Intel Core i7 4790K 

Released April, 2014
  • 4 GHz
  • Quad core
  • Unlocked
9.1 Out of 10

If you just upgraded last year, the benefits probably aren't substantial enough, but if you upgraded in 2010 or before, the Core i7-4790K is a worthwhile investment, and is our new Editors' Choice for high-end processors.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
The Core i7-4790K is still based on Intel's fourth-generation Core architecture, codenamed Haswell.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
Explore 8 desktops with the Intel Core i7 4790K

CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of the Intel Core i7 4790K among desktop CPUs (over 75W)

Performance

Benchmark performance using all cores
Core i7 4790K
9.5
Core i5 4690K
8.4
Core i7 5820K
9.6
PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated, PassMark and 1 more

Single-core Performance

Individual core benchmark performance
Core i7 4790K
10.0
Core i5 4690K
10.0
Core i7 5820K
9.4
PassMark (Single Core), Geekbench 3 Single Core and 1 more

Integrated Graphics

Integrated GPU performance for graphics
Core i7 4790K
6.2
Core i5 4690K
5.6
Core i7 5820K
0.0
Fire Strike

Integrated Graphics (OpenCL)

Integrated GPU performance for parallel computing
Core i7 4790K
6.2
Core i5 4690K
6.4
Core i7 5820K
0.0
CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 4 more

Performance per Watt

How efficiently does the processor use electricity?
Core i7 4790K
10.0
Core i5 4690K
10.0
Core i7 5820K
5.8
Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more

Value

Are you paying a premium for performance?
Core i7 4790K
6.6
Core i5 4690K
6.7
Core i7 5820K
5.5
Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more
9.1

CPUBoss Score

Combination of all six facets
Core i7 4790K
9.1
Core i5 4690K
9.2
Core i7 5820K
6.1

Benchmarks Real world tests of the Intel Core i7 4790K

CompuBench 1.5 (Bitcoin mining) Data courtesy CompuBench

Core i7 4790K
16.1 mHash/s
Core i5 4690K
13.73 mHash/s
Core i7 5820K
n.d.

CompuBench 1.5 (T-Rex) Data courtesy CompuBench

Core i7 4790K
1.79 fps
Core i5 4690K
1.74 fps
Core i7 5820K
n.d.

PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated Data courtesy FutureMark

Core i7 4790K
3,570
Core i5 4690K
3,306
Core i7 5820K
n.d.

Sky Diver Data courtesy FutureMark

Core i7 4790K
3,880
Core i5 4690K
3,580
Core i7 5820K
n.d.

Cloud Gate Data courtesy FutureMark

Core i7 4790K
8,470
Core i5 4690K
7,152
Core i7 5820K
n.d.

GeekBench 3 (Multi-core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 4790K
15,490
Core i7 5820K
19,546
Core i5 4690K
11,924

GeekBench 3 (Single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 4790K
4,004
Core i7 5820K
3,412
Core i5 4690K
3,649

GeekBench 3 (AES single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs

Core i7 4790K
5,140,000 MB/s
Core i7 5820K
4,050,000 MB/s
Core i5 4690K
5,060,000 MB/s

Reviews Word on the street for the Intel Core i7 4790K

8.0
read review
When we set the Core i7-4790K to the same 3.5GHz base/3.9GHz Turbo clock speeds as the Intel Core i7-4770K, it ran a full 15 degrees cooler—50 degrees Celsius, compared with 65 degrees Celsius for the Intel Core i7-4770K.

What People Are Saying Give it to me straight

Socket Type

At $339, the Core i7-4790K is a drop-in replacement for the Core i7-4770K—so how much has it improved performance compared with last year's model?
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
The Intel Core i7-4790K ($350), code named "Devil's Canyon," isn't a huge update over last year's Intel Core i7-4770K, but it's enough of an improvement to replace that CPU as our Editors' Choice for high-end processors.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
At stock speeds and under full load, the Core i7-4790K hit 74 degrees Celsius—but that's still a fairly modest increase, considering the chip is clocked 15 percent faster than its predecessor.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)

Socket

We compared the Core i7-4790K against last year's Core i7-4770K and Intel's first-generation 22nm processor, the Ivy Bridge-based Intel Core i7-3770K, our former Editors' Choice for high-end CPUs.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
The gains are smallest in general-application suites like PCMark 7 and larger in CPU-intensive programs like Photoshop CS6, the rendering program POV-RAY, and the 3D rendering test, Cinebench 11.5.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
We tested the Core i7-4790K on an Asus Z97-Deluxe motherboard with 8GB of DDR3-2133.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)

