The high-end hex core, 12 thread i7-8700 is second in Intel’s line up of 8th generation Coffee Lake CPUs that witnesses an increase in the number of cores at each SKU, as well as further refinement on the 14nm architecture as seen in the 6th and 7th generations. The i7-8700 features a TDP of 65W, 12MB of L3 Cache and 16 PCIe lanes. Although the 8700 has a base clock of 3.2 GHz it has an all core boost of 4.3 GHz and a single core boost of 4.6 GHz. These are unusually high clocks for a non-K SKU, Intel have historically clocked their non-K SKUs around 10% lower than the flagship K variants but with Coffee Lake, the 8700 is almost a match for a stock 8700K. Priced at $320, the i7-8700 offers exceptional single, quad and multi-core processing power to the mainstream market but unfortunately a new 300 series chipset will also need to be factored into the purchase. AMD’s comparably priced Ryzen 7 1700X is an 8 core 16 thread processor which is around 20% faster at multi-threaded tasks, but has around 20% slower single and quad core performance so the choice between these two processors is use case dependant but generally favours Intel for most desktop users whose workloads are typically single or dual core bound.
[Oct '17CPUPro]
This was the ultimate niche CPU. At the time of its release, it had an optimal combination of multi-core performance without sacrificing as much single- and quad- as the higher-core CPUs, at an excellent price-point. It utilizes quad-channel RAM. If you were a content creator without external funding, had one machine in the budget, then this chip might even now in mid-2019 be what you're looking for.
The higher-end Threadrippers will throw more cores at you... for up to five times the price. If you've a home studio, running a DAW on the same PC you use for everything; or you do your own video editing; or you're an independent streamer; then those extra 12 or 18 cores aren't really going to help you that much anyway, for all that extra cash - AND those CPUs have lower performance in more common applications (single- low-thread apps). Not worth it. Intel isn't even on the table, of course.
If you're reading this in the future: these benchmarks have multiple categories for a reason. Read and think. Find the best combination for what you intend to do with it - not some arbitrary "the best" overall. There is no such thing, because you won't be using your computer for Overall, now will you? [Aug '19spacefiddle]
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.