What is the Intel Core i7 8700k?

If you are in search of a new high end gaming CPU, you might be looking to go with either an Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7.

The Core i7 8700K is the flagship from Intel’s 8th generation Coffee Lake processor lineup.

It was released by Intel on October 5, 2017. The 8700K was Intel’s first chance to respond to AMD following the launch of their Ryzen CPUs earlier that year.

Due to Ryzen’s great price to performance ratio, Intel had to lower their prices and improve their performance as well.

That brings up the question, which CPU is worth it: Ryzen 7 or Core i7? In this article, we will be taking a deep look at Intel’s 2017 flagship CPU.

Intel Core i7 8700K Specs and Price

The Intel Core i7 8700K is currently priced at $359.99. It’s specs are as follows.

• Architecture - Coffee Lake

• Socket - LGA1151

• Cores/Threads - 6/12

• Base Clock - 3.7GHz

• Turbo Clock - 4.7GHz

• L3 Cache - 12 MB

• PCIE Lanes - 16

• Process Technology - 14nm

• Memory Support - Dual Channel DDR4-2666

• TDP - 95W

Here you can find how the 8700K’s specs match up with other Core i7’s.

Intel Core i7 8700K Performance

The 8700K performs very well when it comes to gaming. Looking at performance data compared with other similar CPUs, and it’s obvious why the 8700K is the winner. With the 8700K’s 6 cores/12 threads and a high per core performance ratio, it makes this CPU one of the best for gaming in its price range. Let’s take a look at how games are performing at 1080p on the Core i7 8700K..

• Grand Theft Auto 5 Performance (1080p) - 133 FPS Average

• Rise of the Tomb Raider (1080p) - 139 FPS Average

• Hitman (1080p) - 146 FPS Average

You can watch here to see more performance details on the 8700K.

While the 8700K usually dominates other CPUs when it comes to gaming, it usually does not perform better than Ryzen when it comes to multitasking or editing. Due to Ryzen’s 8 cores/16 threads, it performs better in tasks that require such power.

Intel Core i7 8700K Overclocking Capability

This CPU is more than able to be overclocked! The 8700K can be pushed as high as 5 GHz. Using an exceptional cooler is a big part of this process. Because this chip has a boost clock of 4.7, it’s important to have a good cooling solution if you plan on overclocking. In this guide, you can see the 8700K being pushed to 5.0 GHz at 1.35v.

Intel Core i7 8700K Contenders

AMD Ryzen 2700X

This CPU is the flagship from AMD’s 2nd Generation Ryzen processors. It’s slightly cheaper than the 8700K but offers similar performance. It was released in April 2018 under the new Zen plus architecture. In most cases, the 8700K barely performs better in gaming while the 2700X performs much better in multiprocessing and content creation.

• Price - $309.99

• Cores/Threads - 8/16

• Base Clock - 3.7GHz

• Boost Clock - 4.3GHz

• TDP - 105W

Intel Core i7 7700K

The i7-7700K is the predecessor to the 8700K. It was released at the beginning of 2017 and while it has less cores and threads than the 8700K, it’s currently much cheaper and offers close to the same performance in gaming. Anybody who’s looking for a cheaper i7 but don’t need as many threads as the 8700K should look into this CPU.

• Price - $304.99

• Cores/Threads - 4/8

• Base Clock - 4.2GHz

• Boost Clock - 4.5GHz

• TDP - 91W

Intel Core i5-8600K

Core i5 CPUs have always been a great middle ground for those who don’t need all the extra threads an i7 has. They’re also much cheaper and perform great in most gaming setups. The 8600K is just one step under the 8700K yet nearly $100 cheaper. This CPU is one of Intel’s best bang for buck options.

• Price - $264.99

• Cores/Threads - 6/6

• Base Clock - 3.6GHz

• Boost Clock - 4.3GHz

• TDP - 95W

Final Verdict

Is the Intel Core i7 8700K worth it?

If you are a dedicated gamer, this processor is definitely worth it! Compared to its competitor, the AMD Ryzen 7 CPUs, it’s gaming performance is better, given a slightly higher price. However if you’re more into multitasking and editing, the Ryzen CPUs generally perform better in those tasks due to more threads. At the end of the day, it’s up to the consumer and what they prefer.

Pros

• Greater performance per core than AMD Ryzen

• Can be overclocked up to 5 GHz

• Better gaming performance than 1st gen Ryzen

• Coffee Lake has substantial performance gains over Skylake and Kaby Lake

Cons

• Ryzen performs better in video editing/multitasking

• Slightly more expensive than Ryzen

• If overclocking, a serious cooling setup is necessary

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

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• What is a CPU Benchmark? CPU Benchmarks Explained

• CPU Terminology Made Easy for Gamers

• How To Buy A CPU for Gaming: 10 Things You Must Know