Comparison: core i7-7700k vs core i7

With the arrival of the new Intel Kaby Lake processors we have taken its top of the range, the Core i7-7700K, and we have compared it with its predecessor, the Core i7-6700K to see the differences between the two generations and if it is worth the It is worth making the leap to the new generation.

Index of contents

Core i7-7700K vs Core i7-6700K technical characteristics

As we can see in the table, both generations of processors share the same specifications except the clock speed, 200 MHz higher in the case of the Core i7- 7700K 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. As we can see in the graphics, the improvement is very little and is around 3% in Cinebench R15, 11.5% in Fire Strike and 13% in Heaven. In the case of AIDA64, we did find a much greater difference of 58.4% due to a significant improvement in bandwidth, although it did not subsequently transfer significantly to applications.

Gaming performance

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 Battlefield 4, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider, Overwatch and Doom 4. Again we see very small differences that reach 3 FPS maximum. With this we can consider it as a tie and both processors perform the same.

Consumption and temperature

Once seen the performance of the two processors we have to look at its consumption and its temperature. Firstly, the Core i7-7700K is hotter than its predecessor both under load in its stock configuration (52ºC vs 50ºC) and in overclock (73ºC vs 53ºC). The difference is especially large with overclocking so we think 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 also higher in the case of the Core i7-7700K both in stock configuration (215ºW vs 210ºW) and in overclock (32W vs 305W), something quite normal if we consider that it is practically an overclocked version of it chip with some optimizations in the process at 14 nm Tri-Gate. The consumption in idle if that is lower in the case of the Core i7-7700K by about 30W approximately both in stock and in overclock, here if the greater maturity of the 14 nm of Kaby Lake is noted.

Final words and conclusion

Tests have shown that the new Kaby Lake processors are just a small optimization of the previous Skylake. The new Core i7-7700K has been just 13% better than the Core i7-6700K (leaving out the AIDA64 bandwidth test) and has delivered virtually the same gaming performance alongside the GeForce GTX 1080.

The new Core i7-7700K goes on sale for a price of 410 euros, a much higher figure than the 340 euros that the Core i7-6700K costs approximately, so in relation to quality / price it is much better option to opt for the previous generation It is a difference in price of 20% for almost the same performance.

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