Performance

Intel's Core i7-4790K is the high-end Haswell-based processor for enthusiasts who liked last year's 4770K CPU, but weren't satisfied with its modest performance improvements.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
Unfortunately, our tests show that the Core i7-4790K isn't a particularly good overclocker—its power consumption and thermals spike sharply as soon as the clock rate increases much above its stock speeds.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
Due to this, we won't focus on GPU performance here.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)

Overclocking

When Intel launched Devil's Canyon, it made a big deal about how the chip would be great for overclocking—an area where Haswell, which ran hot even at stock speeds, fell notably flat.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
The original Haswell core was infamous for its heat and didn't overclock particularly well.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
Despite Intel's promises, overclocking headroom is very limited.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)

Multicore

We tested the Core i7-4790K with the same V3 Voltair CPU cooler we recently reviewed on the Core i7-4770K.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)
If you weren't impressed with the Core i7-4770K, you may find the i7-4790K more to your liking this time around, particularly if you buy with an eye toward long-term features and compatibility.
by PCMag (Jul, 2014)

Specifications Full list of technical specs

summary

Clock speed 4 GHz
Turbo clock speed 4.4 GHz
Cores Quad core
Is unlocked Yes

features

Has a NX bit Yes
Supports trusted computing No
Has virtualization support Yes
Instruction set extensions
  1. MMX
  2. EM64T
  3. SSE4.2
  4. AVX 2.0
  5. SSE4.1
  6. AVX
  7. SSE
  8. SSE4
  9. F16C
  10. FMA3
  11. AES
  12. SSE3
  13. SSE2
Supports dynamic frequency scaling Yes

power consumption

TDP 88W
Annual home energy cost 21.2 $/year
Annual commercial energy cost 77.09 $/year
Performance per watt 11.42 pt/W
Typical power consumption 71.5W

bus

Architecture DMI 2.0
Number of links 0
Transfer rate 5,000 MT/s

details

Architecture x86-64
Threads 8 threads
L2 cache 1 MB
L2 cache per core 0.25 MB/core
L3 cache 8 MB
L3 cache per core 2 MB/core
Manufacture process 22 nm
Max CPUs 1
Operating temperature Unknown - 74.04°C

overclocking

Overclocked clock speed 4.63 GHz
Overclocked clock speed (Water) 4.8 GHz
PassMark (Overclocked) 6,925.3
Overclocked clock speed (Air) 4.63 GHz

integrated graphics

GPU GPU
Label Intel® HD Graphics 4600
Number of displays supported 3
GPU clock speed 350 MHz
Turbo clock speed 1,250 MHz

memory controller

Memory controller Built-in
Memory type
  1. DDR3-1600
  2. DDR3L-1600
  3. DDR3-1333
Channels Dual Channel
Supports ECC No
Maximum bandwidth 25,600 MB/s
Maximum memory size 32,768 MB
Report a correction

