Let’s analyze the best i7-8550U Kaby Lake R laptops, powered by the 8th generation of Intel chips, bringing even higher benchmark to portable computers
Intel new series of laptop processors is out, and it brings great improvements for laptop users. This post will explain what is new about the Kaby Lake R processors and list the best i7-8550U laptops currently available.
Kaby Lake R Processors: What Does it Mean?
Every now and then (roughly once a year) Intel comes with a new series of processors. Usually, this new series of processors use the same micro-architecture, engulfing both desktop and laptop processors. This time, for the eighth generation of Intel chips, the company decided to bring a different approach to its processors.
The biggest news regarding the 8th generation chips is that Intel is using different micro-architectures in the same generation. These micro-architectures are: Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, and Cannonlake. The Kaby Lake Refresh features only mobile processors, and brings a number of improvements in terms of performance and energy efficiency.
Before we get to the specs of the i7-8550 Kaby Lake R chips, let’s check some quick facts about our best laptops in this list:
| Model | Screen Size | Processor | RAM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Acer Aspire E5-576G-81GD | 15.6 Full HD | i7-8550U | 8 GB | Check Full Review |
 | Dell Inspiron i5379-7909GRY-PUS | 13.3 Full HD | i7-8550U | 8 GB | Check Full Review |
 | Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-85DC | 13.3 Full HD | i7-8550U | 8 GB | Check Full Review |
 | ASUS VivoBook TP510UA-DH71T | 15.6 Full HD | i7-8550U | 8 GB |
Core i7-8550U Processor Specs
Now that we know a bit more about the 8th generation of Intel chips, let’s analyze the Core Intel i7-8550U Kaby Lake R processor. Just like every other chip from Intel’s 8th generation, it brings improvements in both benchmark as well in energy efficiency compared to its predecessors.
Firstly, let’s get to some quick facts regarding the Core i7-8550U processor. The i7-8550U processor was released on Q3 2017 together with other Kaby Lake R processor, such as the i7-8250U. This Intel chip is a quad core processor, using the hyper-threading technology.
Its processor base frequency is of 1.80 GHz with a maximum turbo of up to 4.00 GHz. As we can see from a benchmark comparison, the i7-8550U is just slighty below the i7-6700HQ processor. However, the i7-8550U consumes considerably less energy, with a TDP of just 15 W (configurable up and down).
Is The i7-8550U Good For Gaming?
Now let’s analyze another important aspect regarding this new Kaby Lake R processor: its gaming performance. Considering its benchmark, similar to the i7-6700HQ, we can say that it can run most games released in 2017 with a decent performance. Check below this video of the i7-6700HQ performance running Fallout 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGQSVpWyeU0
However, there is a trend that laptops using this CPU have entry level dedicated GPUs. A powerful GPU is also a critical component to be able to run games with a good performance. For that reason it is better to double check if the GPU on your laptop will match the system requirements to your favorite games.
Core i7-8550U Verdict
There is no doubt that this Kaby Lake R processor is pretty powerful and ideal for most tasks, however it is important to understand its concept. The main laptop target niche for the i7-8550U is perhaps composed of lightweight versatile laptops for multi-tasking.
Considering this I extremely recommend buying a laptop using this processor if you want to multi-task efficiently on Windows 10. However for gaming or other extremely demanding purposes, you may want to consider other laptops with a higher benchmark.
Overall this is a great laptop and I expect to see it in high-end thin laptops, 2-in-1 laptops and upper mid-range all-round laptops.
Best i7-8550U Laptops
Now let’s get to our list of the best i7-8550U laptops and some quick facts and specs about each one of them:
Acer Aspire E 15, 15.6″ Full HD, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U, GeForce MX150, 8GB RAM Memory, 256GB SSD, E5-576G-81GD
This version of the Acer Aspire E 15 is one of the first laptops released powered by the all new Core i7-8550U. It offers a great performance for most activities on Windows 10 and a relatively affordable price considering its benchmark and hardware components.
Apart from its great processor, this laptop also comes with a 256 GB solid state drive. SSDs are much faster than HDDs, as they do not having moving parts. The Acer Aspire E 15 is a best selling laptop series and this versions seems to continue this trend.
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8550U |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Dell Inspiron 13.3″ 2-in-1 Laptop, Full HD, Intel 8th Gen i7-8550U, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB Hard Drive, Theoretical Gray, i5379-7909GRY-PUS
Dell is always one of the first companies to make available laptops with the latest Intel micro-architecture. This 2-in-1 Dell Inspiron is one of the first models available with the new generation of Kaby Lake R, and has received a good consumer response since its release.
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8550U |
|---|---|
| Display | 13.3 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD |
Acer Spin 5, 13.3″ Full HD Touch, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 Home, SP513-52N-85DC
The Acer Spin is another successful series from the acclaimed Taiwanese brand. However, demand for 2-in-1 laptops is inferior to more traditional laptops, therefore it is easy to understand why the Aspire E 15 is more popular than the Spin. These 2 laptops share the same processor the i7-8550U Kaby Lake R.
The main difference between the Acer Spin and the Acer Aspire is that the Acer Spin is a 2-in-1 laptop.
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8550U |
|---|---|
| Display | 13.3 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 256 GB SSD |
ASUS VivoBook Flip Thin and Light Laptop, 15.6” Full HD Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8550U Processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 10, Stylus, Fingerprint, TP510UA-DH71T
This ASUS VivoBook is another evidence of the main vocation of the Kaby Lake R processors. The TP510UA-DH71T has a high performance, while keeping energy consumption low with a long battery life.
Another cool advantage about this VivoBook is that it is a 15 inch laptop and a 2-in-1 laptop, while most 2-in-1 devices usually have smaller screen dimensions. Other than that, this VivoBook is also thinner than most 2-in-1 laptops, giving it a great advantage compared to other models in this niche.
Click here to buy this laptop on Amazon.com
| Processor | Intel Core i7-8550U |
|---|---|
| Display | 15.6 inches Full HD |
| RAM | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD |