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IntelBX80623I72600K
$319
IntelBX80646I74790K
$348
▲ 767,499 ▼
 $319 

4 Cores, 8 Threads @3.4GHz, Sandy Bridge.
Release date: Q1 2011.

VS
▲ 8841,571 ▼
 $348 

4 Cores, 8 Threads @4.0GHz, Haswell.
Release date: Q2 2014.

Effective Speed 
+12%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 603,279 user samples
Benchmark your CPU here
147,533 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 83% Base clock 3.4 GHz, turbo 4.7 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 56% Base clock 3.4 GHz, turbo 27,195,430 GHz (avg)
Poor: 56% Great: 83%
SPEED RANK: 390th / 1442
Gaming
Gaming 71%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 75%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 55%
Gunboat
455,746 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 87% Base clock 4 GHz, turbo 4.6 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 67% Base clock 4 GHz, turbo 0.7 GHz (avg)
Poor: 67% Great: 87%
SPEED RANK: 251st / 1442
Gaming
Gaming 79%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 83%
Aircraft carrier
Workstation
Workstation 65%
Destroyer
Effective Speed
Effective CPU Speed 		70.6 % 78.9 % Faster effective speed.
+12%
Average Score 
+22%
Memory
Avg. Memory Latency 		87 Pts 88.1 Pts +1%
1-Core
Avg. Single Core Speed 		91.8 Pts 114 Pts Faster single-core speed.
+24%
2-Core
Avg. Dual Core Speed 		173 Pts 216 Pts Faster dual-core speed.
+25%
4-Core
Avg. Quad Core Speed 		295 Pts 378 Pts Faster quad-core speed.
+28%
8-Core
Avg. Octa Core Speed 		424 Pts 560 Pts Much faster octa-core speed.
+32%
Overclocked Score 
+10%
Memory
OC Memory Latency 		96 Pts 96.8 Pts +1%
1-Core
OC Single Core Speed 		116 Pts 128 Pts Faster OC single-core speed.
+10%
2-Core
OC Dual Core Speed 		226 Pts 248 Pts Slightly faster OC dual-core speed.
+10%
4-Core
OC Quad Core Speed 		384 Pts 433 Pts Faster OC quad-core speed.
+13%
8-Core
OC Octa Core Speed 		549 Pts 643 Pts Faster OC octa-core speed.
+17%
Value & Sentiment 
+72%
Market Share
Based on 67,696,894 CPUs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.18 % 0.67 % Hugely higher market share.
+272%
Value
Value For Money 		67.9 % 74.2 % Slightly better value.
+9%
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		76 % 88 % More popular.
+16%
Price
Price (score) 		$319 Slightly cheaper.
+8% 		$348
Nice To Haves 
+16%
Age
Newest 		159 Months 118 Months More recent.
+26%
TDP
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 		95 Watts 88 Watts Slightly more energy efficient.
+7%
Cores
CPU Processing Cores 		4 cores 4 cores
Threads
CPU Processing Threads 		8 threads 8 threads
Lithography
Manufacturing process 		32 nm 22 nm Much newer manufacturing.
+31%
Base Clock
Base Clock Speed 		3.4 GHz 4 GHz Faster base frequency.
+18%
Turbo Clock
Turbo Clock Speed 		3.8 GHz 4.4 GHz Faster turbo frequency.
+16%
64-Core
OC Multi Core Speed 		558 Pts 654 Pts Faster OC 64-core speed.
+17%
64-Core
Avg. Multi Core Speed 		437 Pts 573 Pts Much faster 64-core speed.
+31%
Specifications 
Series
CPU Architecture 		Sandy Bridge Haswell
Socket
Motherboard Socket 		LGA1155 FCLGA1150
Graphics
Integrated Graphics 		HD 3000 HD 4600
Launch Date
Launch Date 		Q1'11 Q2'14
Instruction Set Extensions
Instruction Set Extensions 		SSE4.1/4.2, AVX SSE4.1/4.2, AVX 2.0
Lithography
Lithography 		32 nm 22 nm
Recommended Price
Recommended Customer Price 		N/A $339.00 - $350.00
Max Turbo Frequency
Max Turbo Frequency 		3.8 GHz 4.4 GHz
Bus Speed
Bus Speed 		5 GT/s DMI 5 GT/s DMI2
Memory Types
Memory Types 		DDR3 1066/1333 DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V
Memory Bandwidth
Max Memory Bandwidth 		21 GB/s 25.6 GB/s
Processor Graphics
Processor Graphics ‡ 		Intel® HD Graphics 3000 Intel® HD Graphics 4600
Graphics Base Frequency
Graphics Base Frequency 		850 MHz 350 MHz
Wireless Display
Intel® Wireless Display 		No Yes
# of Displays Supported
# of Displays Supported ‡ 		2 3
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency 		1.35 GHz 1.25 GHz
Virtualization for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) ‡ 		No Yes
PCI Express Revision
PCI Express Revision 		2.0 3.0

More specs » More specs »
Conclusion 
Average Bench 70.6%
Average Bench 78.9%
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The i7-2600K Sandy Bridge processor is two generations old and nearly three years out of date. The numerous owners of this superb processor should feel in no hurry to upgrade as it's still one of the fastest consumer processors, even by today's standards. The benchmark figures indicate that in terms of real-world performance this processor is only 5% slower than the third generation Ivy Bridge i7-3770K, not bad considering its age. That said new buyers will find both better energy efficiency and marginal performance improvements elsewhere. [Feb '12 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

The Intel Core i7-4790K, codenamed Devil's Canyon, is an upgraded 4770K, Intel's current flagship i7. The 4790K features an improved thermal interface which enables it to dissipate heat more efficiently than the 4770K. Comparing the 4770K and 4790K shows that stock performance has improved by 13% which is consistent with the base clock jump from 3.5 GHz to 4.0 GHz. OC performance remains unchanged. Comparing the 4790K and 4790 shows that at stock clocks the 4790K is around 16% faster which considering the small price difference makes the 4790K a far better choice. Previously Intel targeted the unlocked K versions at overclockers but with Devil's Canyon they have included VT-d on the K chip and this time it's squarely aimed at both power users and overclockers alike. Until the release of Broadwell in six months, the 4790K is the high end CPU of choice. [Jul '14 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

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We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]

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  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.
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Intel Core i5-13600K $273Nvidia RTX 4060 $300Crucial MX500 250GB $40
Intel Core i5-12400F $132Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-12600K $186Nvidia RTX 4070 $409Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $52
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $34Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $35Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $51G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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