> a 8th gen i3 can offer approximately the same performance as a 7th gen i5 But is a 8th gen i3 significantly lower price than the 7th gen i5 when it came out?

> a 8th gen i3 can offer approximately the same performance as a 7th gen i5 But is a 8th gen i3 significantly lower price than the 7th gen i5 when it came out? Because using your logic, that would be what would matter here. If it's not, then it may be due to the availability of Ryzen CPUs, too, which are cheaper for more cores.