Comparison core i5-7600k vs core i5

We continue with our comparisons of processors after the arrival of the Core i5 Kaby Lake, this time we have taken its top of the range, the Core i5-7600K, and we have compared it with its predecessor, the Core i5-6600K to see if it really the new generation is worth jumping into. Comparison Core i5-7600K vs Core i5-6600K.

Index of contents

Core i5-7600K vs Core i5-6600K technical characteristics

As we can see in the table, both generations of Core i5 processors present the same specifications except the clock speed, 300 MHz higher in the case of the Core i5- 7600K in both the base mode and the turbo mode.

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Application performance

First of all we are going to compare the performance of both processors in the Cinebench R15, AIDA 64, Fire Strike and Heaven benchmarks. In the graphics you can see that the improvement is very little, if we talk about specific numbers we have that it is around 0.5% in Cinebench R15, 12% in Fire Strike and 0.5% in Heaven. In the case of AIDA64, we did find a much greater difference of 40% due to a significant improvement in bandwidth, although it was not subsequently significantly transferred to applications. Some results very similar to those we already saw in the comparison of the Core i7-7700K vs Core i7 6700K.

Gaming performance

1080p / Titan X Pascal OC	Core i5 7600K Stock	Core i5 6600K Stock
Assassin's Creed Unity, Ultra High, FXAA	121.4	117.0
Ashes of the Singularity, DX12, CPU Test	29.6	26.2
Crysis 3, Very High, SMAA T2x	99.4	93.4
The Division, Ultra, SMAA	132.0	132.4
Far Cry Primal, Ultra, SMAA	117.2	111.8
Rise of the Tomb Raider DX12, Very High, SMAA	89.7	83.1
The Witcher 3, Ultra, No Hairworks	99.0	97.7

We now turn to look at the performance of the two processors in video games to see the differences. We have compared the performance of both chips in Assassin's Creed Unity , Ashes of the Singularity, Crysis 3, The Division, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry Primal, and The Witcher 3. The differences are also very small with a maximum of 6 FPS in games that are close to 100 FPS, so we could talk about a 3-4% difference on average. With this we can consider it almost as a tie and both processors are excellent.

Consumption and temperature

After seeing the performance of the two processors, we have to analyze their consumption and temperature. The Core i5-7600K is just as hot as its predecessor under load in its stock configuration (52ºC) while in overclocking it heats up a bit more (73ºC vs 67ºC). The difference with overclocking is surely due to the fact that Intel has used a very low quality thermal compound under the IHS.

In all cases the consumption values ​​are from the complete equipment.

The consumption under load is very slightly higher in the case of the Core i5-7600K both in stock configuration (208ºW vs 205ºW) and in overclock (265W vs 248W), something quite normal if we consider that it is practically an overclocked version of the Same chip with some optimizations in the 14nm Tri-Gate process. The consumption in idle if that is lower in the case of the Core i5-7600K in about 30W approximately so here if the greater maturity of 14 nm of the new cores is noted.

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Final words and conclusion

Once again we have seen that the Kaby Lake processors are still a small optimization of the previous Skylake. The microarchitecture has not undergone major changes, so the performance difference is solely due to the improvement in operating frequency.

The new Core i5-7600K is for sale for a price of 278 euros, a figure significantly higher than the 239 euros of its predecessor the Core i5-6600K, so in relation to quality / price it may be interesting once again to opt for the previous generation. The Kaby Lake's biggest draw may be the new Optane memory technology, although it will take a few years for it to become commonplace and within the reach of mortals.