The Core i7-7700K is Intel’s flagship Kaby Lake based CPU which is reported to have the same IPC as its predecessor, Skylake. Comparing the 7700K and 6700K shows that both average effective speed and peak overclocked speed are up by 7%. Most of the increase in average effective speed is explained by the 5% boost in base clocks from 4.0 to 4.2 GHz. The improved peak lab speed is attributable to a combination of better overclocking capacity and improvements in Intel’s speedshift technology which make the 7700K slightly more responsive. Kaby Lake also has marginally better HD 630 integrated graphics. The i7-7700K is priced similarly to the i7-6700K so for top end gaming and workstation builds, the 7700K is the clear choice for 2017. AMD’s Ryzen will release later this year so things could change at that time. [Jan '17CPUPro]
Intel’s latest 10-core i5-12600K Alder Lake desktop processor offers an impressive 50% 64-core performance improvement over it's predecessor. The 12600K combines six hyper-threaded Golden Cove P-cores with clock speeds up to 4.9 GHz and four energy efficient Gracemont E-cores for a total of 16 threads. Alder Lake CPUs have a new LGA 1700 socket which requires new cooler brackets and a new Z690 motherboard. Z690 brings several new features including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. Most Z690 boards will ship in both DDR4 and DDR5 variants. DDR4 is likely the better option, at least until DDR5 prices settle. With an MRSP of just $290 USD, the 12600K is both cheaper and faster than the competition in both single and, notably, multi-core performance. As a result, even AMD's prolific marketing infrastructure (youtube, reddit, forums etc.) will struggle to drive sales, at least until Zen 4 launches (est. late 2022). In the meantime, Intel's i5-12600K is the obvious choice for consumers that do not wish to pay over the odds for almost unparalleled performance in the majority of workloads including gaming. That said, gamers that already own a K series CPU from the 8th gen. or higher will see limited gains in the majority of titles when paired with a 3060 (or lower) tier GPU. In some cases (e.g. PUBG or Overwatch) gamers will see fewer frame drops by disabling the E-Cores all together. If recent history is a guide, stock levels at MSRP are likely to deplete rapidly. [Nov '21CPUPro]
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]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.