Intel Core i5-8265U 8th Gen Quad-Core Laptop CPU

The 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8265U is a mid-range laptop processor. It replaces the widely adopted 8th Gen i5-8250U. Both of these quad-core processors belong to the same 8th Gen Intel Core family, so it’s not surprise they are very similar in terms of specs and performance. The only notable difference is that the 8th Gen i5-8265U “Whiskey Lake” chip offers a higher maximal clock speed “TurboBoost” frequency of 3.9 GHz instead of 3.4 GHz.

Intel Core i5-8265U CPU Benchmark

Intel Core i5-8265U Benchmark

Indeed, the benchmarks show a slight advantage of the i5-8265U over the i5-8250U. But in the real world use, it’s questionable whether you’ll be able to tell the difference at all. Both chips are perfectly suitable for the regular daily computing duties like web browsing, text and spreadsheet processing, video playback, and similar. They also offer a good potential for some heavier stuff like video editing.

As for gaming, the Core i5-8265U features the same integrated graphics processor as the i5-8250U, without change of the specs. It’s the Intel UHD 620 integrated graphics, which is capable of rendering light games and some more demanding titles but on low detail settings. Thanks to the higher clock speed, the i5-8265U can have a slight advantage in some games and gaming scenarios that greatly utilize the main processing cores.

Note: The benchmark scores of the listed processors are averages measured across various devices with these processors. The scores and real-world performance of the Intel Core i5-8265U and compared CPUs may vary depending on the notebooks' other components, settings, cooling, and other factors. However, the benchmark results are good indicators of the processors' performance.

Specifications of the Intel Core i5-8265U

Here are the most important specs of the Intel Core i5-8265U:

Processor Name

Intel Core i5-8265U

CPU Family

8th Generation Intel Core "Whiskey Lake"

Number of Cores

Quad-core / 2 computing threads per core

CPU Clock Speed

1.6 – 3.9 GHz

Cache Size

6MB

Memory Support

DDR3 (2133 MHz max. speed)
DDR4 (2400 MHz max. speed)

Integrated Graphics

Intel UHD 620

Power Consumption

15W

Production Technology

14-nanometer

Typical Use

Mainstream laptops & 2-in-1 PCs

Notable Technologies

Intel HyperThreading (enables two computing threads per physical processor core)
Intel QuickSync Video (speeds up conversion of video files)
Intel TurboBoost (dynamically boosts performance of cores, depending on power and thermal headroom)
VT-d virtualization
VT-x virtualization

Year of Release

2018

Published on March 21, 2019

User Reviews and Q&A on the Intel Core i5-8265U

Below you can read and submit user reviews, questions, and answers about the processor. Thank you for your contribution.

Current rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  1. Question

    Cena

    I am very confused at the moment because I have a processor which says core i5-8265U @1.60GHz 1.80GHz does it mean the processor is very low to perform a heavy task. The image attached below entails exactly what I am saying.

    • Orujov

      what is the bios in this system?

    • Orujov

      what is the bios key in this system?

  2. Sagor Ajmed

    can i play PES/FIFA/GTA5 with Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8265U CPU @ 1.60GHz, 1800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s) with Intel (R) UHD 620 graphich?

    • Dan

      Only on the lowest settings and a low resolution like 720p. Even then, you can’t expect high frame rates, but 25-30 fps is achievable. I hope you have at least 8GB RAM, 4GB can be troublesome, especially in GTA 5.

    • Atak

      I wanted to buy laptop dell core i5 8gen but am confused, the ones I get is CPU 1.60ghz some people told me that the brand new core i5 1.60ghz and other are telling me to look for one with 2.60ghz at least should be better.
      Coz am gonna use it programming.
      I need some advice

      Thanks.

    • Dan

      Atak, the 1.6GHz is the base clock speed on the i5-8265U. The CPU can work at up to 3.9GHz, depending on a task. The 1.6GHz speed is there to reduce power consumption when the laptop is on idle. Most laptop processors work that way. However, this is an 8th Gen Core i5, and after the 8th Gen you have 10th, 11th and 12th Gen i5s with improvements in performance and power consumption. Nevertheless, the 8th Gen i5-8265U is still a decent processor for everyday use and programming, despite being slower than the corresponding 10, 11, and 12th Gen.

  3. Question

    Samyukta Sattaru

    I am trying to buy the right laptop for my work but I am having a hard time. A lot of people are confusing me with various specs. For work, I tend to open multiple tabs and focus on designs and content. Sometimes more than 12 to 15 tabs. Some are saying I need to focus on the processor and some are saying that I need to focus on CPU speed. I thought purchasing the best processor with 8GB RAM would help me purchase the right laptop, is that wrong? What type of processor and RAM should I opt for when I am not even able to differentiate between the types available in the market?

    • Dan

      Hi, on my laptop I’m currently using around 20 tabs and a couple of light programs and that uses around 9GB of RAM. So, the safest bet would be to get 16GB of RAM or maybe at least 12GB if it’s noticeably cheaper than 16GB.

