Intel's latest 14th Generation Raptor Lake Refresh processors have found their way into the list of best CPUs. Some China-exclusive SKUs, like the Core i7-14790F and Core i5-14490F Black Edition, have also arrived on the market, and now we have the former's first benchmark (via Benchleaks).
The Core i7-14790F is a controversial model name since common sense suggests it's an enhanced variant of the Core i7-14700F. However, the two processors are nothing alike, and don't let "9" in the Core i7-14790F's name fool you into thinking it's faster. The Core i7-14700F has an 8+12 design, while the Core i7-14790F rocks an 8+8 layout, meaning the latter has four fewer E-cores. The clock speeds are identical between the two chips.
The Core i7-14700F has 1MB more overall cache than the Core i7-14790F. However, the cache is distributed differently between the Core i7-14700F and Core i7-14790F. The former favors more L2 cache over L3 cache, whereas, with the latter, it's the other way around. The Core i7-14700F has 4MB more L2 cache but 3MB less L3 cache than the Core i7-14790F.
Processor | Cores / Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base / Boost Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base / Boost Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | PBP / MTP | Memory |
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Core i7-14700F | 20 / 28 (8+12) | 2.1 / 5.4 | 1.5 / 4.2 | 61MB (28+33) | 65W / 219W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
Core i7-14790F | 16 / 24 (8+8) | 2.1 / 5.4 | 1.5 / 4.2 | 60MB (24+36) | 65W / 219W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
Core i7-13790F | 16 / 24 (8+8) | 2.1 / 5.2 | 1.5 / 4.1 | 57MB (24+33) | 65W / 219W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
Core i7-13700F | 16 / 24 (8+8) | 2.1 / 5.2 | 1.5 / 4.1 | 54MB (24+30) | 65W / 219W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
It's more than fair to say that the Core i7-14790F is a buffed-up version of the previous Core i7-13790F. Core-wise, both chips wield eight P-cores and eight E-cores. Nonetheless, the Core i7-14790F enjoys slightly higher boost clock speeds. We're considering a 200 MHz higher P-core and boost and a 100 MHz E-core boost improvements on the Core i7-14790F.
Overall, the Core i7-14790F rocks 3MB more cache than the Core i7-13790F. Both processors stick to a 24MB L2 cache. Therefore, the enhancement resides in the L3 cache. A 3MB more L3 cache on the Core i7-14790F represents a 9% uplift.
We recommend caution with leaked benchmarks, especially with Geekbench 6 comparisons. Finding comparable results is always challenging due to the difference in system specifications, operating systems, and sometimes benchmark versions. There's only one Core i7-14790F Geekbench 6 submission. We chose this and a few Core i7-14700F entries for us to compare. We picked these Core i7-14700F and Core i7-13790F results since they present the closest similarity to the Core i7-14790F result.
Intel Core i7-14790F Benchmarks
Processor | Single-Core Score | Multi-Core Score |
---|---|---|
Core i7-14700F | 2,905 | 18,642 |
Core i7-14790F | 2,877 | 18,631 |
Core i7-13790F | 2,661 | 18,509 |
In the single- and multi-core tests, there was less than a 1% performance difference between the Core i7-14700F and Core i7-14790F. While we know that the Core i7-14790F was seemingly paired with DDR5-5586, the Geekbench 6 report didn't reveal the memory speed for the Core i7-14700F, so it could have been using faster memory that narrowed the performance gap.
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Meanwhile, the Core i7-14790F posted 8% higher single-core numbers than the Core i7-13790F. However, the multi-core score wasn't impressive since the delta was less than 1%. In this case, however, we know that the Core i7-13790F had access to DDR5-6384 memory. The Core i7-14790F should have slightly better multi-core performance.
The Core i7-14790F retails for $410 in China, whereas the vanilla Core i7-14700F sells for around $10 more. That's not a big difference in pricing to persuade Chinese consumers to pick one over the other.
Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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JamesJones44 The Core i7-14790F retails for $410 in China, whereas the vanilla Core i7-14700F sells for around $10.
Where can one find this magic $10 i7-14700F?! :D -
Metal Messiah. The Core i7-14700K has an 8+12 design, while the Core i7-14790F rocks an 8+8 layout, meaning the latter has four fewer E-cores. The clock speeds are somewhat similar between the two chips. The only difference is that the Core i7-14790F has a 100 MHz higher P-core boost clock.
That's NOT correct. Check the official specs again. Both the F variant and this new Chinese-exclusive SKU share the same base/boost clock speeds. And, I presume you meant the F variant, and not K ?
You need to correct your Table/chart as well. P core clocks, 2.1/5.3 Ghz. These two processors only differ in the Cache and core count.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/compare.html?productIds=236779,236854 -
Metal Messiah. JamesJones44 said:Where can one find this magic $10 i7-14700F?! :D
lol, I was about to point that as well. ! -
Thunder64 Does nobody proofread these things?Reply
The Core i7-14790F retails for $410 in China, whereas the vanilla Core i7-14700F sells for around $10.
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Sleepy_Hollowed Intel is a minefield of names for CPUs, though in mobile it’s just a complete mess for everyone.Reply
At this point they should just put the core count next to the name to be safe. -
tamalero
but..but.. AI... the future.. automation!Thunder64 said:Does nobody proofread these things? -
ingtar33
ah, but obscuring what you're buying is most of the reason for this confusing naming scheme.Sleepy_Hollowed said:Intel is a minefield of names for CPUs, though in mobile it’s just a complete mess for everyone.
At this point they should just put the core count next to the name to be safe. -
TerryLaze
What's so confusing about it? Better than 14700 not as good as 14900...ingtar33 said:ah, but obscuring what you're buying is most of the reason for this confusing naming scheme.
What would be a good name for it in your mind?! i7-china?
Should they name it i7-14thgen8p12e2.1_5.3_s1700_C60Mb ?
Laymen buying CPUs only care about where in the stack the CPU is and how much it costs, everybody else can easily look up specs without getting confused. -
Pierce2623 This article misses a lot of nuance. L2 is really identical between them. The 14700f just seems like more because the extra e cores have their L2 cluster. The 14790f has extra L3 that’s usable by any p core. It WILL have better gaming performance than the normal model. That being said, if you’re spending over $300 on a gaming CPU, only a 7800x3d makes sense.Reply