Intel® Core™ i5 processors. When the processor has fewer cores, it's better

Based on AIXprt workload comparison test results for pre-production 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 processor and 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U processor (INT8 results). Benchmark results are based on testing as of May 23, 2019 and may not reflect all publicly available security updates. Detailed information is provided in the description of the configuration. No system can be completely secure.

Intel is a sponsor and member of the Benchmark XPRT developer community, and the primary developer of XPRT benchmarks. Principled Technologies is the publisher of the XPRT family of benchmark tests. You must refer to other sources of information and performance tests to get a full evaluation of the product you plan to buy.

Based on 3DMark FireStrike* workload comparison test performed on pre-production 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 processor and 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U processor. Benchmark results are based on testing as of May 23, 2019 and may not reflect all publicly available security updates. Detailed information is provided in the description of the configuration. No system can be completely secure.

Nearly 3x Speed: 802.11ax 2x2 160MHz delivers a maximum theoretical data rate of up to 2402Mbps, nearly 3x (2.8x) faster than 802.11ac 2x2 80MHz (867Mbps) ) as documented in the specs wireless standard IEEE 802.11. Requires an 802.11ax wireless router with a similar configuration.

Compared to other PC I/O technologies including eSATA, USB, and IEEE 1394 Firewire*. Actual performance figures may vary depending on the hardware used and software. The use of a device with Thunderbolt™ technology is mandatory. Additional information can be found on the website.

Best in class wifi technology 6: Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) adapters support additional 160 MHz channels to achieve the highest possible theoretical speed (2402 Mbps) for typical Wi-Fi 2x2 802.11ax PC adapters. Premium Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) adapters deliver 2x to 4x the theoretical maximum speed over standard adapters Wi-Fi 802.11ax PC 2x2 (1201 Mbps) or 1x1 (600 Mbps) which only support mandatory 80 MHz channels.

Change clock frequency or voltage may damage or shorten the life of the processor and other system components, and may also degrade system stability and performance. If processor specifications change, products may not be subject to warranty service. For more information, contact the system and component manufacturers.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

* Other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (if third party names and trademarks are used)

AMD should say a big thank you for the fact that she was able to stir up the processor market, which has been dominated by technological stagnation for several years. Indeed, the Zen microarchitecture has proven to be a suitable vehicle for revitalizing competition, and as a result, both AMD and Intel's processor lineups look much more attractive today than they did a few months ago. Moreover, both processor manufacturers in 2017 are actively exploiting the same idea: they considered that the market has matured to multi-core and multi-threaded solutions, so now the emphasis is on increasing the number of computing cores not only in the server segment, but also in consumer processors.

There is no need to specifically mention that in model range AMD Ryzen features octa-core CPUs with SMT support starting at $300, as well as inexpensive six-core SMT-enabled CPUs starting at $200. Intel also symmetrically responded to the appearance of such products: the Coffee Lake processor family was introduced to the market, which is radically different from its predecessors in that it has six-core Core i7 and Core i5, aimed at the same price category"from $ 200" and replacing the quad-core models that Intel offered to mass users before.

As we have already seen from previous reviews, the increase in the number of cores in Intel processors has brought the performance they offer to a fundamentally new level. Moreover, since in the Core i7 and Core i5 series, the microprocessor giant offers generally similar solutions with six processing cores, which differ only in the presence or absence of hyper-threading technology, it is the Core i5 series that seems to be the most interesting option today in terms of price-performance ratio. As a good illustration of this thesis, it is worth recalling that, according to our past testing data, the $ 260 in terms of performance in real tasks is very similar to the flagship model from the previous generation, . Obviously, equally outstanding results can be expected from other Coffee Lake design carriers belonging to the Core i5 series. That is, if earlier Core i5 were considered such compromise solutions for those who did not have enough money for Core i7, today they can be classified as quite sufficient options in terms of performance.

In other words, the new six-core Core i5 should not become a bottleneck in most applications that the average user needs, and this is especially true for modern games. It seems that now mid-range Intel processors will be able to organically fit into gaming assemblies even with productive video cards. And if this is true, then the entire set of six-core Coffee Lake has excellent prospects as gaming processors.

