You might call the Core i7-4790K Haswell’s Super Saiyan form. Intel didn’t rework its thermal interface material or power delivery because the Core i7-4770K was facing pressure from AMD. No. Devil’s Canyon appears as the company’s response to guys like me who’ve poked at it for multiple generations about a lack of attention shown to enthusiasts.
What we get in return is a CPU operating 500 MHz faster, designed to complement the just-released 9-series platform controller hubs, and best of all, available at the same ~$340 price point as Core i7-4770K. Intel didn’t need to pile on all of that frequency. It could have prevented partners from extending 8-series chipset compatibility. And the company would certainly be within its right to bump prices up. But it’s being more benevolent than the jaded critics might have expected.
Instead, Core i7-4790K surfaces as the Haswell-based flagship we should have had a little more than a year ago. Where our reception of the 4770K was tepid at best, Intel’s 4790K at least satisfies our desire for demonstrable performance improvement. The processor doesn't overclock worlds better than the 4770K, but additional headroom is never guaranteed. It's the extra 500 MHz promised from the same die you're going to want. With that said, if you ignored my original indifference and bought Haswell when it was introduced, 4790K isn't going to compel another upgrade. But if you’re coming from something in the Sandy Bridge generation, or even certain Ivy Bridge-based CPUs, it's going to be a lot more interesting than 4770K was.

Then again, if you’re on a budget, and spending $340 on a host processor isn’t viable, there are two other unlocked options from Intel sure to enjoy mainstream success. The Core i5-4690K operates at a 3.5 GHz base clock rate and 3.9 GHz top Turbo Boost setting, while the Pentium G3258 offers a 3.2 GHz frequency. We’ve tested K-series i5s before, and know they are some of the most effective gaming processors available thanks to efficient architectures and overclocking headroom. That 20th anniversary Pentium is something completely new, though. Will its dual-core configuration overclock well enough to outpace AMD’s Athlon X4 750K in general desktop and gaming tests? You can bet we’ll be answering that question soon enough.
One last parting shot: I know there aren't a ton of comparison numbers in today's charts. I really wanted the face-off to be between Core i7-4790K and -4770K using our latest benchmark versions. But paging back through some of the tests that haven't changed in Intel Core i7-4960X Review: Ivy Bridge-E, Benchmarked, it's worth noting that Core i7-4790K, even overclocked, trades blows with the Core i7-3930K at its stock clock rate in most threaded benchmarks (Haswell obviously smokes Sandy Bridge-E in tests that run on one core). I know that was a $600-something processor two-and-a-half years ago, but it sure holds up well. You have to be happy as an enthusiast if you're still sitting on a tuned -3930K.
- Intel Core i7-4790K: Devil's Canyon Is For Enthusiasts
- Overclocking Core i7-4790K And TIM Performance
- How We Tested Core i7-4790K
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: Content Creation
- Results: Adobe CC
- Results: Productivity And Media Encoding
- Results: Compression Apps
- Results: Power Consumption
- Core i7-4790K Adds Enthusiast Appeal To Haswell
bring back solder intel.
I built my PC at the end of last year, beginning of this one and went with a i7-4930k. I really wanted a six core processor and have not been disappointed. I have been itching to build another PC because it was really fun to put the plan of components together and although my hands were to big and my medical conditions prevented me from getting to do a lot of the building, my wife helped a lot with that part and it was nice to see the finished product in action. With that being said, I don't have a lot of money for anything right now and hope that my disability pay finally comes through so I can start picking together parts for a computer for my wife. She won't need anything as powerful as I have, and the i7-4790k sounds pretty sweet.
On a side note, this website annoys me. I click to add comment and the default fields are for signing up, no logging in, and when I do, I am back to the homepage. Great.
bring back solder intel.
Second problem: Why is Tom's using 1.275 V for 4200MHz on both units? Is that actually 1.275v with LLC disabled or is LLC on a setting resulting in the lowest load voltage? If one of those units need 1.275v to be stable at 4200 you have a real donkey sample on your hands. Even the worst i7-4770k are stable at 1.20v @ 4200. Or was the over voltage designed to test an unrealistic incompetent situation to either emphasize or DE-emphasize the TIM difference?
Voltage wall is still at the approximate same place. Heat is still the limiting factor. I expect some of the better binned 4670K will hit equal or better than the 4690K.
I'll stay with my 3570K @ 4.3ghz - this clearly isn't much of a step up. Looks like I'm waiting for a DDR4 system in a couple years.
Not impressed.
My interest lies in, will the devils canyon i5 4690k be able to hit the same clocks and temperatures as the i7 4790k at the same voltages, or for the i7 is there just a more extensive binning process or something of the sort? Your comment at the beginning of the article when discussing these realistic and sustainable overclocks really hit home in relation to this.
Second problem: Why is Tom's using 1.275 V for 4200MHz on both units? Is that actually 1.275v with LLC disabled or is LLC on a setting resulting in the lowest load voltage? If one of those units need 1.275v to be stable at 4200 you have a real donkey sample on your hands. Even the worst i7-4770k are stable at 1.20v @ 4200. Or was the over voltage designed to test an unrealistic incompetent situation to either emphasize or DE-emphasize the TIM difference?
The point of running both CPUs at the same voltage and the same clock rate is measuring the difference of the TIM. For the rest of the tests, each chip is pushed as fast as it'll go, stably.
The FX-8350 at stock was roughly the same time as the i7-3770K in your 3DSM fly-by render ...
So why would you go out of your way to compare Devil's Canyon to the A10-7850K ??
Still, even though the performance is another step faster than AMD, for my purposes the cost is still a bit high. Still, I'd love to see what it can do at 5.0 GHz.