Intel 8th Generation Core i3 8350K and Core i5 8600K Review

Introduction

The most recent Intel CPUs have massively increased the number of cores and threads available to them. It wasn’t that long ago that the majority of i5 and i7 processors were quad cores, whilst the i3 made do with two. The i7s had hyperthreading to help differentiate them from the i5s, but the ‘lesser’ Intel chips still found homes in a huge amount of computers. Even now the i5-2500K is still a massively popular choice.

However, with the enormous amount of cores now being squeezed onto Intel’s Processors and the introduction of the beastly Core i9 with more cores than most people have GB of RAM, the trickle down effect has reached the popular mid-range offerings of Core i3 and Core i5. If you’ve been looking enviously at the Coffee Lake range and a spangly new Z370 motherboard then the two processors we have for review today could be perfect choices. They might be lacking in hyperthreading but usually that means that they overclock higher than their Core i7 siblings, so we’re intrigued as to what will be available to us.

Technical Specifications

Demonstrating how much of a hike there has been since the earlier i3 and i5 models, the Core i3-8350K now sports 4 cores running at 4 GHz, whilst the Core i5-8600K has a meaty 6 cores at between 3.6 GHz and 4.3 GHz. Both have the Intel UHD Graphics 630 integrated option providing decent graphics for those without a GPU.