Pentium 3550M vs Core i5-8250U

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1352	2455
Place by popularity	45	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i5	Intel Pentium
Architecture codename	Kaby Lake Refresh (2017−2019)	Haswell (2013−2015)
Release date	21 August 2017 (6 years ago)	1 September 2013 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$297	$134
Current price	$668 (2.2x MSRP)	$76 (0.6x MSRP)

Detailed specifications

Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M 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	4 (Quad-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	2
Base clock speed	1.6 GHz	2.3 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.4 GHz	2.3 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	256K (per core)
L3 cache	6 MB (shared)	2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	22 nm
Die size	123 mm2	118 mm2
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	105 °C
Number of transistors	no data	1,400 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M 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	1
Socket	FCBGA1356,FC-BGA1356	FCPGA946
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	37 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M. 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
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	no data
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
TSX	-	-
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
SIPP	-	no data
Smart Response	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data
Anti-Theft	no data	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	32 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	37.5 GB/s	25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 620	Intel® HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel® Processors
Max video memory	32 GB	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video	+	no data
Clear Video HD	+	-
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	1.1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	3
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
DVI	+	no data
VGA	no data	+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz	no data
Max resolution over eDP	4096x2304@60Hz	no data
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096x2304@60Hz	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	no data
OpenGL	4.4	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M.

PCIe version	3.0	2.0
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.

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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.

Core i5-8250U outperforms Pentium 3550M by 363% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	3.98	0.86
Recency	21 August 2017	1 September 2013
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Cost	$297	$134
Chip lithography	14 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	37 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-8250U and Pentium 3550M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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