Intel Core i7-8700K 6-Core 12-Thread Processor Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

The Intel Core i7-8700K 6 core 12 thread CPU is set to hit retail stores today, with an MSRP of around £350 here in the UK and $400 in the US. That’s pretty fantastic value in my eyes, and while it’s not cheap, it’s one of the fastest desktop CPUs on the market today without looking at i9, Threadripper and other “extreme” or “professional” solutions. The Ryzen 7’s are a strong alternative though, and a smidge cheaper, which is best is up to the consumer, but it’s great to see some robust options for consumers.

Overview

Having spent the last few months testing X299 CPUs such as the insanely powerful and expensive i9’s, as well as the AMD Threadripper CPUs, I really didn’t know what to expect from the new i7’s. There have been rumours kicking around that it would be quite close to the 7700K performance, but that’s certainly not the case. This CPU takes any task you give it with ease, and that’s great news for any system builder.

Home or Office?

As Zoidberg would say, “why not both”. The i7-8700K is a jack of all trades. It’s easily one of the fastest consumer level CPUs when it comes to WPrime, Cinebench, and other heavy lifting tasks such as 4K video rendering. That’s great news for productivity at home or in the office. The strong PCMark 10 score further highlights this nicely.

Of course, Skype calls, spreadsheets, and photoshop is far from all we do on our computers. And no, I don’t just mean 30 Chrome tabs of dank memes. When it comes to gaming, it’s certainly got the chops, and it set incredible scores all round. Of course, it’s competitive at 4K, which is still a mostly GPU bound workload. However, when it comes to gaming at 1080P and 1440P, even more so at extreme frame rates well above 60 FPS, the 8700K is incredibly fast for the money. It even beat out some of the extreme £1000-2000 CPUs that are on the market today, and that’s obviously impressive.

Should I buy one?

Well, that’s opening up a can of worms, isn’t it‽ When it comes to outright performance, it’s a great option for any system builder right now. It shows that 6 cores is enough for most tasks, even more so thanks to the ability to easily overclock it to 5 GHz on air; something you simply cannot do with the Ryzen CPUs.

If you’re rocking a 7700K right now and looking at your wallet, put it away, that’s my opinion. It would be a nice little upgrade, but with the requirements of needing a new motherboard, it’s also a kick in the pants for any Intel fan. However, if you’re still rocking Z170, X99, or older, this could be a tidy little upgrade for those looking to spark new life into their gaming and workflow. A few years old is a lifetime in the PC market, and Z370 is delivering serious bang for buck right now.

Pros

• One of the fastest consumer CPUs to date
• 6 Core 12 Thread design
• Easily overclocks to 5 GHz on air
• Can break 5.2 GHz on enthusiast cooling
• Incredible 1080p gaming performance
• Competitive 4K gaming performance
• Powerful performance for productivity

Cons

• Requires a new Z370 motherboard

“Many may be on the fence with the whole Z370 motherboard upgrade, but if you’re looking to build a new system right now, or upgrade one that’s got a few years on the clock, the i7-8700K is a killer piece of hardware for any system builder.”