We have already tested the older overclocker, which has fully proved its worth, but the younger processor in this series, the Core i5-8400, looks no less intriguing. Yes, it does not support overclocking and has slightly lower clock speeds, but its cost is only $ 182, which not only makes it the only actual six-core processor within the $ 200 border, but also the most affordable desktop processor with six full-fledged cores in general (about the existence it is hardly appropriate to recall the AMD FX series today).

Core i5-8400 in detail

Like the more expensive Core i5-8600K, the protagonist of this review, the Core i5-8400, is Coffee Lake, which offers six processing cores, but does not have support for Hyper-Threading technology, which in the new generation of CPUs has become the prerogative of the Core i7 series only. . There are three noticeable differences from the older Core i5-8600K in the younger modification under consideration.

First, the Core i5-8400 does not support overclocking. The absence of the symbol K at the end of the name means that the multiplier in this processor is fixed, and the frequency increase is higher than the values set by the manufacturer, almost impossible. Practically, because some room for a little overclocking remains due to the function of changing the frequency of the base clock generator, BCLK, available in modern boards. However, as before, there is nowhere to roam here. In the Intel Z370 logic set, Intel's proprietary protection against exceeding BCLK has been preserved, and it works already when this frequency is increased from the nominal 100 MHz to 102-104 MHz. In other words, buyers of the Core i5-8400 will not be able to get a noticeable additional performance boost.

Secondly, the Core i5-8400 has lower clock speeds. And if we talk about the base frequency level, then in comparison with the Core i5-8600K and Core i7-8700K, the younger six-core looks simply not serious. The passport frequency indicated for it in the specifications is only 2.8 GHz, while the Coffee Lake overclocker six-core processors have nominal frequencies of 3.6 and 3.7 GHz. But Turbo Boost 2.0 technology is ready to come to the rescue of the younger model. It is configured very aggressively in the representatives of the Coffee Lake family, and the Core i5-8400 is no exception. Thanks to it, even with a load on all six cores, the actual frequency of the Core i5-8400 can rise to 3.8 GHz, which allows you to compare this processor according to the frequency formula with the quad-core Core i5-7500 of the Kaby Lake generation (adjusted for the number of cores). The following table shows once again how much the nominal frequencies and frequencies that these processors are capable of developing in turbo mode differ in different Coffee Lake.

The third important difference between the Core i5-8400 and the Core i5-8600K is its efficiency, determined by the 65-watt thermal package set for the younger model. However, this is by no means a positive feature. Like us, Coffee Lake is a “hot” processor design, so any additional restrictions in the thermal package will most likely translate into the fact that the maximum turbo frequencies will be unattainable for the Core i5-8400K, at least in the nominal mode.

Nevertheless, the passport specifications of the Core i5-8400 do not look so bad, even if you put next to it not a quad-core processor of the Kaby Lake generation, but a completely modern Core i5-8600K.

Undoubtedly, the most attractive line in the above table is the last line - with the price. Yes, the Core i5-8400 is indeed 30 percent cheaper than the Core i5-8600K, and for the price of the flagship Core i7-8700K, you can buy as many as two younger six-cores.

But speaking of price, one important nuance should not be overlooked: the Core i5-8400, like other processors of the Coffee Lake generation, is only compatible with motherboards based on the new Intel Z370 chipset, which are equipped with an electrically modified LGA1151 processor socket. Boards based on chipsets of the 100th or 200th series are not suitable for the Core i5-8400. And this means that for a relatively inexpensive six-core that cannot be overclocked, willy-nilly, you will have to buy an overclocker motherboard, the prices of which are this moment start at $130. Changes in this situation may occur no earlier than the beginning of next year, when, as planned, Intel will begin to supply partners with simpler chipsets with support for the updated version of LGA1151: H370, B360 and H310.

In addition, problems with the availability of serial Coffee Lake on sale also affect the final price of assemblies based on the Core i5-8400 in a not the best way. And if initially Intel was clearly going to oppose its Core i5-8400 to a quad-core Ryzen 5 1500X processor, then real buyers now face a slightly different choice: a six-core Core i5-8400 against a six-core Ryzen 5 1600. And in such a comparison, everything is not so obvious.

