7 or equivalent"?
Its PassMark CPU Mark average is 5,777 (cpubenchmark.net, retrieved Sep 26, 2026), which puts it in Tier D of our CPU tier checker: legacy Core i7 and budget chips, slower than recent Core i5 chips such as the i5-1235U. Requirement pages word this differently, so check the exact wording with your department.
What are the key specs of the Intel Core i5-8250U?
Cores: 4 · Threads: 8 · Boost clock: 3.4 GHz · Base TDP: 15 W
What are the closest alternatives to the Intel Core i5-8250U?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Intel Processor N150, Intel Processor N250, Intel Core i5-10210U — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
