Intel quietly releases China exclusive Core i7-14790F 'Black Edition' CPU
Exclusive CPU with not-so-exclusive specifications!
Intel has quietly released two new CPU variants in its 14th generation Raptor Lake Fresh desktop CPU family, though these are destined to be available only in a single market- China. Via MEGAsizeGPU we even get a look at the alleged packaging. The Chipmaker releases the Core i7-14790F, a second variant of its series, with the first one being the Core i7-14700F released a few days ago. This CPU has an odd configuration since it has fewer cores and more cache than the Core i7-14700F, contrary to what its SKU would imply to be a higher-spec variant.
The Core i7-14790F CPU is a 16-core processor with 8 performance cores, 8 efficient cores and 24 threads. While it shares the same frequency in different modes and power consumption ratings as the Core i7-14700F, the cache, thread and core count are a step down:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Intel Core i7-14790F | Intel Core i7-14700F |
|---|---|---|
| Total Cores | 16 | 20 |
| Performance Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Efficient Cores | 8 | 12 |
| Total Threads | 24 | 28 |
| Max Turbo Frequency | 5.4 GHz | 5.4 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency | 5.4 GHz | 5.4 GHz |
| P-core Max Turbo Frequency | 5.3 GHz | 5.3 GHz |
| E-core Max Turbo Frequency | 4.2 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| P-core Base Frequency | 2.1 GHz | 2.1 GHz |
| E-core Base Frequency | 1.5 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Cache | 36 MB Intel Smart Cache | 33 MB Intel Smart Cache |
| Total L2 Cache | 24 MB | 28 MB |
| Processor Base Power | 65 W | 65 W |
| Maximum Turbo Power | 219 W | 219 W |
Not the first Chinese-Exclusive Black Edition CPUs
These F suffix CPUs are colloquially referred to as 'Black Editions' as Intel ditches its usual signature blue color for black in its packaging. Usually, vendors would make it meaningful when new names are added over the SKU model. For example 'Extreme Editions' used by Intel and 'Black Editions' for some variants of AMD CPUs. The reason why these CPUs exist is not known at all. The black colored box is a sign to show it is exclusively made for the Chinese market as Intel released 12th-generation and 13th-generation Black Edition variants at an earlier date. None of these F series CPUs have on-chip graphics like the K series and are rated with PCG 2020C thermal profile.
These CPUs are not included in the Z series chipset's motherboard compatibility list by respective manufacturers. But these 14th generation F series CPUs are listed in H series motherboards made by Asus except the Core i7-14790F. Gigabyte has Intel Z790 and Intel B760M motherboards compatible with these exclusive variants, though it didn't mention the Core i7-14790F, yet. There's no reason why these CPUs wouldn't be compatible with many (if not all) motherboards based on the CPU compatibility list with Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs. But given the SKUs available worldwide and the warranty period it carries, one wouldn't be able to find any real reason to prefer this over globally available variants, except to own a model exclusively made for the Chinese markets.
Currently, the Core i7-14790K is priced at ￥2909 at JD which roughly translates to US$ 409.30 which is about $10 less than the Core i7-14700F. Irrespective of why Intel makes such CPUs exclusive for China, it brings nothing new to the table compared to the universally available Raptor Lake Core i7 CPU.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Roshan Ashraf Shaikh has been in the Indian PC hardware community since the early 2000s and has been building PCs, contributing to many Indian tech forums, & blogs. He operated Hardware BBQ for 11 years and wrote news for eTeknix & TweakTown before joining Tom's Hardware team. Besides tech, he is interested in fighting games, movies, anime, and mechanical watches.
-
TCA_ChinChin What a weird part. Less E cores with more smartcache but less l2 cache due to less e-core. Wonder what the prices will be like and how it performs vs the 14700f.Reply -
Reply
Intel has quietly released two new CPU variants in its 14th generation Raptor Lake Fresh desktop CPU family, though these are destined to be available only in a single market- China. The Chipmaker releases the Core i7-14790F, a second variant of its series, with the first one being the Core i7-14700F released a few days ago.
I guess you should check the basic facts before posting.
Intel did not release 2 new SKUs for the APAC/Chinese region, but only one in the core i7 segment. The Core i7-14700F has already been available globally, unlike this new 14790F entrant.
Both are different SKUs. The only other Chinese-exclusive SKU launched recently was the "Intel Core i5-14490F". There have also been the Core i7-13790F and Core i5-12490F "Black Edition" releases in the past before.
Btw, also correct the typo. These are Raptor Lake "Refresh" parts, and not Raptor Lake Fresh. Although, these might be China-specific "Black Edition" SKUs, some models do enter the US/UK and EU markets too.
Currently, the Core i7-14790K is priced at ￥2909 at JD which roughly translates to US$ 409.30
Typo. It's the F variant, not K.
Apart from the increased 36 MB of L3 cache (vs 33 MB), there seems little incentive to purchase this SKU due to it's lower overall core & L2 cache counts. Even the Core i5-14490F features a higher boost clock and more cache than the Core i5-14400F.
Although, basically E-cores do not have a very huge impact on gaming performance, the extra 3MB of L3 cache might deliver some performance benefit during some of the gaming workloads, if not all. -
wr3zzz These are probably 'tweener chips that failed the higher spec test during packaging operations in China. There isn't enough volume to create a new global tier but the Chinese domestic market is big enough to absorb the lot locally so Intel creates the China special to extract more value instead of down spec these odd lots into a cheaper lower global product tier.Reply -
Correct the very first paragraph in this article like I highlighted above in my previous comment. It's still not corrected/edited. It's embarrassingly misleading.Reply
Intel did not release 2 new SKUs for the APAC/Chinese region, but only one in the core i7 segment. The Core i7-14700F has already been available globally, unlike this new 14790F entrant.