Intel AES New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption. Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) provide applications the ability to create hardware enforced trusted execution protection for their applications’ sensitive routines and data. Run-time execution is protected from observation or tampering by any other software (including privileged software) in a system. Intel Trusted Execution Technology for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Intel AES New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption. Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) provide applications the ability to create hardware enforced trusted execution protection for their applications’ sensitive routines and data. Run-time execution is protected from observation or tampering by any other software (including privileged software) in a system. Intel Trusted Execution Technology for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Intel AES New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption. Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) provide applications the ability to create hardware enforced trusted execution protection for their applications’ sensitive routines and data. Run-time execution is protected from observation or tampering by any other software (including privileged software) in a system. Intel Trusted Execution Technology for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Intel AES New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption. Intel Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX) provide applications the ability to create hardware enforced trusted execution protection for their applications’ sensitive routines and data. Run-time execution is protected from observation or tampering by any other software (including privileged software) in a system. Intel Trusted Execution Technology for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
Last updated at 08/28/2026 18:01:12
Intel Core i7-8700K 3.70GHZ Socket LGA1151 Cache 12MB Processor, BX80684I78700K
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Intel Core i7-8700K 8th Gen Unlocked Desktop Processor (6-Core/12-Thread, 3.7GHz up to 4.7GHz, 12MB Cache) LGA1151 - No Cooler Included
Delivery $8.95
Intel CPU Core i7-8700K, 3.7 GHz, 12M Cache, 6 Cores/12 Threads LGA1151, BX80684I78700K
Delivery between 2–6 Sept $35.88
Intel Core I7-8700k 3.7ghz No Fan Unlocked S1151 Coffee Lake 8th Generation Boxed 3 Years Warranty - Systems Only Bx80684i78700k
Intel BX80684I78700KSR3QR Integrated Circuits (ICs)
Delivery between Mon – Wed $55.86
Intel BX80684I78700KSR3QR
Delivery between Sat – Wed $69.83
originally posted on microcenter.com
A hot mess and an overpriced paper launch: Intel's EPYC failure of an attempt of Ryzen to the occasion against AMD.Did you ever think the 7700K was slightly too hot for comfort in your build but barely managed anyhow? Take all the ills and missteps of the thermals of the 7700K and magnify them to unimaginable levels in this flagship mainstream processor. Though you would expect a mainstream-targeted processor outside of the HEDT X299 line to be entry-level builder friendly, the 8700K is actually more demanding than the 7800X and practically requires liquid cooling. In testing, the 8700K, with a $150+ premium AIO like the NZXT Kraken X62 or the Alphacool Eisbear 420, has been found to be up to 20 degrees hotter than its predecessor. Google "8700K temperature" and ... MoreA hot mess and an overpriced paper launch: Intel's EPYC failure of an attempt of Ryzen to the occasion against AMD.Did you ever think the 7700K was slightly too hot for comfort in your build but barely managed anyhow? Take all the ills and missteps of the thermals of the 7700K and magnify them to unimaginable levels in this flagship mainstream processor. Though you would expect a mainstream-targeted processor outside of the HEDT X299 line to be entry-level builder friendly, the 8700K is actually more demanding than the 7800X and practically requires liquid cooling. In testing, the 8700K, with a $150+ premium AIO like the NZXT Kraken X62 or the Alphacool Eisbear 420, has been found to be up to 20 degrees hotter than its predecessor. Google "8700K temperature" and you will find numerous accounts of reviewers and users having temperatures in the 80 and 90 degree Celsius range while constantly hitting thermal throttling. Do not even remotely consider pairing a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO with this hot shot or throwing this fiery devil into a small form factor case like the RVZ02 or the DAN Cases A4-SFX. Intel is making the same mistakes from the darker times of its past and is returning to its Pentium 4 ways with this underwhelming, steaming pile of product. Practically speaking, Ryzen also achieves much greater than 60 fps in most games (not even the 8700K can achieve 144 fps+ for high refresh rate monitors unless you drop graphical settings to levels where Ryzen is practically on the same footing) and still has the upper hand in multi-threaded performance and power consumption. My strong suggestion: either (1) purchase a Ryzen 7 1700 processor and overclock it to 1800X levels, (2) wait until the 12nm Ryzen refresh comes out in February/March 2018, or (3) wait a bit longer for 7nm Zen 2 (SemiAccurate, a costly but highly reputable professional tech industry news outlet, affirms Zen 2 is still on schedule) to come out by the end of 2018.
