i5-8260U vs i5-7300U

Place in the ranking	1814	1288
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i5	no data
Power efficiency	14.51	29.40
Architecture codename	Kaby Lake (2016−2019)	Coffee Lake (2017−2019)
Release date	3 January 2017 (7 years ago)	21 August 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$281	$297

Detailed specifications

Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	2 (Dual-core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	4	8
Base clock speed	2.6 GHz	1.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	3.9 GHz
Bus type	OPI	no data
Bus rate	4 GT/s	4 GT/s OPI
Multiplier	26	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	256 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	1 MB
L3 cache	3 MB	6 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	100 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1 (Uniprocessor)	1
Socket	FCBGA1356,FPBGA1356	FCBGA1528
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	+
My WiFi	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
SIPP	+	-
Smart Response	+	+

Security technologies

Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	+
MPX	+	-
Identity Protection	+	+
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	Yes with Intel® ME
OS Guard	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	+
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR4
Maximum memory size	32 GB	64 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.134 GB/s	37.5 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 620	Intel UHD Graphics 620
Max video memory	32 GB	32 GB
Quick Sync Video	+	+
Clear Video	+	+
Clear Video HD	+	+
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	1.1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	3
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
DVI	+	+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz	4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDP	4096x2304@60Hz	4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096x2304@60Hz	4096x2304@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	12
OpenGL	4.5	4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	12	16

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i5-7300U 2.30

i5-8260U 4.66
+103%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i5-7300U 3653

i5-8260U 7398
+103%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i5-7300U 340

i5-8260U 627
+84.4%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i5-7300U 142

i5-8260U 157
+10.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	2.30	4.66
Integrated graphics card	2.43	2.67
Recency	3 January 2017	21 August 2019
Physical cores	2	4
Threads	4	8

i5-8260U has a 102.6% higher aggregate performance score, 9.9% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 2 years, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

The Core i5-8260U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-7300U in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-7300U and Core i5-8260U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.