The Core i7-4770K Review: Haswell Is Faster; Desktop Enthusiasts Yawn

Results: Adobe CS6

We use two distinct Photoshop benchmarks, one of which fully taxes each processor’s x86 cores using well-threaded filters, and another that is OpenCL-optimized to leverage graphics resources. Don’t compare the black and red bars above—they’re only together to save space (and your scrolling finger).

Beginning with the CPU-only benchmark, according to which this chart is ordered, Intel’s Core i7-4770K slots in behind the Core i7-3930K and just ahead of the FX-8350. Though, the Core i7-3770K and -2700K are within two seconds of AMD’s flagship. In comparison, the company’s fastest A10-5800K trails far behind.

Calling this the OpenCL version of our benchmark is a little disingenuous, since we already ran our benchmarks based on each processor's on-die graphics engine using this same workload. Here, all platforms are accompanied by Nvidia’s GeForce GTX Titan, so the differences are wholly attributable to CPU interaction.

Now we see that the Core i7-4770K, -3770K, and 2700K take the top three spots, followed by Sandy Bridge-E. Perhaps it’s a utilization issue, but the FX-8350 and A10-5800K simply do not pair as well to a Titan in this test as Intel’s newer desktop architectures.

Our Premiere Pro CS6 benchmark is likewise optimized to take advantage of as many cores as we throw at it, and that’s why the almost 17-month-old Core i7-3930K maintains its first-place position. Yes, this is a $570 CPU, but there’s a reason we gave it our highest honor in Intel Core i7-3930K And Core i7-3820: Sandy Bridge-E, Cheaper.

Meanwhile, Core i7-4770K is only about 5% faster than Core i7-3770K. Hardly a reason to upgrade, taken on its own.

A first-place finish for Intel’s Core i7-4770K only puts it about six percent in front of its predecessor. Meanwhile, the Core i7-3930K we’d expect to be out front in a threaded title falls to third place. Consistently, this application demonstrates lower performance on platforms with higher thread counts if memory capacity doesn’t increase concurrently. Our 16 GB memory kit remains constant, helping explain why Sandy Bridge-E and AMD’s FX-8350 drop in the standings.

Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
  • Novuake
    WELL FINALLY!! Now to read it!

    EDIT : LOL!!!!
    http://bupp-portal.com/pictures/fp.jpg
    Reply
  • thiemo56
    Dissapointing, not worth it to upgrade over sandy or ivy bridge.
    Reply
  • thiemo56
    And they overclock so low.
    Reply
  • Danny N
    Biggest question is if its worth upgrading my cpu i5 750 4.0ghz to Haswell or my gfx card ati 5870 to nvidia 7xx, my main pc use is for Maya, After FX and some fps gaming. Any input would be appriciated cause I'm leaning towards a cpu upgrade atm.
    Reply
  • swampfire
    whats scoket is it like lg1155
    Reply
  • refillable
    @Danny N
    You shouldn't ask here. Perhaps you should get an i7-4770k and a 7970(?) I heard that kepler cards does not perform that good in Maya and Aftereffects (In OpenCL).
    Reply
  • refillable
    Well unless you can get a 780, that's a whole different story.
    Reply
  • bergami
    I want to know more about Iris
    Reply
  • envy14tpe
    Seriously. What did people expect? Of course it's better but nothing out of the ordinary for Intel.
    Reply
  • enewmen
    For me it's not about the 10% gain over SB. It's more like a huge gain over a C2Q, floating point performance over SB (should matter later), and lower watts. I hope THG can expand the Power Consumption and Media Encoding later - check the Watts idle more and fast quick-sync media encoding quality loss. My 2 cents..

    EDIT:
    other sites have reported much lower watts idle, so a lot doesn't make sense or the 4770k has a very slow throttle.
    http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/56005-intel-core-i7-4770k-22nm-haswell/?page=15
    http://www.techspot.com/review/679-intel-haswell-core-i7-4770k/page13.html
    Reply