Comments

Showing 17 comments.
Sandesh S M (05:02 AM, May 29, 2017)
Yes my friend.
Sridharan Jayaraman (03:28 AM, May 28, 2017)
Does this i7-4970K is coming with a fan?
cat1092 (11:01 PM, May 9, 2016)
I'm also glad that consumers chooses AMD (though personally am not a 'fanboy' of the brand. Rather as someone mentioned above, if it were only Intel, then we'd be paying $750 or more for these high powered CPU's. Also, I appreciate the fact that not everyone can afford to spend $350 for a single component. For some, that's the budget for their entire build......and likely recycling some components to meet that budget. Have been there myself. For the money, the i7-4790K is a dang great CPU, though am now questioning one issue......instead of fluxless solder, Intel used thermal paste in their 3rd & 4th gen CPU's underneath the cap. Some says that with overclocking or high Turbo Boost usage, that the (inferior) paste will last just long enough for the warranty to expire, and will likely die. There are published fixes that aren't risk free (75% success rate), and one needs the tools to do the job. What I didn't see is what the thermal paste was replaced with. Hopefully with fluxless solder, just as the earlier models. Had I known this upfront, would never had dropped $327 for the 4790K. Intel makes a lot of cash, and didn't have to resort to these tactics, consumers would had paid $25 more for the right way of doing things. Many expects a CPU of this price to last at least 10 years. Come 2 or 3 years, these will be all over eBay used for less than $100. Cat
Argos (05:59 PM, May 4, 2016)
Stock Gaming Benchmarks vs i7 6700K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDo-j00vUtw
Herb Sewell (08:15 PM, April 10, 2016)
In that case, I was referring to the first reason.
Herb Sewell (03:30 PM, April 10, 2016)
That's not really a good reason to buy anything. I'm not going to get an inferior product or one that provides less value for the money merely to keep the business afloat.
cat1092 (05:00 PM, April 6, 2016)
Most any 1150 MB will do, depends on if you're running a Full ATX or mATX MB. All of mine are mATX, so have to go with the flow on the PC's I have. ASRock produces some decent MB's, just upgraded a PC that was given to me with their 970M Pro3 series, then installed a FX-6300 CPU. The WEI was already 7.2, now it's 7.5. Am going to do a custom build with soon, will likely go with an ASRock Z97 MB to have support for PCIe SSD's, and move the i7-4790K now running in the Dell into it, and find a unlocked i5 for that PC. Don't know what I'm going to do with this i7-4770, shame for a $309 CPU (as priced on Newegg today) to rot. I don't like the vPro feature on it, which is a backdoor for Intel, plus the OEM's to ship unwanted firmware & one's Firewall won't be able to stop it, because of the backdoor that vPro provides. Cat
cat1092 (05:50 PM, February 13, 2016)
The i7-4790K is a Sweet CPU for those who wants to upgrade their 1150 OEM models to the best CPU possible. Most systems, even budget models, should run it fine. As to the well blown out of line 'overheating' issue, the fix to that is a tube of MX-4, sometimes found for as little as $5.99 on Newegg on promo, which I keep on hand. Arctic doesn't guarantee the solution for 8 years for no reason. The only catch when using the stock cooler, is snipping from the bottom, the 4 plastic tabs, and replacing these with 4 optical drive retention screws (the ones that sticks out) before installing, which threads are an exact fit in most 1150 MB's. Make sure the fan spins, just a wire tucked the wrong way can prevent this. Now, using alcohol, remove the 3 streaks of pre-applied thermal paste from the cooler (which by chance is the same used for the boxed i3's), dry well, and place a pea sized drop of the MX-4 on the CPU. Be sure to take 'before & after' pics to make sure it's installed right. Now just gently lift down the cooler, place a little pressure on the center, enough to hold it, and tighten the screws a third way down in a criss cross pattern & make 3-4 rounds of this, don't torque like it's lug nuts on a car, just sung it good, and you're ready. Some OEM's such as with the Dell XPS 8700, will have a couple of levels of 'performance' modes in the BIOS, but for the break in, I suggest to not do so for a couple of days, and take it one upgrade at a time. You're done, and as you'll see below, it doesn't run 'hot'. When did 27C become HOT? http://speccy.piriform.com/results/DLTOWLpXQ6STRJzIcZzyRpd This is because I'm using premium paste, rather than the pre-applied stuff that's also used on boxed Pentium & i3 CPU's. Good Luck with the upgrade, and make the move before the last batches hits $400 or higher :-) Cat
Sandesh S M (03:18 AM, November 3, 2015)
always welcome bro.
Kieran Parkin (03:07 PM, November 2, 2015)
yes! that is indeed the one i got. thankyou.
Sandesh S M (04:59 AM, October 19, 2015)
asus maximus 7 hero or later, maximus 8 series also and try out sabertooth and tuf series.
Kieran Parkin (05:18 PM, October 17, 2015)
what would be the best motherboard to pair with this? price not important. well...within reason.
Sandesh S M (03:49 AM, August 26, 2015)
AMD volcano core temperature APU which is totally waste after buying graphic's card.
jack (04:19 PM, July 21, 2015)
it can be helping you.. http://www.myleadmap.com/446958
Abir Hasan (06:25 PM, July 9, 2015)
You also see http://www.installwordpress.co/ from this.
Jhon Lingkon (07:04 PM, June 16, 2015)
I can not match any information between http://www.xiontech.net/intel-core-i7-4790k-review/ this post. Because they told that half a gigahertz speed bump is nothing to sniff but my question is 'is it ture?'
Nikos Ntouroutlis (11:22 AM, January 18, 2015)
many ppl are dumb fucking idiots... intel not ONLY has much lower wattage consumption but also has hyper threading technology compared to useless AMD '32 nm volcano temperature CPU
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