originally posted on neweggbusiness.com
I would HIGHLY recommend that people wait for places such as Newegg to have this CPU available. Even though the listed price went up to $399, at least when I bought mine, they offered $20 off for using the mobile app - so I paid basically ~$10 to $15 over MSRP, which I was willing to do as I had amassed a decent savings just for this VERY occasion, I had already ordered my ASRock Z370 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 before I even knew WHEN I would be able to buy this CPU, as again, Newegg had an AMAZING price on it, at just $170 - for ALL of the performance of the Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, or Maximus X Hero, just without built in WiFi, and 1 less M.2 slot - that is literally it! I also already ordered my RAM, 2x 8 GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 16-16-16-36, my Noctua ... MoreI would HIGHLY recommend that people wait for places such as Newegg to have this CPU available. Even though the listed price went up to $399, at least when I bought mine, they offered $20 off for using the mobile app - so I paid basically ~$10 to $15 over MSRP, which I was willing to do as I had amassed a decent savings just for this VERY occasion, I had already ordered my ASRock Z370 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 before I even knew WHEN I would be able to buy this CPU, as again, Newegg had an AMAZING price on it, at just $170 - for ALL of the performance of the Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, or Maximus X Hero, just without built in WiFi, and 1 less M.2 slot - that is literally it! I also already ordered my RAM, 2x 8 GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 16-16-16-36, my Noctua NH-D15, and a 250 GB Samsung 960 EVO M.2 for boot all BEFORE I knew when I would be able to use ANY of it! Because I KNOW prices on things such as the motherboards and RAM - probably even NVMe SSDs, will all go up by the time ALL of Coffee Lake is available to everyone at all times. And speaking of my motherboard, I also cannot recommend my ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming K6 enough! As stated above, I was able to hit 4.8 GHZ locked on all 6 cores, using AUTO Vcore! I am only using Automatic for now, while people are still learning all the little tips and tricks to the Z370 Platform and Coffee Lake CPU Overclocking. Seeing as under Prime95, both max heat and Blend for prolonged periods still has never gotten any single core above 88 C with this automatic Vcore, I am PRETTY confident that once I really TRY, and learn all the ins and outs of manual Vcore, and Coffee Lake Overclocking on my Motherboard, as I had done with my 2600k + ASRock Z77 Extreme4, I am ALMOST certain that I will be able to hit 5 GHZ on all cores, comfortably using just my Noctua NH-D15 and highly ventilated case! It is therefore, I suppose, my OPINION that SOME people are REALLY overselling the "Heat Problem" this CPU has, and the supposed NEED to delid to hit ~5+ GHZ on all cores at all times. In my experience so far, this CPU runs VERY COOL, cooler than my 2600k did at 4.5 GHZ as well - and that CPU was soldered! Your mileage may vary of course, silicon lottery and all.. But I think that 4.8 GHZ should not be a problem for anyone with halfway decent CPU cooling! Also, ASRock is perhaps the best Mobo company in the game. They care more about functionality than gimmicks and "looking perfect and pretty" As I have stated above, my $170 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 is FUNCTIONALLY identical to the ~$250 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, the VRM components, the board design, the BASE features (how everything functions, as well as I/O ignoring small differences like an extra M.2 slot) - everything that MATTERS FOR PERFORMANCE - is literally IDENTICAL! Whereas Asus has WIDELY varying performance based on the model you buy, making only the Maximus X, and one of the 3 or 4 STRIX boards a SAFE bet to perform well. If you read motherboard reviews that go in depth, and even do performance comparisons, you will find ASRock to always be near or at the top of the pack, with the Fatal1ty Gaming K6 and Professional Gaming i7 performing identically - often matching or exceeding the Maximus X Hero, with nonsense such as MSI Godlike Gaming (WHAT A LOAD! $500 Mobo, for a CPU that will not cost more than $380!) - often middling the pack!
