Intel Core i7-8706G vs Intel Core i7-1185G7

Intel Core i7-8706G

The Intel Core i7-8706G is a fast quad-core processor for notebooks based on the Kaby Lake architecture and was announced in January 2018. similar to the Core i7-7920HQ it integrates four processor cores clocked at 3.1 - 4.1 GHz. As a speciality the package also contains a Vega based graphics card from AMD (with 20 CUs = 1,280 shaders at 1011 MHz) and 4 GB HBM2 graphics memory. The CPU is still produced in 14nm as the i7-7920HQ. Similar to the Core i7-8705G, but with support for vPro (the only Kaby Lake-G CPU with vPro support). Compared to the high-end Kaby Lake-G models, the i7-8706G only features 20 instead of 24 CUs for the Vega GPU and a lower TDP of 65 versus 100 Watt.

Architecture

Intel basically uses the same micro architecture compared to Skylake, so the per-MHz performance does not differ. The manufacturer only reworked the Speed Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of voltages and clocks, and the improved 14nm process allows much higher frequencies combined with better efficiency than before.

Performance

Compared to the i7-7920HQ, the i7-8706G should be slightly faster due to the HBM2 memory and the 65 Watt TDP. The performance is therefore sufficient even for very demanding tasks and on par with powerful desktop quad-core processors.

Graphics

In addition to the Intel HD Graphics 630 in the CPU die, the Core i7-8809G also offers an AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics card with 20 CUs and therefore double the amount of the current mobile Ryzen APUs (e.g. Ryzen 7 2700 with 10 CUs) but 4 less than the Vega M GH of the high end models.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main 10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec. The 8809G should also support HDCP 2.2, but for HDMI 2.0, it most likely needs a converter from DisplayPort.

Power Consumption

The CPU chip is manufactured in an improved 14nm process with FinFET transistors. It is rated at a TDP of around 65 Watt and therefore is only suited for laptops with good cooling solutions. Compared to laptops with Core i7-H quad cores and dedicated graphics cards, the i7-8706G based models can be built with smaller chassis.

Intel Core i7-1185G7

The Intel Core i7-1185G7 is a power-efficient quad-core SoC for laptops and Ultrabooks based on the Tiger Lake-U generation (UP3) that was introduced September 2020. It integrates four Willow Cove processor cores (8 threads thanks to Hyper-Threading). Each core can clock from 1.2 GHz (12 W base clock speed), 3 GHz (28 W base clock speed) to 4.8 GHz (single-core boost). All cores at once can clock at up to 4.3 GHz. At the time of announcement, the i7-1185G7 is the fastest model of the line-up. Since early 2021, the i7-1185G7 supports management features like vPro.

Another novelty is the integrated Iris Xe iGPU based on the completely new Gen 12 architecture. It should offer a significantly higher performance compared to the older Iris Plus G7 (Ice Lake). In the i7-1185G7 it uses 96 EUs and clocks between 400 - 1,350 MHz. The GPU and CPU can together use the 12 MB of L3 cache.

Furthermore, Tiger Lake SoCs add PCIe 4 support (four lanes), AI hardware acceleration, and the partial integration of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6 in the chip.

Performance

The average 1185G7 in our database is just as fast as AMD's hexa-core Ryzen 5 4500U, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. While the i7 is not the fastest Tiger Lake chip by any stretch of imagination, it's more than usable for your productivity and creative apps, with a bit of gaming possible as well.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 55 W, the Stealth 15M A11SEK is among the fastest laptops powered by the 1185G7 that we know of. It can be almost twice as fast in CPU-bound workloads as the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Power consumption

This little Core i7 here has a default TDP of 12 W to 28 W, the expectation being that laptop manufacturers will go for a higher value in exchange for higher performance. Either way, that's a tad too high to allow for passively cooled designs.

The chip is manufactured on Intel's third-gen 10 nm process marketed as SuperFin for average, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.