The Core i7-8086K Review: 40 Years Of x86
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Silicon Lottery, Overclocking & Test Setup
Alternately, Silicon Lottery procures batches of processors and delids them to replace Intel's thermal paste with liquid metal Thermal Grizzly Condoctonaut. According to the company, this reduces operating temperatures by 15°C to 25°C, depending on the workload. The improved thermal transfer material helps facilitate more aggressive overclocks. Silicon Lottery sells the modified processors at a premium price, and with a one-year warranty (rather than Intel's standard three-year coverage).
Core i7-8700K - December 2017 | Core i7-8700K - June 2018 | ||||||
Clock | Vcore | AVX2 | Percentile | Clock | Vcore | AVX2 | Percentile |
4.9 GHz | 1.387 | -2 | Top 99% | 4.9 GHz | 1.385 | -2 | Top 99% |
5.0 GHz | 1.4 | -2 | Top 72% | 5.0 GHz | 1.4 | -2 | Top 86% |
5.1 GHz | 1.412 | -2 | Top 43% | 5.1 GHz | 1.41 | -2 | Top 50% |
5.2 GHz | 1.425 | -2 | Top 16% | 5.2 GHz | 1.425 | -2 | Top 17% |
5.3 GHz | 1.437 | -2 | Top 3% | 5.3 GHz | - | - | - |
Silicon Lottery compiles statistics about the samples it modifies and shares them publicly, giving us a reasonable gauge of what's coming out of Intel's foundries. Some enthusiasts speculate that reserving the highest-quality silicon for Core i7-8086K would hurt the chances of scoring a higher-clocking -8700K. But as we can see, the percentage of -8700Ks able to hit anywhere from 5 to 5.2 GHz actually increased during the period of time we would have expected Intel to set aside top-binned dies for its -8086K. Then again, it looks like samples able to hit 5.3 GHz disappeared entirely, possibly representing those precious -8086K-capable dies.
Core i7-8086K - June 2018 | |||
Clock | Vcore | AVX2 | Percentile |
5.0 GHz | 1.4 | -2 | Top 100% |
5.1 GHz | 1.41 | -2 | Top 92% |
5.2 GHz | 1.425 | -2 | Top 60% |
5.3 GHz | 1.435 | -2 | Top 14% |
Silicon Lottery also shares statistics on the Core i7-8086K, and its probability of receiving top silicon is markedly better than what we see from the latest round of Core i7-8700K data. Nearly all of the company's -8086Ks reach 5 GHz, and the top 14% are capable of reaching 5.3 GHz.
Our own Core i7-8086K achieved 5.1 GHz with a 1.35V Vcore and default load line calibration settings. In addition, we adjusted our AVX offset by -1 and saw a peak temperature of 86°C during AVX-heavy workloads using Corsair's beefy H115i closed-loop cooler. Although we successfully dialed in DDR4-3466 rates with 14-14-14-24 timings, we feel we could have pushed even higher with more time for tuning.
Instead of splurging on a Core i7-8086K, you could always purchase a modified Core i7-8700K from Silicon Lottery capable of hitting the same 5.1 GHz that we achieved. Unfortunately, those models sell for $479, making the -8086K's $425 price tag attractive in comparison. If you're chasing the highest overclock possible, the company does sell a Core i7-8086K capable of 5.3 GHz for $849. As with all Silicon Lottery chips, however, you lose two years of warranty coverage in the exchange.
Comparison Products
Test Systems
Like many other vendors, MSI motherboards feature a default Enhanced Turbo feature that allows the processor to run at its maximum Turbo Boost bin on all cores, at all times. For the Core i7-8086K, you're looking at 5 GHz across all six cores.
This setting modifies the CPU's clock rate and voltage to deliver higher performance, which is basically factory-sanctioned overclocking. Again, MSI enables it by default in the BIOS, similar to most of the competition. But performance, power consumption, and heat are all affected when it's on. We manually disable the feature for our stock CPU testing to best reflect Intel's specifications.
Test System & Configuration | |
Hardware | AMD Socket AM4 (400-Series)AMD Ryzen 7 2700, Ryzen 7 2700X, Ryzen 5 2600X, Ryzen 5 2600 MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC2x 8GB G.Skill FlareX DDR4-3200 @ DDR4-2933, DDR4-3466Intel LGA 1151 (Z370):Intel Core i7-8086K, Core i7-8700K, Core i5-8600K, Core i5-8400, Core i7-8700MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC2x 8GB G.Skill FlareX DDR4-3200 @ DDR4-2400, DDR4-2667, DDR4-3466All EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FE 1TB Samsung PM863 SilverStone ST1500-TI, 1500W Windows 10 Creators Update Version 1703 - All Spectre and Meltdown mitigations |
Cooling | Corsair H115iIntel stock thermal solution (Core i7-8700) |
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Paul Alcorn is the Managing Editor: News and Emerging Tech for Tom's Hardware US. He also writes news and reviews on CPUs, storage, and enterprise hardware.

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AgentLozen Cons:Reply
-No bundled cooler
You're saying that if Intel paired their little aluminum heatsink with this CPU you would have been more satisfied with this product?
I've never heard of this silicon lottery place before. That's neat stuff. -
-Fran- I'm going to be unfair, but not too much:Reply
- We doing something for the 40th anniversary? -> Yes.
- What do we sell for the 40th anniversary? -> A re-branded 8700K.
- What do we include to make it more expensive? -> A letter from the CEO we most definitely won't be firing in the upcoming weeks! And a weird bottle with coffee beans in it (it seems?).
- Do we bother in making it special (metal solder, bundled CLC, etc...) or just pick a couple golden sample 8700Ks? -> Don't bother, shrinks our profit; we don't care about the anniversary or making this special, really.
Too much cynical thought process there?
Cheers! :P -
PaulAlcorn 21093123 said:Cons:
-No bundled cooler
You're saying that if Intel paired their little aluminum heatsink with this CPU you would have been more satisfied with this product?
I've never heard of this silicon lottery place before. That's neat stuff.
Touché
;)
-
ingtar33 so Intel releases 8000 binned cpus for a $100 markup over their basic cpu, plus some crap, however, this release is by lottery only (as in only the lotto winners have permission to buy this chip), and THG does a review?Reply
seriously? -
mister g " But if you go the Silicon Lottery route, expect to pay even more than a brand new Core i7-8086K costs and lose two years of warranty coverage."Reply
I thought Intel CPUs usually come with a 3 year warranty? -
Math Geek 21093328 said:this release is by lottery only (as in only the lotto winners have permission to buy this chip), and THG does a review?
seriously?
think you missed how it went. they did a drawing to give away a bunch of these chips but they also made the rest available for purchase through the normal routs. no lottery there, just have to be quick on the draw and buy one before they sell out. Tom's bought thier's the same way any of us could have since intel did not send out press samples of it. it's a valid product for sale like any other they review. -
g-unit1111 21093123 said:Cons:
-No bundled cooler
You're saying that if Intel paired their little aluminum heatsink with this CPU you would have been more satisfied with this product?
I've never heard of this silicon lottery place before. That's neat stuff.
Yeah I noticed that too. Intel hasn't been bundling coolers with its' high end CPUs since the X79 days. I honestly wouldn't count this as a hit against it. -
Krazie_Ivan and lets check in with Paul on those 8086k temps...Reply
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