originally posted on scan.co.uk
The 8700K is an absolutely fantastic CPU. It's the current go-to choice if you want raw power for gaming as per core and physical thread it delivers the most performance out of general CPUs in the consumer space.It'll eat computationally heavy tasks such as running multiple development tools, word processors or anything else you can throw at it for breakfast. For games you can't do much better than this chip. It's great at single thread and great at multi-thread.There is an elephant in the room with the 8700K coffee lake though. It runs hot, seriously hot. It was hitting 40-45 c at stock when idle and being cooled by a h110i AIO cooler, and under load it was hitting 90 c!Like many others I tried re-seating the cooler block and CPU, reapplying thermal paste, ... MoreThe 8700K is an absolutely fantastic CPU. It's the current go-to choice if you want raw power for gaming as per core and physical thread it delivers the most performance out of general CPUs in the consumer space.It'll eat computationally heavy tasks such as running multiple development tools, word processors or anything else you can throw at it for breakfast. For games you can't do much better than this chip. It's great at single thread and great at multi-thread.There is an elephant in the room with the 8700K coffee lake though. It runs hot, seriously hot. It was hitting 40-45 c at stock when idle and being cooled by a h110i AIO cooler, and under load it was hitting 90 c!Like many others I tried re-seating the cooler block and CPU, reapplying thermal paste, etc. None of that worked.After a bit of research you'll find the problem.Intel used excessive adhesive to secure the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) and excessive TIM paste of low quality under the CPU between the heat-spreader and the die. Combined, this means that the IHS sits ever so slightly above the surface of the CPU die, which is why they used excessive TIM paste. The paste in turn being of low quality doesn't transfer heat very well.To solve the problem you can de-lid the CPU. This involves removing the IHS, cleaning it and using better TIM.Doing this will void the warranty so beware! I did so and used liquid metal and silicon based gasket sealant to re-attach the IHS after the procedure.The result?At stock and idle the CPU was sitting at 25/30 c and topping out at a maximum of around 65/70 c. Approximately 20 Celsius drop in temperature.
| General | |
| Product Type | Processor |
| Processor | |
| Type / Form Factor | Intel Core i7 8700K (8th Gen) |
| Number of Cores | 6-core |
Intel Core i7-8700K 3.70GHZ Socket LGA1151 Cache 12MB Processor, BX80684I78700K
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Intel Core i7-8700K 8th Gen Unlocked Desktop Processor (6-Core/12-Thread, 3.7GHz up to 4.7GHz, 12MB Cache) LGA1151 - No Cooler Included
Delivery $8.95
Intel CPU Core i7-8700K, 3.7 GHz, 12M Cache, 6 Cores/12 Threads LGA1151, BX80684I78700K
Delivery between 2–6 Sept $35.88
Intel Core I7-8700k 3.7ghz No Fan Unlocked S1151 Coffee Lake 8th Generation Boxed 3 Years Warranty - Systems Only Bx80684i78700k
Intel BX80684I78700KSR3QR Integrated Circuits (ICs)
Delivery between Mon – Wed $55.86
A hot mess and an overpriced paper launch: Intel's EPYC failure of an attempt of Ryzen to the occasion against AMD.Did you ever think the 7700K was slightly too hot for comfort in your build but barely managed anyhow? Take all the ills and missteps of the thermals of the 7700K and magnify them to unimaginable levels in this flagship mainstream processor. Though you would expect a mainstream-targeted processor outside of the HEDT X299 line to be entry-level builder friendly, the 8700K is actually more demanding than the 7800X and practically requires liquid cooling. In testing, the 8700K, with a $150+ premium AIO like the NZXT Kraken X62 or the Alphacool Eisbear 420, has been found to be up to 20 degrees hotter than its predecessor. Google "8700K temperature" and ... MoreA hot mess and an overpriced paper launch: Intel's EPYC failure of an attempt of Ryzen to the occasion against AMD.Did you ever think the 7700K was slightly too hot for comfort in your build but barely managed anyhow? Take all the ills and missteps of the thermals of the 7700K and magnify them to unimaginable levels in this flagship mainstream processor. Though you would expect a mainstream-targeted processor outside of the HEDT X299 line to be entry-level builder friendly, the 8700K is actually more demanding than the 7800X and practically requires liquid cooling. In testing, the 8700K, with a $150+ premium AIO like the NZXT Kraken X62 or the Alphacool Eisbear 420, has been found to be up to 20 degrees hotter than its predecessor. Google "8700K temperature" and you will find numerous accounts of reviewers and users having temperatures in the 80 and 90 degree Celsius range while constantly hitting thermal throttling. Do not even remotely consider pairing a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO with this hot shot or throwing this fiery devil into a small form factor case like the RVZ02 or the DAN Cases A4-SFX. Intel is making the same mistakes from the darker times of its past and is returning to its Pentium 4 ways with this underwhelming, steaming pile of product. Practically speaking, Ryzen also achieves much greater than 60 fps in most games (not even the 8700K can achieve 144 fps+ for high refresh rate monitors unless you drop graphical settings to levels where Ryzen is practically on the same footing) and still has the upper hand in multi-threaded performance and power consumption. My strong suggestion: either (1) purchase a Ryzen 7 1700 processor and overclock it to 1800X levels, (2) wait until the 12nm Ryzen refresh comes out in February/March 2018, or (3) wait a bit longer for 7nm Zen 2 (SemiAccurate, a costly but highly reputable professional tech industry news outlet, affirms Zen 2 is still on schedule) to come out by the end of 2018.
