Intel Core i7-11700K Already on Sale, 10700K Hits New Low

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By Michelle Ehrhardt
published

Big price cuts across Intel's most recent i7's.

11th Generation Rocket Lake-S CPU
(Image credit: Intel)

Intel’s new Core i7-11700K processor is already on sale with a small price dip of about $15 on Amazon, B&H, and Newegg. Meanwhile, its last-gen predecessor, the Intel Core i7-10700K, has now hit a new low of $319 on Amazon. That’s a pretty stunning price for one of our best CPU picks, given that it was going for closer to $380 just a few months ago.

Intel Core i7-11700K: was $420, now $405 @ Amazon, BH, Newegg

Intel Core i7-11700K: was $420, now $405 @ Amazon, BH, Newegg

This is the latest i7 desktop release from Intel. It's surprising to see even a small price cut on it so soon after release, although a few reviews haven't been kind to it. It's got 8 cores/16 threads, a 125W TDP, and 5.0GHz peak boost clock.

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Intel Core i7-10700K: was $380, now $319 @ Amazon

Intel Core i7-10700K: was $380, now $319 @ Amazon

Intel's last-generation i7 desktop has now hit a new low on Amazon, and given the 11th generation i7's middling reception, that makes it all the more enticing. This chip has 8 cores/16 threads, a 125W TDP, and a 5.1GHz peak boost clock.

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The Core i7-11700K launched just last week, so as small as this sale is, it’s surprising to see it hit so soon. At $405 across most sites, it’s a decent cut off the $420 we were seeing from the usual suspects at launch. Some reviews haven’t been kind to this CPU, pointing out a middling performance increase when compared to the last generation, which might explain the price drop. Still, we found it performed admirably in gaming when paired with an RTX 3080 in the MSI Aegis RS 11th desktop. Productivity was more competitive, though.

If that’s piqued your interest in the previous generation Intel Core i7-10700K, then you’ll be happy to know that the chip is now at a new low of $319 on Amazon. We praised this processor for its low per-thread pricing on release in our review, and now that value has only gotten stronger.

So, whether you always want the best of the best or you’re willing to go last-gen to save a buck, there’s an Intel Core i7 processor deal for you.

Michelle Ehrhardt
Michelle Ehrhardt

Michelle Ehrhardt is an editor at Tom's Hardware. She's been following tech since her family got a Gateway running Windows 95, and is now on her third custom-built system. Her work has been published in publications like Paste, The Atlantic, and Kill Screen, just to name a few. She also holds a master's degree in game design from NYU.

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28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • InvalidError
    Passable performance per dollar above the 11600k, horrible performance per watt too. When you launch new CPUs and can't break into Amazon's top-10 best sellers for CPUs, you know you need to do something to get sales off the ground. The 11700k sale may not be an isolated incident.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    Still not worth it. 11900K or bust.
    Reply
  • logainofhades
    Phaaze88 said:
    Still not worth it. 11900K or bust.

    More like 10900k or bust. The 11700k and 11900k are a waste of sand. 11600k is ok.

    Also for those near a Microcenter, the 10700k is $249.99 right now.
    Reply
  • Phaaze88
    logainofhades said:
    More like 10900k or bust. The 11700k and 11900k are a waste of sand. 11600k is ok.

    Also for those near a Microcenter, the 10700k is $249.99 right now.
    Just IMO, I'd prefer the 11900K over the 11700K, 11600K and 10900K because of ABT + TVB.
    I've had my fun with OC'ing - it's in the past now. If all I gotta do is put a big ol' cooler on it, and use offset/adaptive voltage, that would be darn fine by me.
    Reply
  • sonofjesse
    MC has the 10700 for 229 and the 10700k for like 250..............good values IMHO
    Reply
  • logainofhades
    Phaaze88 said:
    Just IMO, I'd prefer the 11900K over the 11700K, 11600K and 10900K because of ABT + TVB.
    I've had my fun with OC'ing - it's in the past now. If all I gotta do is put a big ol' cooler on it, and use offset/adaptive voltage, that would be darn fine by me.

    The 10850k/10900k are better, and cheaper, than an 11900k.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    Phaaze88 said:
    Just IMO, I'd prefer the 11900K over the 11700K, 11600K and 10900K because of ABT + TVB.
    I've had my fun with OC'ing - it's in the past now. If all I gotta do is put a big ol' cooler on it, and use offset/adaptive voltage, that would be darn fine by me.
    The 11900K is the absolute worst of the Rocket Lake lineup. It's just a slightly better-binned 11700K at a $140 premium, and in practice the performance difference between the two should be imperceptible. Had Intel kept their i9s at 10 cores rather than cutting them down to 8 and effectively rebadging an i7 as an i9, they might have made a little more sense. Increasing the MSRP by over $50 compared to the prior 10-core model just makes things worse, especially considering the older chips are now available for even less. Performance ends up mixed compared to the last gen, generally being worse at multithreaded workloads due to the removal of cores, similar or in some cases worse at games due to the slower memory latency, and the only real gains are in lightly-threaded applications. And even an enthusiast willing to pay a premium for the best might as well go with AMD. Those chips also get the most out of their silicon without the need for overclocking.

    If an enthusiast wants to go with Intel, Alder Lake will probably be a better time to upgrade, though I'm not confident that we will see desktop options launch before early next year. At least that should bring a much-needed node-shrink in addition to updated architecture though.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    logainofhades said:
    More like 10900k or bust. The 11700k and 11900k are a waste of sand. 11600k is ok.

    Also for those near a Microcenter, the 10700k is $249.99 right now.
    If the 11700k and 10700k were the same price, there isn't any good reason to go with the 10700k. This is one of the reasons Intel didn't used to put soon to be replaced CPU on fire sale. You just end up competing with yourself.

    The 11900k is just smart business. If the world was ruled by common sense, it would never sell, but that's not how the world operates. If people with money just have to have the best and don't care what they have to pay to get it, why not take their money?
    Reply
  • logainofhades
    But the 11900k isn't really the best.

    _jVAfk4AG3AView: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jVAfk4AG3A
    Reply
  • Why_Me
    Admin said:
    Rocket Lake might be facing some turbulence, with the i7-11700K already having a few dollars shaved off its price.

    Intel Core i7-11700K Already on Sale, 10700K Hits New Low : Read more
    https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/212047/intel-core-i7-11700k-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz.html
    Recommended Customer Price: $399.00 - $409.00
    Reply