The 8th Generation Intel Core processors, codenamed Coffee Lake, are the first Intel processor family to garner so much interest in recent history. Thanks to the Ryzen Effect, Intel is finally increasing the number of processor cores across the board. FINALLY. In this review, we are going to take a close look at the new Intel Core i7-8700K processor that boasts 6 cores capable of handling 12 simultaneous threads.

 

The 8th Generation Intel Core Processors

The Intel Core i7-8700K headlines the new 8th Generation Intel Core processor family. Here is a table comparing their key specifications :

Specifications	Core i7-8700K	Core i7-8700	Core i5-8600K	Core i5-8400	Core i3-8350K	Core i3-8300	Core i3-8100
Cores	6	6	6	6	4	4	4
Threads	12	12	6	6	4	4	4
Base Clock	3.7 GHz	3.2 GHz	3.5 GHz	2.8 GHz	4.0 GHz	4.0 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost Clock	4.7 GHz	4.6 GHz	4.4 GHz	3.9 GHz	None	None	None
L1 Cache	384 KB	384 KB	384 KB	384 KB	256 KB	256 KB	256 KB
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	1.5 MB	1.5 MB	1.5 MB	1 MB	1 MB	1 MB
L3 Cache	12 MB	12 MB	9 MB	9 MB	8 MB	6 MB	6 MB
Multiplier Unlocked	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
TDP	95 W	65 W	95 W	65 W	91 W	65 W	65 W

 

The Intel Core i7-8700K Hexa-Core CPU

The Intel Coffee Lake (8th Gen) processors are built on the same 14 nm process technology as the Intel Skylake and Kaby Lake processors, albeit refined. In addition to the two extra processor cores, it packs a 50% larger L3 cache and support for faster DDR4-2666 memory.

Even with the two additional cores and a larger L3 cache, the Intel Core i7-8700K looks like any other LGA 1151 processor that have come out of Intel’s factories in years past. However, it cannot be used in older Intel 100-series or 200-series motherboards. Even though it uses the same LGA 1151 socket, its pin configuration has changed. It must be installed in an Intel 300-series motherboard.

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Benchmarking The Intel Core i7-8700K

In this review, we will take a look at the work and gaming performance of the Intel Core i7-8700K processor. We will compare it to the Ryzen 7 1800X (Price Check), the Intel Core i7-6700K, the Ryzen 5 1500X (Price Check) and the Ryzen 3 1300X (Price Check) processors. Here is a table comparing their key specifications.

	AMD Ryzen 7 1800X	Intel Core i7-8700K	Intel Core i7-6700K	AMD Ryzen 5 1500X	AMD Ryzen 3 1300X
Cores / Threads	8 / 16	6 / 12	4 / 8	4 / 8	4 / 4
Base Clock	3.6 GHz	3.7 GHz	4.0 GHz	3.5 GHz	3.5 GHz
Boost Clock	4.0 GHz	4.7 GHz	4.2 GHz	3.7 GHz	3.7 GHz
L2 Cache	4 MB	1.5 MB	1 MB	2 MB	2 MB
L3 Cache	16 MB	12 MB	8 MB	16 MB	8 MB
Memory Speed	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2133	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666
Current Price	US$ 499	US$ 339	US$ 298	US$ 189	US$ 129

Here are the specifications of the testbeds we used :

	Intel Testbed	AMD Testbed
Processors	Intel Core i7-8700K Intel Core i7-6700K	AMD Ryzen 7 1800X AMD Ryzen 5 1500X AMD Ryzen 3 1300X
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z370-F-Gaming ASRock Z170 Extreme4	GIGABYTE AORUS GA-AX370 Gaming-5 ASRock AB350 Gaming K4
Memory Speed	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (4 GB x 2)	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2666 (4 GB x 2)
Graphics Card	AMD Radeon RX 480	AMD Radeon RX 480
Storage	Western Digital Black²	Western Digital Black²
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)	Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

The Intel Core i7-8700K has 2 extra cores and handles 50% more threads than the Intel Core i7-6700K, but has a slightly lower base clock speed. However its boost clock goes all the way to 4.7 GHz, if a single core is used. Let’s see how it performs against the field!

Next Page > 3D Rendering, Video Transcoding & Photoshop Performance

 

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