Intel’s Black Edition CPUs aren’t always faster than the regular ones — Core i7-14790F performs like a Core i7-14700F in Geekbench 6 benchmark

Intel Core i7-14790F
Intel Core i7-14790F (Image credit: MEGAsizeGPU/X)

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.

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ProcessorCores / Threads (P+E)P-Core Base / Boost Clock (GHz)E-Core Base / Boost Clock (GHz)Cache (L2/L3)PBP / MTPMemory
Core i7-14700F20 / 28 (8+12)2.1 / 5.41.5 / 4.261MB (28+33)65W / 219WDDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600
Core i7-14790F16 / 24 (8+8)2.1 / 5.41.5 / 4.260MB (24+36)65W / 219WDDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600
Core i7-13790F16 / 24 (8+8)2.1 / 5.21.5 / 4.157MB (24+33)65W / 219WDDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600
Core i7-13700F16 / 24 (8+8)2.1 / 5.21.5 / 4.154MB (24+30)65W / 219WDDR4-3200 / 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

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ProcessorSingle-Core ScoreMulti-Core Score
Core i7-14700F2,90518,642
Core i7-14790F2,87718,631
Core i7-13790F2,66118,509

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.

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
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.

  • tamalero
    There goes intel again with their comboluted naming scheme..
    Reply
  • 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
    Reply
  • 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
    Reply
  • JamesJones44 said:
    Where can one find this magic $10 i7-14700F?! :D

    lol, I was about to point that as well. !
    Reply
  • Thunder64
    Does nobody proofread these things?

    The Core i7-14790F retails for $410 in China, whereas the vanilla Core i7-14700F sells for around $10.
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    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.
    Reply
  • tamalero
    Thunder64 said:
    Does nobody proofread these things?
    but..but.. AI... the future.. automation!
    Reply
  • ingtar33
    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.
    ah, but obscuring what you're buying is most of the reason for this confusing naming scheme.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    ingtar33 said:
    ah, but obscuring what you're buying is most of the reason for this confusing naming scheme.
    What's so confusing about it? Better than 14700 not as good as 14900...
    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.
    Reply
  • 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