I would HIGHLY recommend that people wait for places such as Newegg to have this CPU available. Even though the listed price went up to $399, at least when I bought mine, they offered $20 off for using the mobile app - so I paid basically ~$10 to $15 over MSRP, which I was willing to do as I had amassed a decent savings just for this VERY occasion, I had already ordered my ASRock Z370 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 before I even knew WHEN I would be able to buy this CPU, as again, Newegg had an AMAZING price on it, at just $170 - for ALL of the performance of the Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, or Maximus X Hero, just without built in WiFi, and 1 less M.2 slot - that is literally it! I also already ordered my RAM, 2x 8 GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 16-16-16-36, my Noctua ... MoreI would HIGHLY recommend that people wait for places such as Newegg to have this CPU available. Even though the listed price went up to $399, at least when I bought mine, they offered $20 off for using the mobile app - so I paid basically ~$10 to $15 over MSRP, which I was willing to do as I had amassed a decent savings just for this VERY occasion, I had already ordered my ASRock Z370 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 before I even knew WHEN I would be able to buy this CPU, as again, Newegg had an AMAZING price on it, at just $170 - for ALL of the performance of the Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, or Maximus X Hero, just without built in WiFi, and 1 less M.2 slot - that is literally it! I also already ordered my RAM, 2x 8 GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 16-16-16-36, my Noctua NH-D15, and a 250 GB Samsung 960 EVO M.2 for boot all BEFORE I knew when I would be able to use ANY of it! Because I KNOW prices on things such as the motherboards and RAM - probably even NVMe SSDs, will all go up by the time ALL of Coffee Lake is available to everyone at all times. And speaking of my motherboard, I also cannot recommend my ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming K6 enough! As stated above, I was able to hit 4.8 GHZ locked on all 6 cores, using AUTO Vcore! I am only using Automatic for now, while people are still learning all the little tips and tricks to the Z370 Platform and Coffee Lake CPU Overclocking. Seeing as under Prime95, both max heat and Blend for prolonged periods still has never gotten any single core above 88 C with this automatic Vcore, I am PRETTY confident that once I really TRY, and learn all the ins and outs of manual Vcore, and Coffee Lake Overclocking on my Motherboard, as I had done with my 2600k + ASRock Z77 Extreme4, I am ALMOST certain that I will be able to hit 5 GHZ on all cores, comfortably using just my Noctua NH-D15 and highly ventilated case! It is therefore, I suppose, my OPINION that SOME people are REALLY overselling the "Heat Problem" this CPU has, and the supposed NEED to delid to hit ~5+ GHZ on all cores at all times. In my experience so far, this CPU runs VERY COOL, cooler than my 2600k did at 4.5 GHZ as well - and that CPU was soldered! Your mileage may vary of course, silicon lottery and all.. But I think that 4.8 GHZ should not be a problem for anyone with halfway decent CPU cooling! Also, ASRock is perhaps the best Mobo company in the game. They care more about functionality than gimmicks and "looking perfect and pretty" As I have stated above, my $170 Fatal1ty Gaming K6 is FUNCTIONALLY identical to the ~$250 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i7, the VRM components, the board design, the BASE features (how everything functions, as well as I/O ignoring small differences like an extra M.2 slot) - everything that MATTERS FOR PERFORMANCE - is literally IDENTICAL! Whereas Asus has WIDELY varying performance based on the model you buy, making only the Maximus X, and one of the 3 or 4 STRIX boards a SAFE bet to perform well. If you read motherboard reviews that go in depth, and even do performance comparisons, you will find ASRock to always be near or at the top of the pack, with the Fatal1ty Gaming K6 and Professional Gaming i7 performing identically - often matching or exceeding the Maximus X Hero, with nonsense such as MSI Godlike Gaming (WHAT A LOAD! $500 Mobo, for a CPU that will not cost more than $380!) - often middling the pack!