The Ryzen 5 1600 and Core i5-8400 have the same number of processing cores, but the Ryzen 5 1600 additionally supports virtual multi-core (SMT), so it can run twice as many threads simultaneously. But the Intel processor offers a higher frequency limit and a better IPC (number of instructions executed per clock cycle). It would seem that AMD chips can object to this with the help of overclocking, which is supported by any processors of the Ryzen family. But do not forget that their overclocking limit is around 4.0 GHz, which roughly corresponds to the frequency of the Core i5-8400 out of the box. And this means that the younger six-core Intel processor of the new generation may be quite tough and more expensive rivals from the ranks of Ryzen.

Frequencies, overclocking and MultiCore Enhancements

When we met Core processor i5-8600K, a lot of attention was paid to how, according to Intel's regulatory guidelines, Coffee Lake frequencies in . The bottom line is that with an automatic increase in frequency, the processor must not only respond to the number of computational cores actually loaded with work, but also function in such a way as to prevent heat dissipation from going beyond the established limits of the thermal package for a long time. Ultimately, this means that the frequencies set within the Turbo Boost 2.0 technology when a certain number of computing cores are loaded are not target for the processor, but represent only a certain maximum possible value. The real value of the frequency in turbo mode, the processor must choose based on the current consumption.

With respect to the Core i5-8400, this means that, for example, when all the cores are loaded, this processor is not at all obliged to overclock to 3.8 GHz, which was discussed in the previous section. For this chip, Intel has seriously lowered the thermal envelope, which may ultimately prevent the processor from running at such high frequencies.

Actually, a practical test easily confirms this assumption. In particular, with a high load on all cores, the actual frequency of the Core i5-8400 reaches a maximum of 3.8 GHz only at initial stage, and then drops to 3.5-3.6 GHz. These are the frequencies we observed when running Prime95 29.3 with AVX instructions disabled.

As can be seen from the monitoring readings, the processor selects the frequency and voltage in such a way that its consumption does not exceed the very 65 W that are determined by the thermal package. At the same time, the chip temperature does not go beyond 57 degrees (with the Noctua NH-U14S cooler), which will certainly allow using the Core i5-8400 and more without any problems. simple systems cooling.

If a running application starts using AVX, AVX2 or FMA3 instructions, then in order to stay within the established limits, the processor has to drop the frequency even more. So, during the usual stress test in Prime95 29.3, the frequency of the Core i5-8400 dropped down to 3.2 GHz.

However, this is still higher than the nominal 2.8 GHz, so even with a complex energy-intensive load on all six cores, Turbo Boost 2.0 technology manages to manifest itself to some extent. At the same time, such flexible frequency adjustment allows the Core i5-8400 to operate at relatively low temperatures, which means that it can be installed even in compact and economical systems.

But the beauty of the Core i5-8400 lies in the fact that this processor is not obliged to work in such a mode clamped by 65-watt frames. There is an easy way to reverse under-load droop and force the CPU to use the highest turbo frequency possible. On most motherboards, this is done elementarily - through the MultiCore Enhancements feature (depending on the manufacturer of your board, it may also be called Enhanced Turbo, Enhanced Multi-Core Performance or something else) available in the UEFI BIOS. Enabling this setting allows you to remove power limit restrictions, which gives the processor the ability to do without slowing down under high load.

Activating MultiCore Enhancements allows the Core i5-8400 to keep a constant frequency of 3.8 GHz under any multi-threaded load, and to accelerate to 4.0 GHz in single-threaded tasks. For example, here's how given processor handles testing in Prime95 29.3 with 128- and 256-bit instructions disabled.

The power consumption of the processor jumps to 75 watts, in temperature - up to 61 degrees, but the frequency is steadily kept at around 3.8 GHz.

There are no drops in frequency even if the multi-threaded load actively uses energy-intensive AVX, AVX2 or FMA3 instructions. How is the testing in Prime95 29.3 in the "full" mode, you can see in the following screenshot.