      As for the processor, the 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U described on this page is an excellent solution for your use. There are newer 10th Gen Intel Core U series and AMD’s Ryzen counterparts, but the difference won’t be noticeable in your tasks. Another option are laptops with the Core H and AMD Ryzen H series, but they are optimized for heavy tasks and gaming and consume more power than the U series. But, in day-to-day browsing and similar use, the difference between U and H series isn’t big.

      Also, you should always get a laptop with a solid state drive instead of a hard drive, because the difference is really huge when opening programs and webpages and booting up operating system.

      And if you want good display quality, always get a laptop with an IPS wide viewing angle screen instead of TN screen.

  4. Question

    Hail

    Hi! My laptop came with a DDR4 4GB 2400 mhz 1Rx16 ram, I’m planning to buy the same ram but only in 1Rx8 as it is cheaper. Will mixing 1Rx16 and 1Rx8 ram work or not?

    • Dan

      Yes, combining 16GB and 8GB of compatible RAM does work. I hope your laptop supports more than 16GB RAM. This depends on the laptop’s processor and motherboard.

  5. Question

    Samuel

    Everytime when i run games like Fortnite, Apex Legends. my pc will get very hot. And also the frequency is near the maximum frequency.Can anyone tell me why?
    I use hp pavillion laptop 14-bf1xx
    And my processor is Core i5-8250U with 8GB RAM
    and quad core

    • Emelie

      Have you checked for dust blocking ventilation? The heat sink may not be seated correctly. That can happen if the computer have received hits. Can also be faulty from factory. The CPU itself can also be faulty in some way. Have you messed with the hardware settings to overclock something? What surface is under the computer? For instance having it in the bed is very bad. Recommended is a flat surface without any cloth under it.

    • Brad

      How could a CPU that only runs at a despicable I.5 GHz be nothing more than a worthless piece of shit, as horrible as a Pentium 4. Don’t you think that if 1.5 GHz was fast enough, that desktop CPUs would also only run that slow, instead of at 4.5 to 5.0 GHz like they do???????????

    • Ryan

      Hi Brad,
      There are a few reasons that the clock speed is so low.
      1. It is a laptop CPU. If it was a desktop CPU, it can afford to be more power hungry and have a faster clock speed. However, battery power is limited in laptops, and it must be slower to consume less power.
      2. Turbo boost
      This chip has turbo boost technology, increasing the clock speed to a more respectable 3.9 GHZ under load. This isn’t 5 GHZ, but it is fast enough to do any modern function. Keep in mind that laptops can get hot if the chips get too hot.

    • Kbk

      But that turbo boost technology is trash it can only boost clock speed for a short amount of time under heavy load then the clock maintain at 1.6 GHz giving the thermal throttling

    • Ankit

      True, you can also undervolt using softwares such as Throttlestop to get a much more sustained Boost Clock. The i5-8265U has stunning undervolting potential and its possible to be able to sustain at least 3.7GHz while keeping temperatures below 68 degrees C. Benefits? Lower temperatures, improved performance and better battery life. Drawbacks? BSODs due to voltages that are too low for the processors, which again isn’t a big deal as it won’t damage the laptop in any way. The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

    • In BC

      It’s important to note that not all GHz are the same. A gen of CPU can have the exact same speed, yet what gets done and how efficiently can be drastically different. GHz tends to be a better metric to compare different processor using the same CPU architecture.

  6. Integrated graphics memory

    ManzoorElahi Mansoor

    how much is the memory of integrated graphics?

    • Dan

      Hi, integrated graphics uses a portion of system memory (RAM). It doesn’t have its own memory.

  7. Question

    Prashant

    what is 8265U stands for and why its mentioned near i5 processor

    • Dan

      The important number here is 8, which means it’s the 8th Generation Intel Core processor. 265 isn’t important part, it’s good to know that it is greater than the 250 (of the i5-8250U), meaning the 8265U is a newer model with slightly better specs. What’s also important is the U on the end, which means it’s optimized for the mainstream laptops. There are also for instance Intel Core CPU laptop processor names ending with H, which are used in high-performance, mostly gaming, laptops. And there are Y processor with greatly reduced power consumption in comparison to U, but also with generally lower performance.

    • Shawn

      Very informative information of the nomenclatures.

  8. 4 out of 5

    Scott Nash

    Ordered refurbished Dell inspiron. After replacing single So-dimm with 2 matched So-dimm. Can some one teach Dell about Dual channel memory? Laptop works much better. 10-20% improvement.

  9. Rafat Ahmed

    Dear Concern,
    I newly purchased HP Core i5-8265U in June-2019 with Licensed Windows 10 Home, and Installed only two software “MS office 2013” & “Adobe PS CC 2015” but unfortunately unable to use my system because at every stage of work i got memory (RAM) error as well as system is too much slow.
    System Name: HP Laptop QDQ23T53

  10. Master3D

    Can I install DirectX 10 on this-
    Intel Core i5 8265U.
    2GB AMD radeon 520 DDR5 graphics.

    Please reply because whenever I want to install DirectX 10, it says, “An internal systen error occured.”

    Please help if you know the solution.

    • Emelie

      2GB AMD radeon 520 DDR5 graphics have support for DirectX 10. It even have support for DirectX 12. The error message is due to something else. The anti-virus software might block something. Have you installed all updates from windows?

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