The Intel i7-8700K processor

The Intel Core i7 8700K we are testing is the new high-end model of the Coffee Lake generation and is the successor to the Core i7 7700K. The major difference is that the Core i7 8700K now has six cores instead of four compared to the i7 7700K and can handle twelve tasks (threads) simultaneously instead of eight thanks to hyperthreading. However, the underlying microarchitecture is largely the same as the Core i7 6700K (Skylake), i7 7700K (Kaby Lake) and i7 8700K (Coffee Lake).

The width of the 14-nanometer structure is also the same at first glance for all three generations, from Core i7 6700K to 8700K. Reducing the size of manufacturing structures is becoming increasingly difficult, so Intel turned its back on its “tick-tock” model, which has been in use for many years and in which each second generation of CPUs brought a new manufacturing process with smaller structures.

Instead, Intel now offers several generations of CPUs, each with the same structure width. However, according to Intel, the manufacturing process is improved with each generation until a new manufacturing process with even smaller frame widths is developed. As a result, Intel’s own manufacturing process designation is changing from 14nm for Skylake (Core i 6xxx) to 14nm+ for Kaby Lake (Core i 7xxx) and now to 14nm++ for Coffe Lake (Core i 8xxx). Each advancement is intended to offer higher clock speed with the same power consumption or lower power consumption with the same clock speed or a combination of both.

Core i7 8700K – Video Review

Core i7 8700K in detail

The Best Motherboard for i7 8700K has a slightly higher turbo clock speed of 4.7 GHz compared to the i7 7700K with 4.5 GHz under single-core load, but under all-core load it is just below the i7 7700K with 4.3 versus 4.4 GHz, but it has six instead of four cores. The guaranteed standard clock of 3.7 vs. 4.2 GHz is significantly lower than the 7700K and the TDP is up slightly from 91 to 95 watts, for two more cores, a good result, at least on paper, that speaks of notable improvements in the 14nm++ process over its predecessors.

Otherwise, improvements are limited. DDR4-2666 RAM is now officially supported instead of DDR4-2400 and the cache has been increased from 8.0 MByte to 12.0 MByte to accommodate the two additional cores. The 8700K is supposed to be more thoroughly overclockable than its predecessors, but still does not have a soldered heatsink like AMD’s Ryzen CPUs, but instead uses a heat-conductive paste between the CPU chip and the metal casing (heatsink) like all Intel CPUs.

The i7 8700K is priced higher than the i7 7700K. Intel’s stated US dollar price for the purchase of 1,000 units is $359, while the i7 7700K started with a price of $339 – the best motherboards for i7 8700k price is around $380, although this also depends on availability.

Coffee Lake processors may not be available in sufficient quantities until production can catch up with increased market demand.

Coffee Lake models and motherboards

In addition to the two i7 models, the mid-range i5 series models now have six cores instead of four as before, without virtual core doubling hyperthreading and with less cache memory compared to the i7 models. And i3 processors are finally being upgraded from two to four cores, so in the future dual-core processors will only be found in the absolutely low price segment, below $100.

Conclusion:

In our application and streaming benchmarks, the high-end 8700K Coffe-Lake already shows what is possible with a turbo clock under load on the six cores at 4.3 GHz : The best 8700k motherboard puts strong pressure on Ryzen 7 and its eight cores, and closes the performance gaps in the consumer segment for multimedia applications that have been brewing since its launch in spring.

Despite AMD’s competition, Intel is clinging to unremarkable virtues: once again, the processor chip is not soldered to the heatsink, and the Santa Clara processor maker is sticking to a simple heat-conducting paste as in Kaby Lake (X) and Skylake (X). A new motherboard is also needed, even though the socket is the same. And although the processor pin assignment changes with Coffee Lake, the motherboard power supply is optimized for six and possibly eight cores and Coffee Lake is prematurely booted by Ryzen, it leaves a somewhat stale aftertaste.

Test results

First place : MSI Enthusiast GAMING Intel 8G

MSI Enthusiast GAMING Intel 8G

The MSI Enthusiast GAMING motherboard

For

Very good performance with a very good power supply for the CPU

PCI Express 3.0 support in four PEG slots

Wide range of on-board sounds

A large number of on-board amenities

Cons

High power consumption

Restrictions prevent simultaneous use of all connections

Check price on Amazon

In detail

When Intel’s Coffee Lake S processors were released, MSI didn’t sleep either and designed a series of Z370 motherboards. One board in particular stands out because MSI engineers built non-ultra into the hardware. With the Z370 Godlike Gaming, MSI also wants to satisfy the absolute enthusiasts who want to convert to Coffee Lake-S. In our test, we will take a look at the MSI Z370 Godlike Gaming.

Despite the limited availability of Coffee Lake-S processors, MSI has put together a Z370 portfolio of 13 different cards for launch, most of which are even available. For this, MSI is again considering the Pro, Arsenal Gaming, Performance Gaming and Enthusiastic Gaming series. Although ATX models are in the majority, at least two Micro-ATX models and a Mini-ITX variant are offered. Finally, the only MSI Z370 motherboard with E-ATX dimensions is the Z370 Godlike Gaming.

And the equipment, as well as the relatively high price of about $443, is absolutely remarkable. The CPU power supply consists of 18 coils and should provide good performance for the Coffee Lake S CPU. In addition, there are four DDR4 DIMM memory banks, four mechanical PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. The storage area consists of 3+2 M.2 key interfaces, six SATA 6GBit/s and one U.2.

With three Gigabit LAN sockets as well as a WLAN-ac and Bluetooth module, the owner has many options. The audio section is also massively equipped with two audio codecs, various DACs, audio capacitors and amplifiers. And, of course, there are also USB interfaces of the current generation.

Apart from the mandatory accessories, such as the I/O panel, manual and stands, the Z370 Godlike Gaming comes with a lot of accessories, which is normal for the price of the card. So we find not only six SATA cables and a 2-Way-SLI-HB-Bridge, but also three temperature sensor cables, an RGB-LED-Y adapter cable and an MSI gaming sticker.

Of course, two antennas for the WLAN-ac module, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm jack adapter and stickers for the SATA cable are included. To extend the RGB LED lighting, MSI has included a 5050 LED strip with an extension cable.

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