The frequency is kept at around 3.8 GHz, and here the processor already consumes more than 95 watts, that is, it clearly goes beyond the limits defined by Intel in the specification. But there are no problems with this: the cooling system we use does an excellent job of dissipating heat. There is no extreme heating, which we encountered when testing the Core i5-8600K, in this case.

Thus, thanks to the MultiCore Enhancements function, users still have the opportunity to squeeze a few extra percent of performance out of the Core i5-8400 under heavy load. And in those cases when a system with this processor will face complex long-term rendering or transcoding of video content, such an acceleration will obviously not be superfluous.

However, in ordinary common tasks and, in particular, in games, the inclusion of MultiCore Enhancements has almost no effect on performance. The fact is that only very few real applications for creating and processing content manage to load the Core i5-8400 with work so that its consumption goes beyond the 65-watt thermal package. Therefore, if you are not transcoding and editing video or doing 3D rendering, the MultiCore Enhancements option is unlikely to be able to somehow affect the speed of the system.

But the Core i5-8400 does not provide any other opportunities for additional performance increase. We tried to overclock this CPU by increasing the frequency of the base clock generator, but, unfortunately, the whole process stalled already when increasing the BCLK to 102.5 MHz.

Even choosing a value of 103 MHz for BCLK led to the complete inoperability of the system. Thus, the frequency of the Core i5-8400 under load was raised only by an additional 2.5 percent, and 3.9 GHz is the absolute maximum.

In passing, it is worth mentioning that the Core i5-8400 does not allow overclocking its L3 cache either. The maximum frequency at which the processor integrated into this processor operates. north bridge, is 3.7 GHz, and it is not possible to increase it above this value. The CPU simply does not respond to the cache frequency multipliers set in the UEFI BIOS.

Hi friends! Epochquad-coreprocessors have sunk into oblivion.Today, the most popular for gamers and people involved in video editing is the new six-core processor AMD Ryzen 5 1600 , but a holy place is never empty and Intel has already prepared a strong competitor for it in the form of a processorCore i5-8400, which is about to go on sale.It's time to compare the Core i5-8400 and Ryzen 5 1600 and finally find out which one is the best of the best!

At the moment, the preliminary price tag for the "blue" processor is 13,500 rubles.

The “red” stone will cost you 14,800 rubles.

I took the prices only for the OEM versions of the processors, since there is no price list for the boxed version of the i5 8400 yet. In general, it is more profitable to take just the BOX version because the manufacturer does not provide for the possibility of overclocking the five, which means that you do not need to buy a separate good cooler, it is easier and cheaper to take the BOX version. But we will work with what we have. Attentive readers may have noticed that the screenshot above says that Coffee Lake is just the boxed version. At first I thought so too, but detailed description processor specifications says that there is no cooling system in the kit.

Looks like it's just a shop error. In order to make sure that 13500 is asked specifically for OEM, I looked at the price list in other stores and made sure of this.

In general, judging by the price, the i5 is now between the Ryzen 5 1600 and Ryzen 5 1500x. It would be quite logical to compare the blue stone first with the younger version of fermented baked milk, however, there is not much point in this.

The i5 8400 beats the Ryzen 5 1500x on all fronts.

And there is nothing surprising here, 4 physical cores and 8 threads are worse than 6 physical cores and 6 threads. On average, blue turned out to be stronger by 21%. You might think that the author is not quite smart man and compares processors from different weight categories, but I would not make this kind of comparison if the Ryzen 5 1500 did not imply overclocking capabilities. Since the possibility of overclocking is provided, and the price of the i5-8400 system stock + ordinary mother without overclocking + boxed cooler will be approximately equal to the system with Ryzen 3 in overclocking + mother for overclocking + tower cooler. Yes, I know that cheap motherboards for coffee will not appear soon, but it is not difficult to assume that in the worst case they will cost about 4000 rubles. But let's even dream up and assume that ordinary mothers will cost 5,000 rubles. In this case, the aforementioned connection for a system with an i5-8400 + an ordinary mother without overclocking + a boxed cooler will cost about 19,000 rubles (13,500 + 5,000 + 500). Let's calculate how many kilorubles the system with ryazan will cost. 1500x + overclocking mother + tower = 17500 rubles (12000 + 4000 + 1500). We get a difference of 1,500 rubles between the systems, and this is at a minimum price for a mother under a blue percent of 5,000 rubles, which of course is impossible. In general, in terms of price, these are quite competitively capable builds. However, in terms of performance, such a red system is still inferior to the blue one, despite overclocking. Add to notes to look at later?