The 8700K is an absolutely fantastic CPU. It's the current go-to choice if you want raw power for gaming as per core and physical thread it delivers the most performance out of general CPUs in the consumer space.It'll eat computationally heavy tasks such as running multiple development tools, word processors or anything else you can throw at it for breakfast. For games you can't do much better than this chip. It's great at single thread and great at multi-thread.There is an elephant in the room with the 8700K coffee lake though. It runs hot, seriously hot. It was hitting 40-45 c at stock when idle and being cooled by a h110i AIO cooler, and under load it was hitting 90 c!Like many others I tried re-seating the cooler block and CPU, reapplying thermal paste, ... MoreThe 8700K is an absolutely fantastic CPU. It's the current go-to choice if you want raw power for gaming as per core and physical thread it delivers the most performance out of general CPUs in the consumer space.It'll eat computationally heavy tasks such as running multiple development tools, word processors or anything else you can throw at it for breakfast. For games you can't do much better than this chip. It's great at single thread and great at multi-thread.There is an elephant in the room with the 8700K coffee lake though. It runs hot, seriously hot. It was hitting 40-45 c at stock when idle and being cooled by a h110i AIO cooler, and under load it was hitting 90 c!Like many others I tried re-seating the cooler block and CPU, reapplying thermal paste, etc. None of that worked.After a bit of research you'll find the problem.Intel used excessive adhesive to secure the Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) and excessive TIM paste of low quality under the CPU between the heat-spreader and the die. Combined, this means that the IHS sits ever so slightly above the surface of the CPU die, which is why they used excessive TIM paste. The paste in turn being of low quality doesn't transfer heat very well.To solve the problem you can de-lid the CPU. This involves removing the IHS, cleaning it and using better TIM.Doing this will void the warranty so beware! I did so and used liquid metal and silicon based gasket sealant to re-attach the IHS after the procedure.The result?At stock and idle the CPU was sitting at 25/30 c and topping out at a maximum of around 65/70 c. Approximately 20 Celsius drop in temperature.
What you see is what you get. It's a box with a 8700k inside, warranty information and a Core I7 case badge. Based on my findings with this specific processor- all core overclocking; 4.8ghz is safe but toasty on air, safe/comfortable on water (EVGA CLC 280 also purchased at the time with this processor also from Newegg). 4.9ghz not safe on air, warm with water cooling. 5.0ghz is doable on water (not on air) with tweaking but starts bumping into the low 90C temp wise which is fine for quick peaks, but poor for long term usage. 5.1ghz will boot windows and play World of Warcraft fine on water, but in big 25 person raids will bluescreen computer during intense (AoE) battles. In my experience with multiple 8700k's (Including this one), 4.8ghz (all cores) seems to be the ... MoreWhat you see is what you get. It's a box with a 8700k inside, warranty information and a Core I7 case badge. Based on my findings with this specific processor- all core overclocking; 4.8ghz is safe but toasty on air, safe/comfortable on water (EVGA CLC 280 also purchased at the time with this processor also from Newegg). 4.9ghz not safe on air, warm with water cooling. 5.0ghz is doable on water (not on air) with tweaking but starts bumping into the low 90C temp wise which is fine for quick peaks, but poor for long term usage. 5.1ghz will boot windows and play World of Warcraft fine on water, but in big 25 person raids will bluescreen computer during intense (AoE) battles. In my experience with multiple 8700k's (Including this one), 4.8ghz (all cores) seems to be the safe average on air and 4.9ghz (all cores) seems to be the safe 24/7 use average on a good water cooling setup. My purchased processor falls in line with those findings. Performance wise, I didn't notice a major difference in max FPS in most games; however, there's a noticeable increase in minimum FPS coming from a 4790k. Overall, I'd recommend this to anybody gaming prior to a 4790k. If you have a 4790k or newer processor and use your computer for gaming only, this probably isn't worth the money.
