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]
The i7-11700K is the second fastest CPU in Intel’s 11th Gen Rocket Lake-S lineup which brings higher IPC (early samples indicate +19%) and 50% stronger integrated graphics. There are also 500 series chipset improvements including: 20 PCIe4 CPU lanes (up from 16) and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps up from 10 Gbps). Rocket Lake’s IPC uplift translates to around a 10% faster Effective Speed than both Intel's 10th Gen and AMD’s 5000 series. Despite Intel’s performance lead, AMD continues to outsell Intel. Given the scale of Intel's operation, it’s inexplicable that their marketing remains so neglected. Little effort is made to counter widespread disinformation such as: “it uses too much electricity” or the classic: “it needs more cores”. Intel’s marketing samples are routinely distributed to reviewers that appear better incentivized to bury Intel's products rather than review them. Not enabling XMP or only testing with BIOS power limits enabled is akin to leaving the handbrake on during a race. Mind-numbing “scientific” and rendering benchmarks are presented as gospel. Different games, mostly unplayed by real users, are cherry picked for each “review”. When it's convenient, canned game benchmarks are chosen such as Ulletical’s CSGO which runs at nearly double the in-game fps. Credible benchmark data, which necessarily includes replicable video footage from popular games, is the exception rather than the rule. At every release, AMD’s marketers coordinate narratives to ensure another feast of blue blubber. Nonetheless, towards the end of 2021, Intel’s Golden Cove is due to offer an additional 20-30% performance increase. At that time, with a net 30-40% performance lead, Intel will probably regain significant market share despite AMD's class-leading marketing. In the meantime, most PC gamers need look no further than the 11400F.[Feb '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.