The gap is reduced to 13% on average for all indicators, but it is still there. Such a small performance increase in ryazhenka is due to high stock frequencies (3.5 GHz). In most cases, Ryzen is able to take 3.8-3.9GHz, 4GHz and higher - extremely rare cases. In general, it is more profitable to take the i5-8400 in any case and it will cope better with any tasks.

And if everything is immediately clear from the 1500s, then the next competitor in the face of the Ryzen 5 1600 is able to fight the blue newcomer. Let's start with a comparison of characteristics.

The same process technology, both six-core. However, red has got as many as 12 streams, as opposed to 6 for blue.

Ryazan's cache volume looks somewhat more solid.

Higher stock frequencies in 1600, but more low frequencies in the bust.

The same maximum frequency of RAM, equal to 2667 MHz.

A small lyrical digression. As you can see, one stone has a value of 2666 MHz, and the other has a value of 2667 MHz. More recently, I learned that in some countries, for example, in China, they simply ignore "negative" numbers like 666, 13, etc. Therefore, developers specifically for such superstitious people add, as it were, one fictional megahertz, so that this does not affect sales in any way. I didn't mean to be smart, I just shared with you, in my opinion, a funny fact :) But let's get back to the stones.

Absolutely identical heat pack.

But the i5 has got an integrated graphics core, which in terms of performance approaches the outdated graphics solutions of the R7 250 level.

A dubious advantage, in my opinion. However, if, for example, you don’t have enough money for a good video card, and your wife takes all your salary and you need to spend finances before she comes home, then yes, the built-in graphics core in the i5 8400 will make you happy :)

If we look at the performance, we will see the following picture:

Intel has always been famous for high performance per core and the new stone is no exception. Blue leads by 18% with a core load and 25% with a 4-core load. However, it loses 23% for multi-threaded tasks. It is not surprising as many as 12 threads do their job. During the time when I was preparing material on this topic, I asked myself several times: what would I buy for myself? And to be honest, I could not finally decide. On the one hand, more powerful calculations within the load on one and four cores from Intel. On the other hand, Ryzen has great potential in the face of 12 threads. It is clear that rendering, streaming, editing on fermented baked milk will be somewhat more pleasant and noticeably faster, but not all users do this. Most people just need to play graphonic games that do not always use even 8 threads, let alone 12. Ryazan's potential is simply not needed, because in six months or a year another stone is planned in the socket. In general, it all depends on your needs and requirements. Both processors are good choices at the moment. Are you a resourceful person? Join the red camp. Do you do editing and photography? Again, the red camp will suit you better. Looking for a stone just for games? Blue will give you a warm welcome. Etc. I deliberately did not take into account the overclocked Ryzen, since I have to buy a special mother + cooler, and this is a different level of budget, which approaches a system with an i7 8700 without overclocking. The second in this case will already have the same 6 cores and the same 12 threads, but with higher computing power. That's all for today, see you soon!

Why does the Intel Core i5-7640X even exist? The quad-core processor is nowhere near as high performance as the recently announced Coffee Lake processors. But thanks to the relatively high clock speeds in "single-core" tasks, this CPU is really powerful. However, other models with about the same cost surpass it. And since there is also a suitable chipset for motherboard does not provide any advantages in the current generation, there is no reason to take the i5-7640X instead of the more affordable Coffee Lake generation Core i5.

