15 specifications

Intel Core i5-4690 vs Intel Core i7-4770K

On paper, the Intel Core i7-4770K carries more L3 cache. Specifications describe what each chip is designed to do; how much of that either one holds under continuous load is a separate question.

10 specifications · 2 with a higher side

Full specifications

Intel Core i5-4690

Intel · Core 4th generation · Desktop

Full specifications

Intel Core i7-4770K

Intel · Core 4th generation · Desktop

Cores and clocks

Cores

Threads

Base clock

3.5 GHz

Boost clock

3.9 GHz

Cache and power

L3 cache

6 MB

8 MB

TDP

84 W

Platform

Socket

FCLGA1150

Process

22 nm

Integrated graphics

Intel HD Graphics 4600

Launched

Q2'14 (quarter)

Q2'13 (quarter)

A check marks the higher figure only on rows where higher is unambiguously better. Rows without one are not ties; they are specifications where “better” has no meaning.

Reading the table

What the difference means.

The same generation

Both are Core 4th generation parts, so their figures can be read against each other directly: the same kind of core, the same memory support, the same platform. The differences in the table are the whole difference.

Cores and threads

The Core i7-4770K has 4 cores and 8 threads against 4 and 4. More threads help with work that can be split into many pieces at once: rendering, compiling, video export, running several heavy programs together. They do little for work that runs on a few threads, which includes most games and most everyday software, where the speed of one core decides the result.

Cache

The Core i7-4770K carries 8 MB of L3 cache against 6 MB. Cache is fast memory on the chip, and a larger one means the cores wait on main memory less often. Games, large spreadsheets and compiling respond to it; rendering and video export, which stream through data in order, respond much less.

Power and cooling

Both are rated at 84 W, so they ask the same of a cooler and a power supply. The rating is the heat to be moved for the chip to hold its speed; both draw above it in short bursts, and either one slows down rather than fails when the cooling falls short.

Platform

Both use the FCLGA1150 socket, so one can replace the other on the same motherboard. Check the board maker's support list first: an older board often needs a firmware update before it recognises a newer chip.

Which to pick, on paper

Rendering, compiling, video export: Core i7-4770K; 8 threads against 4. Work that uses every thread scales with how many there are.
Upgrading without a new motherboard: Either; Same FCLGA1150 socket. Update the board's firmware before swapping.

What no table says

How much of its speed a processor keeps after the first minute depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in. If you own one of these, measure it: the test is free and runs in this browser.

Free CPU stress test

Questions

Is the Core i5-4690 better than the Core i7-4770K?: By need, on the specifications: rendering, compiling, video export: the Core i7-4770K; upgrading without a new motherboard: either. No specification says how much speed either one keeps under a long load; that depends on the cooling and the power limit of the machine it is in, and it is what a sustained test measures.
Do the Core i5-4690 and the Core i7-4770K use the same socket?: Yes, both use FCLGA1150, so either fits the other's motherboard. Check the board's support list and update its firmware first.
Does the Core i5-4690 or the Core i7-4770K have integrated graphics?: Both do: Intel HD Graphics 4600 on the Core i5-4690 and Intel HD Graphics 4600 on the Core i7-4770K.

More comparisons

Every figure on this table is a design target. None of it is a measurement.

Nothing above describes how a processor behaves twenty minutes into a sustained workload, which is where two chips with nearly identical specifications routinely diverge. A boost clock is a ceiling the vendor permits, not a rate the chip sustains, and whether it holds depends on the cooling, the case, the power profile and the room. None of those appear on a specification sheet.

We deliberately do not reduce these figures to a single score. A composite invented from specifications would look authoritative and measure nothing, and choosing the weights would be choosing the winner.

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