Get an M.2 2280 near or above 3000Mbs + of write speed. Even a conventional SSD will be a bottleneck. I upgraded from a Samsung EVO and I feel the difference. My past experience with my first ASRock MB was that getting just one core to 5GHz was very difficult (due to stability and/or thermal throttling on those last two cores). This could have partly been the motherboard to blame. I updated the firmware and disabled thermal throttling in UEFI and the issue went away, but a nearly 30*C temp difference between core 4-and- cores 5/6 was bad. This really shows that this was an Intel afterthought just to combat Ryzen and make people forget that there had been 3-generations without any substantive IPC improvement, and no significant generational leap in IPC since ... MoreGet an M.2 2280 near or above 3000Mbs + of write speed. Even a conventional SSD will be a bottleneck. I upgraded from a Samsung EVO and I feel the difference. My past experience with my first ASRock MB was that getting just one core to 5GHz was very difficult (due to stability and/or thermal throttling on those last two cores). This could have partly been the motherboard to blame. I updated the firmware and disabled thermal throttling in UEFI and the issue went away, but a nearly 30*C temp difference between core 4-and- cores 5/6 was bad. This really shows that this was an Intel afterthought just to combat Ryzen and make people forget that there had been 3-generations without any substantive IPC improvement, and no significant generational leap in IPC since Sandy-bridge. Most games and programs don't seem to care about cores as much as single-thread performance, but I am enjoying the benefits of multi-tasking. I am hoping that Ryzen and Coffee Lake finally shifts the paradigm and that future DX12/ Vulcan titles are able to really leverage all the cores. My hope was that the present upgrade over Sandy Bridge justified the purchase, and the extra cores would make it "future-proof". My initial conclusion, 2-years ago when I bought this, was that, on the merits of gaming and 99% of normal use, unless you have money to burn in a pile, if you have an old Sandy Bridge/ Ivy Bridge i7"K" lying around.... The time to upgrade was NOT YET. HOWEVER (UPDATE) Looking back, I have 180*degrees changed my opinion. This CPU costs about $360.00 and my old Sandy Bridge had been $270.00 when new. This CPU is good enough to do 4K HTC Vive Pro VR while multi-tasking if you wanted. My old argument was based on how little different the new CPU was from the "good-enough" 1080p experience of my old i7-2600K, but in hindsight, the difference between them is night and day. I have started playing with 3D-modeling and rendering, and have VR now, etc... There is just so much more I can do with this that would have been cumbersome or impossible with my older 2nd-gen. Looking at this I see now that this is positioned at a price-point where it gives much better value than a 9700K, or a 9900K, and is better for gaming than a Ryzen. If you are looking to upgrade from anything older than a 7700K, I'd say that this is worth the money. Thanks to Ryzen's competition, Intel has given us the new Intel version of the "Mor Corez" paradigm shift, and for me there is no going back. 2 years later, I love this CPU more than ever before. It seems like I am on a journey to discover its potential, and it just keeps getting better.
OK, so the title says it all. YES, the 9900k is faster. but it runs hotter than hot lava, OH, and also, besides heating the inside of your PC it will burn a hole in your *wallet*.YES, the 9700k is a *hair* faster.. but negligible.. and also $50 more. You also lose hyper-threading.. so... for ME, the obvious choice here, was to select the 8700K. If you don't plan on overclocking at ALL, then there may be other solutions (like the 8700 "non-K" ) that make more sense but if you're buying this CPU, then you're building your own PC, then why WOULDn'T you overclock it? I am not gonna go crazy, but I think a moderate overclock of 4.6 or 4.7ghz would be MORE than adequate and still allow me to keep my temps down with a basic small AIO cooler and some fans.The ... MoreOK, so the title says it all. YES, the 9900k is faster. but it runs hotter than hot lava, OH, and also, besides heating the inside of your PC it will burn a hole in your *wallet*.YES, the 9700k is a *hair* faster.. but negligible.. and also $50 more. You also lose hyper-threading.. so... for ME, the obvious choice here, was to select the 8700K. If you don't plan on overclocking at ALL, then there may be other solutions (like the 8700 "non-K" ) that make more sense but if you're buying this CPU, then you're building your own PC, then why WOULDn'T you overclock it? I am not gonna go crazy, but I think a moderate overclock of 4.6 or 4.7ghz would be MORE than adequate and still allow me to keep my temps down with a basic small AIO cooler and some fans.The performance of this chip is widely known to be fantastic, so you really can't go wrong. Microcenter had a good deal on it, albeit by the time i spent gas for the "in store only" and then sales tax... I only saved about $20 off what I could've gotten it shipped free to my house. ($319 sounded way better, but it ended up being 350 all said and done) STILL not bad!!I have not built my actual gaming rig yet.. so I can't speak to durability.. but I think all these processors are fair. As long as you buy the BOXED version.. you get a 3yr warranty or something.. just stay away from the OEM or "unboxed" versions.. you might see one for sale a BIT cheaper, but they usually don't come with a warranty and are rumored to be inferior binned chips which didn't meet standards for the retail chips. I don't think anyone could go wrong with the 8700k and for my 2019 gaming rig, I think it's the perfect choice. If you're planning a PC for any later than early to mid 2019 it might make sense to wait and see what comes out next (particularly the Ryzen 3)Thanks