Advantages

High clock speeds

disadvantages

Unreasonably expensive platform cost

• Price-quality ratio
  Good
• Place in the overall ranking
  22 out of 28

• Value for money: 60
• CPU performance (100%): 41.7

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Processor Specifications

The test of this Kaby Lake X generation CPU is carried out with some delay, because it can be purchased since June. However, in light of the release of the new, eighth generation of processors, it still makes sense to look back at the i5-7640X. Reasons: buyers who have already bought a processor can be very indignant. First of all, because just four months later, the Intel Core i5-8400 appeared. In the table below, we compare all the characteristics and results, and then proceed to discuss the critical details.

Comparison of Intel Core i5-7640X with Core i5-8400

In a direct comparison, it becomes obvious: the cheaper i5-8400 leaves no chance for the Kaby-Lake-X model. The mainstream i5 offers 50 percent more cores with more cache and less power consumption. The i5-7640X's higher base clock speed doesn't deliver results in benchmarks. The processors either go head to head (PCMark 8), or the i5-8400 ruthlessly runs ahead. In addition, the latter also offers an integrated GPU, which was decided to be abandoned in the i5-7640X.

Intel's daring strategy?

As a general rule, more expensive "enthusiast" motherboards should iron out shortcomings in direct comparison to the available Socket 1151 platform.

Common benefits include large quantity PCI-Express slots, security features and virtualization, a large number of USB interfaces and four-channel RAM. This is not the case with the X299 (i5-7640X) and Z370 (i5-8400). The lower Kaby Lake-X processors have identical specifications compared to Coffee Lake: 16x PCIe-3.0 lanes and dual-channel memory. BUT new chipset Intel Z370 looks even more promising due to the support of video outputs. The only advantage of the X299 is the presence of 8 instead of 6 SATA interfaces.

And here you already start to wonder: what was Intel thinking about? By the time of release, the predicted performance of the Core generation was already known within the company, as well as the chipset specification. However, apparently, it was already too late to change something and the manufacturer did not want to just send ready-made i5-7640X to retire. Although, it would be better if it was done that way.

Test results Intel Core i5-7640X

Alternative:

Better and cheaper: Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz, Socket 1151. Since it performed so well in the comparison above, we can't help mentioning it here: the i5-8400 is the best processor in almost every area.

From AMD: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (3.6 GHz) Socket AM4. Not just six cores, but 12 simultaneous threads, the AMD 1600X is currently our top value for money mainstream processor, offering high performance for just $14,000.

Middle class: Intel Core i7-7820X (3.6 GHz) Socket 2066. Enthusiast CPUs really only make sense when you have a lot of money on hand. The i7-7820X, although it costs about 40,000 rubles, you get 44 PCIe lanes and quad-channel RAM. Thus, you have not only a powerful processor, but finally all the advantages of a top-end chipset.

Intel Core i5-7640X specifications and test results

This processor outperforms the 8-core Ryzen in many applications - but unfortunately at the cost of more severe overheating.

For game lovers Intel Coffee processor lake core i7-8700K is simply irreplaceable. While its predecessor, the Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K, simply provided faster clock speeds, the 8700K has 6 cores, 12 software threads and a powerful 4.7 GHz boost clock, the fastest built-in accelerator from Intel. This processor does a surprisingly good job, and the clock speed compensates for the two additional cores of AMD's Ryzen 7 processor. By the way, I recommend reading the article “Choose a processor. Intel i7-8700K vs Ryzen 7 and i7-7700K" by .

But that's not all. Like Intel's Skylake-X i9 processors, the 8700K aims to compete with the resurgent AMD and fill the gap left by the now obsolete 10nm Cannon Lake processors. Achieving such a clock speed on 6 cores required increased power consumption and led to rapid overheating. Despite working on the Skylake architecture, the Coffee Lake processor requires a new motherboard, which means increased material costs.

8700K is definitely good. Anyone who wants to create a top-end system with a powerful graphics card should buy it. In doing so, by outperforming its interim substitute, Coffee Lake has successfully filled the gap created by Intel in its accelerated transition into the era of high clock speed processors. The creation of the Coffee Lake processor is more about minimizing damage than defeating competitors.

