Intel Core i7-14700K and Core i9-14900K review: More features, mild speed bump

Price When Reviewed

$599

Best Prices Today: Core i9-14900Ok

A brand new era of refreshed Raptor Lake processors have arrived. After months of rumors and leaks—and an official announcement simply yesterday—Intel’s newest batch of desktop CPUs take their place because the 14th era within the Core lineup.

You can atone for the specs and speeds in our comprehensive coverage of the unveiling, however the fundamentals are simple. Six new chips have launched, with two variants every of unlocked Core i9, Core i7, and Core i5 elements. (As normal, the principle Ok set comes with built-in graphics, whereas the KF set lacks them.) The $599 Core i9-14900K leads the pack, adopted by the $419 Core i7-14700K and $329 Core i5-14600K. They primarily supply small upticks in clock pace over 13th gen, with the flagship CPU now capable of attain a turbo pace of 6.0GHz. The greatest information is the Core i7 fashions have gained 4 further effectivity cores.

Intel

As you may count on, these processors don’t supply a shocking leap in efficiency, as we noticed when 13th-gen Raptor Lake dethroned 12th-gen Alder Lake. These refreshed CPUs supply delicate clock speeds bumps however equivalent IPC (directions per clock) as their predecessors. And so should you’ve been considering to improve to those refreshed Raptor Lake elements, there are a number of issues you need to know whereas making your choice. We go deep into the small print in our YouTube review (which you’ll be able to watch by way of the embedded video beneath), however for the details, learn on.

The Core i9-14900Ok is a less expensive 13900KS

Well, kind of.

When wanting on the check outcomes, you’ll see that the $599 Core i9-14900K all however mirrors its direct successor, the Core i9-13900K. In our content material creation benchmarks, the distinction between the 2 processors are just about negligible. The greatest distinction is in Photoshop, with a 2.8 % uplift—sufficiently small that you would nearly attribute it to a margin of error.

^{Longer bars point out increased efficiency.}

Our gaming benchmarks supply an analogous story. The 14900Ok presents an enchancment starting from slightly below 1 % to 2.6 %. In extra tangible phrases, that’s only a few frames per second. The exception? Rainbow Six: Siege has a distinction of 10 frames per second, however when body charges are already within the vary of 600fps, that’s nonetheless a drop within the bucket.

^{Longer bars point out increased efficiency.}

If you’re the type of one that loves efficiency charts displaying brutal beatdowns, this “upgrade” will disappoint you. Yeah, Intel beats AMD’s normal non-3D Ryzen 7950X, however the gen-on-gen enhancements are fairly ho-hum in comparison with final yr, once we noticed jumps as excessive as 48 %. However, should you adore paying much less for top-notch specs, you’ll be fairly joyful. Remember, the 14900Ok will hit 6.0GHz when boosting, even when just for temporary durations—and it is available in at $589. Meanwhile, the one different chip able to 6GHz, the Core i9-13900KS, presently has a avenue worth of $730. And that’s up from its January launch worth of $699.

The star of the present is the Core i7-14700Ok

The flagship Core i9-14900Ok might sit atop the heap, but it surely’s type of a boring chip. It’s arduous to get excited a couple of CPU that sits neck-in-neck with its predecessor on most benchmarks.

Instead, the true standout of the lineup is the $419 Core i7-14700K. (A victory for center siblings all over the place.) With its 4 further E cores, it has a leg up when pitted in opposition to its predecessor, the Core i7-13700Ok. At least, it does in content material creation duties. In Blender, we noticed enhancements as excessive as 25 % within the Monster benchmark, and the common throughout the Monster, Junkshop, and Classroom assessments was simply shy of 20 %. In Cinebench R23’s multithreaded benchmark, we noticed a soar of 17 %. V-Ray 5 additionally confirmed an uplift of virtually 17 %.

Basically, throughout occasions while you use extra threads—assume encoding and rendering—you’ll see double digit enhancements. When the load is lighter, the uplift is way extra modest, although nonetheless somewhat larger gen-over-gen in comparison with the Core i9 elements. It’s a couple of 4 % bump in our Premiere Pro and Photoshop outcomes, and about 2.5 % in Lightroom. More singularly threaded duties solely have the 14700Ok’s modest clock pace bump to lean on, since its IPC is equivalent to the 13700Ok.