I had a 3930k/P9X79 Pro setup. I got the upgrade itch even though I wasn't too impressed with gaming benchmark differences at 1440p for the old 2012 processor vs processors of today. When I was given spousal permission to make the purchase, I knew I had to act.After much internal debate regarding the knew AMD Ryzen 2700x and the Intel i7-8700k, I ended up going with another Intel setup because over the years, I have learned to trust the quality and performance of Intel platforms (though I really wanted to give AMD a chance because this round of processors is amazing!).I don't notice a whole lot of difference going from my i7-3930k to this processor in gaming at 1440p, but other non-gaming operations are much faster. Much of the improvements in my setup seem to ... MoreI had a 3930k/P9X79 Pro setup. I got the upgrade itch even though I wasn't too impressed with gaming benchmark differences at 1440p for the old 2012 processor vs processors of today. When I was given spousal permission to make the purchase, I knew I had to act.After much internal debate regarding the knew AMD Ryzen 2700x and the Intel i7-8700k, I ended up going with another Intel setup because over the years, I have learned to trust the quality and performance of Intel platforms (though I really wanted to give AMD a chance because this round of processors is amazing!).I don't notice a whole lot of difference going from my i7-3930k to this processor in gaming at 1440p, but other non-gaming operations are much faster. Much of the improvements in my setup seem to come from the new chipset.This is definitely a solid 6-core performer that beats the newest 8-core AMD processors (the AMD processors would be better if you stream your gameplay) in a lot of synthetic benchmarks as well as just about any gaming benchmarks. The performance differences are much smaller at higher resolutions such as 1440p and above where the GPU becomes the bottleneck.I like the 8700k and have it paired with an Asus Prime Z370-A motherboard which has more than most people need in a motherboard. I am very satisfied with this setup.
Purchased this processor to upgrade my system. The price was at below $400 on sale on par with the 3770K I had purchased 2 years earlier. I installed it in a Phanteks micro ATX evolve case on an MSI Z730M Gaming Pro AC motherboard using my existing hardware from my 2-year-old system: Memory, Hard drives, graphics card, and Corsair h110 AIO. I was shocked at first startup... The temps were at 60c on idle and would jump to over 90c when gaming or even streaming youtube. I reinstalled the Corsair AIO thinking I had made a mistake and no change. I purchased an EVGA 240 AIO after reading positive reviews online. Once installed the temps dropped to a manageable level 50c at idle and 80c under load but it was still at max temps and risky. I saw that many had temp issues ... MorePurchased this processor to upgrade my system. The price was at below $400 on sale on par with the 3770K I had purchased 2 years earlier. I installed it in a Phanteks micro ATX evolve case on an MSI Z730M Gaming Pro AC motherboard using my existing hardware from my 2-year-old system: Memory, Hard drives, graphics card, and Corsair h110 AIO. I was shocked at first startup... The temps were at 60c on idle and would jump to over 90c when gaming or even streaming youtube. I reinstalled the Corsair AIO thinking I had made a mistake and no change. I purchased an EVGA 240 AIO after reading positive reviews online. Once installed the temps dropped to a manageable level 50c at idle and 80c under load but it was still at max temps and risky. I saw that many had temp issues with this processor out of the box and was facing an uphill battle with an evolve case though very good looking, has very poor airflow. I ended up delidding my processor without the tool. Though risky, I had confidence in getting it done without dumping another $60 for a one use tool. I followed the lead of many tech tubers, delidded the CPU with a razor blade and replaced the TIM with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaught liquid metal on the die and IHS. BOOM!!! I am now extremely happy to say that I think I hit the Silicon Lottery... Temps are at 35c idle and have overclocked this beast to 5.1 GHz on all cores with a multiplier only overclock! Temps never exceed 73c while gaming, streaming and casting. Conclusion: Highly recommend this processor if you are willing to void the warranty and replace the TIM. Otherwise, just wait until the next gen as Intel is planning to follow AMD and solder the die.