More cores - more power

Additional cores are the main advantage of new products. Whether thanks to Ryzen or as planned, Coffee Lake has ended a seemingly endless streak of quad-core processors. All i7 series processors (including the powerful 8700K) have 6 cores and 12 threads with different clock speeds. The i5 line of processors has 6 cores and 6 threads, while the budget i3 processors have 4 cores and 4 threads. Thus, a sharp leap forward has been achieved. Now the processors of the Core i3 series can be considered analogues of the old i5, and the new Core i7 are the territory of the HEDT platform.

Internally, Coffee Lake differs little from Kaby Lake, which, in turn, was similar to Skylake. Intel has not changed the architecture of the main processors for a long time. 4 MB were added to the third-level cache for 6 cores, and the calculated thermal power increased to 95 W - that, perhaps, is the whole set of improvements. The increased power of this processor comes from the clock speed and number of cores, not from the improved architecture.

This also applies to the integrated graphics core. Has changed, perhaps, its marketing name - UHD Graphics. Coffee Lake processors are powered by Intel UHD 630 graphics. In particular, the 8700K model runs at 1200 MHz. The same graphics were used in Kaby Lake processors. For simple games and work with media files, this is more than enough. For more, we recommend purchasing a discrete GPU element.

Given the surge in non-volatile memory devices, Intel could increase the number PCI bus on the main processors. But he didn't. All Coffee Lake processors have only 16 PCIe 3.0 buses directly connected to the CPU, while the other 24 buses on the motherboard run through a single DMI 3.0 (similar to four PCI buses). In fact, one graphics card and SSD memory is sufficient for most users, but the fact that there are no additional memory slots is simply amazing, especially against the backdrop of separate four buses leading to CPU installed in the Ryzen model.

Despite the similarities between Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake, the former requires a new chipset (Z370) that supports higher clock speeds, has multiple M.2 slots and plenty of inputs and outputs. According to the company, the new chipset is designed to provide increased power consumption of 6 processor cores, although most motherboards in the Z270 line have overly complex power management systems.

I must say that the Asus ROG Z370-E Gaming board deserves its retail price of 200 euros. It has 2 M.2 SSD slots (one of which is hidden under the microprocessor heatsink), three full-size PCIe 3.0 slots and 4 PCIe 1X slots; as well as four DIMM slots with support for DDR4 memory up to 4000 MHz, USB 3.1 Gen 2; Intel I219-V gigabit Ethernet; Bluetooth 4.2; 8-phase power supply and 8-pin connector to the central processor. And of course, the sophisticated and beloved ROG audio system from ASUS. The board has a pretty nice appearance. There is the possibility of additional lighting, as well as two connectors for external tires and a fan.

As always, there is a whole series of Z370 motherboards on the market with a price difference of only 10 euros. Unfortunately, only expensive Z370 motherboards are available to the general consumer. The more affordable H and B series, suitable for standard-clock chips and i3 products, will hit the market only in 2018 - the budget buyer will have to wait.

So, the Z370 board is able to operate at an increased frequency, which is ideal for the 8700K processor. However, unlike the previous generation of processors, high frequency 8700K achieved at the price of reduced free space, even though advanced technology 14nm.

The problem is not so much that the 8700K doesn't reach high clock speeds, but that such a frequency consumes energy that can't be cooled without fluid cells or scalping. Unlike Ryzen processors, the 8700K's thermal cover is attached with TIM, rather than solder.

Quad-core chips don't require as much power and don't generate as much heat, so using TIM material isn't that dangerous here. The 8700K processor does generate a lot of heat. At full load, it reaches as much as 90 degrees Celsius with a 280 mm CBO (in this case, CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Pro). I tried CBO with 240 mm - but it was not enough to cool the Intel Core i7-8700K processor.

The problem is the hard work of the motherboard. In our configuration, it sends about 1.248 V to the CPU to maintain a clock speed of 4.7 GHz. This is significantly more than the 1.0 V consumed by quad-core processors. Indeed, lowering the voltage on the processor dramatically reduces the temperature without affecting the stability of the work. These indicators vary for different processors, but as it turned out, the value of -0.090V is optimal for reducing the supply voltage, at which the temperature drops below 75 °C. Apparently, the expected BIOS updates fix problems with auto-tuning, but so far I have not found another way.

