The CPU itself is INCREDIBLY slow and awful to run pretty much anything with. However, it does have one thing definitely going for it.
Despite me having used it pretty much 24/7 for the past 7 years, and the SFF Optiplex 760 it's on, having only been cleaned 3-4 times in its' whole life, because I didn't know how to clean a PC until fairly recently.
Yet the E5300 STILL runs after all these years, and only begun getting any noticeably slower in the past year or so. This kind of reliability is far more than what I can say for Intel's high end CPUs from just the past year. Because half a year ago I finally managed to get a new computer to replace my Optiplex. And so far I've somehow lost TWO CPUs in a row. First the original i5-11400f I had bought, and then the i5-11500 I bought as a replacement. [Feb '225555]
The Core i7-4790 is the third upgrade to Intel's flagship quad core hyper-threaded CPU. This version, like its predecessor the i7-4771, gets a 100 MHz bump in stock frequency and additionally the i7-4790 also gets a 100 MHz turbo frequency bump. These improvements (~4%) are marginal and practically impossible to discern in day to day use. Looking at a benchmark comparison between the 4771 and 4790 verifies that there is little difference between the two CPUs. Although the i7-4790 isn't much of a step forward, it's still one of the best (locked) mainstream processors on the market. AMD hasn't been able to compete with Intel on single threaded performance for several years, consequently Intel have no need to push the envelope. Overclockers should wait for the 4790K which is rumoured to be released shortly. [May '14CPUPro]
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.