While the 9900k has surpassed the 8700k as the best overall CPU for gaming (I still want that one), this CPU is no slouch.Most can hit 5Ghz with enough cooling. You can even go my route and either delid the CPU yourself, or do what I did and have Silicon Lottery delid it, which has allowed me to get up to 5.1Ghz at 1.41 volts (and temps in the low 70's celsius with fans never hitting 50%). I have dialed it back down to that previously mentioned 5Ghz since it uses drastically less voltage, which has brought temps down even more with my custom loop cooling solution.This was originally cooled with an EVGA CLC 280, which idled at around 32-35C and load temps of around 70-75C (albeit with insanely loud fan speeds), so AIO cooling can be sufficient to tame the heat ... MoreWhile the 9900k has surpassed the 8700k as the best overall CPU for gaming (I still want that one), this CPU is no slouch.Most can hit 5Ghz with enough cooling. You can even go my route and either delid the CPU yourself, or do what I did and have Silicon Lottery delid it, which has allowed me to get up to 5.1Ghz at 1.41 volts (and temps in the low 70's celsius with fans never hitting 50%). I have dialed it back down to that previously mentioned 5Ghz since it uses drastically less voltage, which has brought temps down even more with my custom loop cooling solution.This was originally cooled with an EVGA CLC 280, which idled at around 32-35C and load temps of around 70-75C (albeit with insanely loud fan speeds), so AIO cooling can be sufficient to tame the heat this CPU can potentially output.Paired with an ASUS Z390 Maximus XI Code and 1080ti, this CPU has given me the kind of gaming experience I used to dream of back when I was using a budget laptop to play Minecraft. Most games at 3440x1440 just blow past the 60FPS mark and often approach 100 or more depending on how high I have things cranked up, which makes for a great experience.Stability has not been an issue at 5Ghz and as mentioned earlier, this particular chip delided is capable of 5.1, but it wasn't worth the massive increase in voltage to me.If you're intent on sticking with Intel, but don't want to fork over the money for a 9900k or 9700k, the 8700k still performs very well in both gaming and CPU-based tasks, particularly since you can utilize the iGPU in Adobe. I also appreciate Intel allowing you to drop this in a Z390 board if on the odd chance you can upgrade to the 9900k, you won't run into any issues. Backwards compatibility is a nice thing to have.If gaming is your thing and you can afford this, the 8700k is still a great chip.
The 8700k easily goes toe to toe matching ryzen 8 core parts in heavy multithreaded workloads. It’s generally faster in medium and light multithreaded workloads and crushes ryzen in single threaded performance. Ryzen may match it in heavy multithreaded scenarios, but it will never match the 8700k in anything else. It will always be behind. Regardless how hard you try and how heavy you try to overclock, it will never match or surpass the 8700k in single threaded performance. Worst case scenario is the 8700k matching ryzen 8 core parts in heavy multithreaded scenarios but destroying it in everything else. And that’s what makes the 8700k the superior processor. It has best of both worlds while ryzen only has one. Specs: Gigabytes z370 gaming 7 Corsair veagance led 16gb ... MoreThe 8700k easily goes toe to toe matching ryzen 8 core parts in heavy multithreaded workloads. It’s generally faster in medium and light multithreaded workloads and crushes ryzen in single threaded performance. Ryzen may match it in heavy multithreaded scenarios, but it will never match the 8700k in anything else. It will always be behind. Regardless how hard you try and how heavy you try to overclock, it will never match or surpass the 8700k in single threaded performance. Worst case scenario is the 8700k matching ryzen 8 core parts in heavy multithreaded scenarios but destroying it in everything else. And that’s what makes the 8700k the superior processor. It has best of both worlds while ryzen only has one. Specs: Gigabytes z370 gaming 7 Corsair veagance led 16gb cas 15 Amd Vega 56 Cooler master masterair pro 4 For those interested in the masterair, it’s essentially a 212 evo with a better fan and fancier fins. With prime95 small ffts test my 8700k didn’t go above 74c with a room temperature of 25c at stock. All core boost was maintained at 4.3ghz like a champ. Total wattage was 102 watts according to hwmonitor. For being a budget cooler I couldn’t be more thrilled. I don’t think the cooler can handle a 5ghz overclock but it does without a doubt give headroom for 4.5-4.7ghz all core overclock with ease :)
| General | |
| Product Type | Processor |
| Processor | |
| Type / Form Factor | Intel Core i7 8700K (8th Gen) |
| Number of Cores | 6-core |
