The Intel Core i7-7700K (91W) Review: The New Out-of-the-box Performance Champion
by Ian Cutress on January 3, 2017 12:02 PM ESTGRID Autosport
No graphics tests are complete without some input from Codemasters and the EGO engine, which means for this round of testing we point towards GRID: Autosport, the next iteration in the GRID and racing genre. As with our previous racing testing, each update to the engine aims to add in effects, reflections, detail and realism, with Codemasters making ‘authenticity’ a main focal point for this version.
GRID’s benchmark mode is very flexible, and as a result we created a test race using a shortened version of the Red Bull Ring with twelve cars doing two laps. The car is focus starts last and is quite fast, but usually finishes second or third. For low-end graphics we test at 1080p medium settings, whereas mid and high-end graphics get the full 1080p maximum. Both the average and minimum frame rates are recorded.
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Jason335 - Saturday, January 7, 2017 - link
I'm really looking forward to this: "Calculating Generational IPC Changes from Sandy Bridge to Kaby Lake". I'm still running an i5-2500k clocked to 4.3ghz. I'd like to know what performance I'm leaving on the table, in addition to new tech like USB3.1, PCIe3.0, NVME, etc etc etc.cheshirster - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link
Windows 7 and old games.These tests start to look outdated.
HerrKaLeun - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link
to all the people whining about the relatively small increase in performance: this is expected with an interim upgrade. Intel never promised more. Intel (or AMD) doesn't owe you anything. If you think you can make better CPUs and upgrade faster, just make them. no one stops you from creating a startup and make your own CPUs :-)no one in his or her right mind would buy the same CPU (i.e. going from 6700 to 7700) and expect a huge increase. This has been a known fact for years that upgrading is worthwhile after a few years.
I just installed an i7 7700K in my rig (it replaces an i36600) and the bump is huge. At given handbrake settings I now can encode 3 instances of videos and each video takes 2-3 hours while with the i3 a single instance took 12-16 hours (i use slowest speeds to get the smallest and best video file and quality). To me the upgrade was worth the money (obviously going from i3 to i7 is noticeable when using multi-threaded apps).
I was contemplating of getting the i5K for $100 less, but decided more threads, more cache and more clock is great.
BTW, even when using all cores clock is at 4.33 GHz consistently, not the 4.2 GHz i though if it uses all cores. It jumps to 4.37 every once a while while working on the 3 Handbrake instances. Most reviews measure single apps, but in real life you use the PC while it works. Just using browser, watching web videos etc. adds more load that is not reflected in benchmarks. the added power really is good. With the i3 chrome or my game sometimes took 20-30% of my CPU, which slowed Handbrake noticeably down. Now those apps use not more than 5% if at all. So in real life the HT seems to help more.
this review was great, like most of Anand's. Ian does a really great job. To all the people complaining about the article:
- it was free to read
- no one forced you to read it
- you could apply to become a writer and write better articles. but soemhow it seems easier to just complain....
HerrKaLeun - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link
this needs an edit function: I do not OC (only have an H170 board). above clock speed is out of the box.coachingjoy - Monday, January 9, 2017 - link
Thanks for the work.Helps with buying decisions.
ewags - Friday, January 13, 2017 - link
Great review, I will need to see if I can get my CPU over 5.2ghz Stable with a few tweaks that you did.Infkos - Saturday, January 14, 2017 - link
no one talks about temps problems with 7700K, only works on water coolingfanofanand - Thursday, January 26, 2017 - link
'only works on water cooling"GTFO troll.
theVatansever - Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - link
I think i'm the lucky one,,,without AVX offset, i'm perfectly stable at 4 cores @5000mhz @1,34V ....1.5hrs of prime95 torture test without any issue, max temp seen is 81C with liquid cooler.(average temps are around 72C)hapkiman - Saturday, January 21, 2017 - link
After an opportunity dropped in my lap to get this processor for next to nothing, I got it and installed it on an MSI Z170A mobo (after a BIOS update). I'm very impressed. This is a nice processor, and an outstanding overclocker. Without even touching the voltage, I went to 4.8GHz without a sweat. With tasking and voltage adjustment, I see 5GHz is attainable. Maybe this is the new Sandy Bridge? My 6700k could not even maintain a stable 4.7GHz.