Like Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake does not perform well at 5.0 GHz and above when the required voltage rises sharply. Of course, different processors have different reserves, but at a voltage of 1.33 V I reached a frequency of 5000 GHz and a memory of 3200 MHz. The temperature at the same time reached 86 degrees with a 280 mm liquid cooler. It is not recommended to go further than these indicators with daily excess of the clock frequency. More sophisticated cooling systems are undoubtedly capable of overclocking the 8700K to 5.1 GHz at 1.36 V and 94 degrees.

I have previously criticized Intel's TIM material only in expensive X-series processors. But even in processors with 6 cores, it is not difficult to apply more effective ways heat transfer. Intel chips always fit well into a variety of configurations, giving them a big competitive advantage over Ryzen chips. It would be a shame to give up such an advantage just because of the TIM material.

Performance. Tests.

As expected, running 6 cores at 4.7 GHz gives excellent results (not to mention 5 GHz). Even though it lacks 2 cores compared to the £437 Ryzen 1800X, the 8700K manages to outperform it. It is 11 seconds faster when overclocking and encoding video files.

Only PovRay and Cinebench allow the 1800X to be slightly ahead of the competition, although it is the cost of the Ryzen 1700 and 1700X that is closest to the price of the 8700K and provides significant savings. Running at a higher clock speed is practically the only difference between the 8700K and Ryzen chips, while it should be noted that the 8700K makes a lot of noise during normal operation. As expected, performance even with a single thread is very good (at 5.0 GHz, the 8700K exceeded 220), but when all the tested processors are running at 3.5 GHz, the 7900X, 7740X, and 7700K show similar performance.

This is still higher than Ryzen, but it shows that for three generations of the processor, Intel has not been able to improve performance beyond clock speed or core count.

The most interesting thing is how the 8700K and its additional cores perform in real mode - especially in games. Working with nvidia graphics card The GTX 1080 Ti - the most powerful on the market - 8700K shows the highest performance of the processors I know. In the game Ashes of the Singularity with a resolution of 1080p, the 8700K processor reaches 107 FPS versus 86 FPS for the 7700K analogue - the increase is equal to 24% .

Almost the same performance is achieved in all other games. With modern powerful processors, the main performance limiter is the video card, not the CPU. In 2018, several powerful video cards will enter the market, but at the current stage, there is practically no point in changing the 7700K or Ryzen processor.

New market champion

We can safely say that it's time for everyone who works hard on classic processors like the i7-2600K to switch to a new one. Years of Coffee Lake enhancements, the addition of 2 cores, and a surge in clock speeds allow modern games and content creation applications to run efficiently only on processors with 8 or more cores. Users who have been able to take advantage of the additional threads of the new processors save a lot of time when encoding video files and work seamlessly with multiple applications on one computer at once.

Intel's approach of increasing performance by adding cores and clock speed rather than changing the architecture has paid off. 8700K is one of the most successful processors for working at maximum power. High-quality air coolers - like the Noctua NH-D14, or 280mm liquid coolers are quite sufficient for its normal operation. When operating above the standard clock frequency, it is recommended to use more powerful coolers. The ability to reach 5.0 GHz on all 6 cores is amazing - but with better heat dissipation from the cores, Coffee Lake could perform even better.

For gamers, the 8700K processor is by far the best solution, even though it tends to overheat. Intel has made its move, now the answer is for AMD, and it is seen primarily in lowering the prices of their products. We are stocking up on popcorn and waiting for a new round of competition between the two giants.

Advantages

• The best processor for gaming
• High clock speed
• 6 Intel cores beat AMD 8 cores in many production tasks
• Significant advantage over Skylake and Kaby Lake when working with multi-threaded applications

disadvantages

• Still only 16 PCI buses on the CPU
• The need for voltage adjustment
• Coffee Lake is already the third "optimization" of the existing architecture without improving IPC
• 8700K gets very hot and generates a lot of heat
• The possibility of increasing the clock frequency to 5.0 GHz only with a powerful cooling system

Major flaws

• Intel should seriously think about changing the thermal interface to solder.

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