Intel Core i7-8700K Price Climbs to $400

Amidst the shortage of 14nm Intel processors, major hardware retailers around the U.S. have bumped the Intel Core i7-8700K's price significantly to $400.

Core i7-8700K (Image credit: PCPartPicker)

When the Intel Core i7-8700K first came out a little over a year ago, you could find the processor for $359 - $370, depending on where you lived. However, those days are long gone. With the recent shortage of Intel processors, specifically those that are produced under the 14nm manufacturing process, the Intel Core i7-8700K's price tag has gone up to $400.

Core i5-8400 (Image credit: PCPartPicker)

The Core i5-8400 is another processor that has suffered the same fate as the Core i7-8700K. Retailers have upped the price for the Core i5-8400 from $182 to $225, which represents a 23.6 percent increase.

In response to the shortage of 14nm processors, Intel has delegated some of its 14nm product testing responsibilities to its manufacturing facility in Vietnam. The chipmaker recently revealed its plan to inject $1 billion into its 14nm manufacturing sites in Oregon, Arizona, Ireland and Israel to expand their production capacities. 

To Buy or Not to Buy?

So, the million-dollar question is: If you're on the market for a Core i7-8700K, should you pull the trigger now? Well, it depends on how bad you want it. If you want to play the waiting game, Intel's 14nm processor shortage could last until the second half of 2019, according to Martin Wong, president and CEO of ODM Compal Electronics. In the meantime, the Core i7-8700K's price will likely continue to rise. However, there are other viable options if you're willing to switch over to the red team.

AMD Alternatives

The Ryzen 7 2700X is the Core i7-8700K's closest rival. Unlike the Core i7-8700K, the Ryzen 7 2700X's pricing has remained pretty stable, and the octa-core processor is currently available for $300. If productivity is your priority and you can settle for a slightly less gaming performance, the Ryzen 7 2700X is a good candidate for an upgrade or a new build

Alternatively, the first generation Threadripper 1920X now has a suggested retail price of $400 and is selling on NextWarehouse for $413.72, putting it in the price range of the Core i7-8700K. The Threadripper 1920X gives you twice as much cores and threads as the Core i7-8700K, quad-channel memory support and 64 PCIe lanes. The drawbacks are that X399 motherboards aren't known for being cheap, and with the current prices for memory, you might think twice before buying a quad-channel memory kit. 

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • Peter Martin
    lol
    Reply
  • BulkZerker
    "to buy or not to buy"
    Who cares #justbuyit!
    Reply
  • redgarl
    Not EZPENZSIVE!!!
    Reply
  • Jeff Fx
    21369302 said:
    Amidst the shortage of 14nm Intel processors, major hardware retailers around the U.S. have bumped the Intel Core i7-8700K's price significantly to $400.

    Intel Core i7-8700K Price Climbs to $400 : Read more

    It's still a very reasonable price. Mine's running solidly at a 35% overclock. I upgraded my motherboard instead of my CPU this year, to get a 35% faster processor.
    Reply
  • DRosencraft
    I'm not saying the rise in price is nothing, but going up $40 on a build that is already going to knocking on the door of $1000 is not that huge a deal. It might make for some shifting on plans, but it's not exactly back-breaking. It's a bigger deal for the lower end products, the $200 range going up by $40 is a bigger problem for what is likely already a budget build.
    Reply
  • lestercat
    Ha just got one for $325 last week
    Reply
  • jaber2
    tracked mine Online order

    Feb 23, 2018
    1 item

    $337.31
    Reply
  • thently
    Lol and the 2700x is on sale for 299 :P
    https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Processor-Wraith-Cooler/dp/B07B428M7F/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_zg_dy_0_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07B428M7F&pd_rd_r=534727ea-a7b7-43c9-9a77-3a6efdce6430&pd_rd_w=hMxZD&pd_rd_wg=W0A2B&pf_rd_i=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=4022e0f2-c06e-4e9e-bb48-d7486d1197f7&pf_rd_r=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE
    Reply
  • kinggremlin
    21369816 said:
    Lol and the 2700x is on sale for 299 :P
    https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Processor-Wraith-Cooler/dp/B07B428M7F/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_zg_dy_0_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07B428M7F&pd_rd_r=534727ea-a7b7-43c9-9a77-3a6efdce6430&pd_rd_w=hMxZD&pd_rd_wg=W0A2B&pf_rd_i=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=4022e0f2-c06e-4e9e-bb48-d7486d1197f7&pf_rd_r=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE

    Why is that funny? AMD can't even sell their chips at MSRP when Intel is struggling to meet demand and getting crushed in the press. That shouldn't be funny to anyone. Wasn't competition from AMD supposed to lower prices?
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    21370070 said:
    21369816 said:
    Lol and the 2700x is on sale for 299 :P
    https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Processor-Wraith-Cooler/dp/B07B428M7F/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_zg_dy_0_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07B428M7F&pd_rd_r=534727ea-a7b7-43c9-9a77-3a6efdce6430&pd_rd_w=hMxZD&pd_rd_wg=W0A2B&pf_rd_i=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=4022e0f2-c06e-4e9e-bb48-d7486d1197f7&pf_rd_r=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhf&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=242WJ295ACRXQAKJZ7BE

    Why is that funny? AMD can't even sell their chips at MSRP when Intel is struggling to meet demand and getting crushed in the press. That shouldn't be funny to anyone. Wasn't competition from AMD supposed to lower prices?

    It was but the competition is not 100%. AMD is good but to really get prices to lower they need K8 like performance. It was very dominant. Right now in a per clock they are not. They are per core since they offer more cores per dollar but if you compare similar core counts Intel edges ahead which allows Intel to keep their price advantage.

    If, and I say if as it is unknown till it releases, AMDs "7nm" CPUs can out edge Intel in performance that would be competition worthy of price drops.

    However if we look at the past, when AMD was in the performance lead they did not keep the same lower prices. In fact their pricing was higher. Even after Core 2 they were still higher overall.

    Until then it looks like everything is going up. RAM, for not reason other than stupid reasons, CPUs. Next they will make up a NAND shortage again to hike those back up.
    Reply