Intel launched its first 8th-gen Core processors for laptops in 2017. While they were based on similar architecture to the company’s 7th-gen chips, the new 15 watt Core i5-8250U and Core i7-8550U had one major improvement: they were quad-core processors rather than dual-core.
That helped Intel deliver new chips that offered up to 40 percent better performance than their predecessors without using any more power.
But while the company added a few more Core i5 and i7 chips in the months that followed, Intel didn’t have a 15 watt 8th-gen Core i3 chip for laptops… until now. It’s just not going to provide the same sort of improvement over its predecessor as the Core i5 and i7 chips.
(http://s9.postimg.org/5j72fdren/corre-i3.jpg)
That’s because the new Intel Core i3 processor is a dual-core chip that’s basically a minor update to last year’s Core i3-7130U.
In fact, Intel’s product page for the Core i3-8130U describes it as part of the “products formerly known as Kaby Lake” family. Other 8th-gen U-series chips are described as “products formerly known as Kaby Lake R” with the R standing for “refresh.”
In other words, the new chip is an 8th-gen processor only because Intel decided to call it one.
The main difference between the new model and its predecessor is that the Core i3-7130U is clocked at 2.7 GHz, while the Core i3-8130U has a base frequency of 2.2 GHz and turbo boost speeds up to 3.4 GHz, which means that you should get better performance at short-term tasks that can make use of short bursts of extra speed. But I wouldn’t expect much difference in sustained performance.
Anyway, here’s a run-down of the specs for the new Core i3-8130U chip:
• 2-cores/4-threads
• 2.2 GHz base frequency
• 3.4 GHz Turbo (for single or dual-core)
• Intel UHD 620 graphics (300 GHz base/1 GHz boost)
• Support for up to 32GB of LPDDR3-2133 or DDR4-2400 memory
• 4MB L3 cache
• 15 W TDP
The chip can also be configured to run at 800 MHz with a 10 watt TDP in devices where reduced power consumption (and heat generation) is more important than raw horsepower.
Overall the new chip helps plug a hole in Intel’s lineup. There wasn’t an 8th-gen Core i3 U series processor for laptops. Now there is. It’s just not nearly as impressive an upgrade over its predecessor as other 8th-gen U-series chips.
There’s still no word on if or when Intel will launch 8th-gen Y-series chips to succeed the Core M3-7Y30, Core i5-7Y57 and Core i7-7Y75 chips released in 2016.
source (http://liliputing.com/2018/02/intels-first-8th-gen-core-i3-chip-notebooks-just-modest-spec-bump.html)