In gaming benchmarks, the 14700Ok posted numbers inside 3 to 6 % of the beefier 14900Ok’s outcomes. If you’re somewhat extra skewed towards gaming than content material creation, then the $409 Core i7-14700Ok goes to be a a lot less expensive alternative. It additionally out performs the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, which has a present avenue worth of about $450. If you might want to go along with a present era half, this one’s the true standout. It sits in a pleasant candy spot.

You can reuse your (comparatively) older motherboard

As iterations of 13th-generation Raptor Lake, Intel’s 14th-generation Core processors are suitable with 600-series and 700-series motherboards. No socket adjustments and even new chipsets are being launched with these elements. So when you have a mobo that already works, you don’t should improve it.

Adam Patrick Murray/Foundry

However, 14th-generation processors will assist two blisteringly quick newer applied sciences, Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt 5, which you might even see seem on revised variations of present motherboard fashions. Refreshed boards are coming—our personal overview was performed on a “Z790 refresh” mobo.

Putting apart the query should you’ll wish to improve from a 12th era Alder Lake processor—it’s no less than doable to do an in-place improve of the CPU. Just bear in mind to replace your BIOS proper earlier than making the swap.

Nifty AI software program tips are baked in

For {hardware} nerds, having to attend nonetheless for desktop variations of Intel’s futuristic new Meteor Lake chips might damage somewhat. After all, 14th-gen cell is already slated to make use of the brand new structure, which suggests these processors will supply AI neural processing units and complex tiling techniques inside.

But Raptor Lake refresh continues to be launching with a few neat AI tips up its sleeve. They is probably not {hardware} based mostly, like Meteor Lake’s AI NPU, however they’re fascinating teasers for a way AI might help improve PC efficiency.

The first characteristic is known as Application Performance Optimization, or APO, which is enabled by default. It works alongside Intel’s Thread Director expertise, the latter of which helps divide duties between a CPU’s effectivity and efficiency cores. APO’s job is to direct and management the thread kind used based mostly on the appliance instantiation. In Intel’s assessments, this tech helped allow a efficiency uplift of 16 % in Metro Exodus and 13 % in Rainbow Six: Siege. (Not too shabby.)

4A Games

The one draw back: APO solely works with particular video games which have been supported by Intel. It’s additionally not suitable with benchmarks or or recreation executable information which have been renamed from their authentic default.

As for the opposite AI-boosted characteristic—say hey to even simpler overclocking. An replace to Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) provides Intel’s AI Assist. It scans and analyzes your system, then recommends overclocking settings based mostly in your PC’s elements, voltages, and energy settings. This potential is simply obtainable for 14th-gen processors, beginning first with the Core i9-14900Ok and KF elements earlier than migrating down the road sooner or later. Older chips, together with 13th-generation Raptor Lake chips, won’t be supported. XTU has gotten improved overclocking skills by the years, however this use of AI might make it simpler than ever.

Should you purchase a 14th era Intel desktop processor?

Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry

Compared to the final two generations of Intel desktop CPUs, the launch of 14th-generation processors can appear underwhelming. But they’re in no way unhealthy chips—they sit on the high of the heap, simply forward of AMD’s rival elements in some purposes, and behind in others. Whether they’re best for you is dependent upon your circumstances.

If you’ve been ready various years to improve, shifting as much as an Intel 14th era Core CPU might be an enormous enchancment in efficiency. That a lot is evident. However, when you have price range constraints and don’t must future proof to the max, then you would be nonetheless well-served by an AMD Ryzen 7000 processor—or, if the newest on-line gross sales point out, with an older era Intel chip. (Newegg’s been notably dropping costs on 12th gen elements.) If you don’t want barely quicker clock speeds or extra effectivity cores, shaving a whole lot off the your PC construct’s price might make extra sense.

Further studying: The best CPUs for gaming