In the market for a new processor? This i7 8700K vs i7 9700K comparison guide will help you decide which is better.
The guide starts with a full, side-by-side specifications comparison of both processors.
Then, it offers a detailed performance comparison of both processors.
Finally, based on the performance, and price, the last section recommends one of the best of the two processors.
Intel Core i7 8700K vs Intel Core i7 9700K: Number of Cores and Threads
Processor Core is a technical term that describes the number of independent processor units in a single processor chip. This is a very important processor performance feature.
The reason this affects performance is that (in theory) more processor units (cores) means faster processing capabilities of the processor.
i7 8700K has 6 cores while i7 9700K has 8 cores.
While Cores define the number of processor units in a chip, Processor Thread is a term that defines the number of sequences of instructions (activities) that a single processor core can handle (process).
The more threads in a CPU core, the more simultaneous tasks the processor can handle at the same time. In essence, the more threads a processor has, the better the processor can perform many tasks at the same time without slowing down.
i7 8700K has 12 threads while i7 9700K has just 8 threads.
Based on more CPU cores in Intel Core i7 9700K, it wins in the Cores category.
Intel Core i7 8700K vs Intel Core i7 9700K: Maximum Clock Speed
Another important performance comparison for i7 8700K vs i7 9700K processors is the maximum clock frequency (speed) that each processor supports.
A processor specifies the basic clock speed and the maximum speed the processor can clock. The more a processor can clock, the faster it can perform.
i7 8700K has a maximum clock speed of 3.70 GHz, i7 9700K is 4.90 GHz.
Intel Core i7 9700K offers a higher maximum clock speed of 4.90 GHz and wins this category.
Intel Core i7 8700K vs Intel Core i7 9700K: L3 Cache
A processor needs a temporal fast RAM to store and fetch the next task to be executed. This fast memory is called Cache.
The more the cache available to a processor, the faster it can fetch the next thread and perform tasks faster.
i7 8700K and i7 9700K support a maximum L3 Cache of 12 MB. There is therefore, no winner in this category.
Intel Core i7 8700K vs Intel Core i7 9700K: Max Supported Memory
The memory available to a processor plays a major part in the performance of the processor.
The Cache in a processor is a memory built into the processor. However, the processor needs the system memory to feed the Cache the next thread in the queue.
The implication is that the more memory a processor can support, the faster it can potentially process tasks. This in turn translates to a faster computer.
Comparing the maximum memory supported by i7 8700K vs i7 9700K, both processors support a maximum of 128 GB DDR4 memory.
Therefore, just like the Cache, there is no winner in this category.
My Final Thoughts
This processor buying guide compared 4 performance features of Intel Core i7 8700K and Intel Core i7 9700K.
The side-by-side features comparison reveals that Intel Core i7 9700K has more CPU Cores. Moreover, it also has a better clock speed.
However, for L3 Cache and maximum supported memory, Intel Core i7 8700K and Intel Core i7 9700K offer the same features.
Based on CPU Cores and maximum clock speed, I recommend the Intel Core i7 9700K processor.
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