Processors/Comparison
15 specifications
Intel Core i5-6600K 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.
Intel Core i5-6600K
Intel · Core 6th generation · Desktop
Intel Core i7-4770K
Intel · Core 4th generation · Desktop
Cores and clocks
Cache and power
Platform
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.
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
The Core i5-6600K is rated at 91 W against 84 W. The rating is the heat the cooler has to move for the chip to hold its speed, and modern chips draw well above it in short bursts. A competent tower cooler suits the Core i5-6600K; the Core i7-4770K is easier to keep quiet and fits smaller cases. A chip whose cooling falls short does not fail. It slows down, and it does so after the first minute, which is why short benchmarks miss it.
Platform
They use different sockets, FCLGA1151 and FCLGA1150, so moving from one to the other means a new motherboard. For an upgrade, that cost belongs in the comparison; for a new build, the newer platform is the one with later chips still to come.
Manufacturing process
The Core i5-6600K is built on a 14 nm process against 22 nm. A finer process generally does the same work for less power. The names are marketing labels rather than measurements, though, and they are not comparable between manufacturers, so treat the row as a sign of how recent the design is and no more.
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.
- A quiet or compact build
- Core i7-4770K
- 84 W against 91 W: less heat to move, so a smaller cooler and slower fans.
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.
Questions
- Is the Core i5-6600K better than the Core i7-4770K?
- By need, on the specifications: rendering, compiling, video export: the Core i7-4770K; a quiet or compact build: the Core i7-4770K. 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 i5-6600K and the Core i7-4770K use the same socket?
- No. The Core i5-6600K uses FCLGA1151 and the Core i7-4770K uses FCLGA1150, so switching means a new motherboard.
- Does the Core i5-6600K or the Core i7-4770K have integrated graphics?
- Both do: Intel HD Graphics 530 on the Core i5-6600K and Intel HD Graphics 4600 on the Core i7-4770K.
- Which runs hotter, the Core i5-6600K or the Core i7-4770K?
- The Core i5-6600K is rated at 91 W against 84 W, so it produces more heat under load and needs the larger cooler. How hot either one actually runs depends on the cooler and the case more than on the chip.
More comparisons
- Intel Core i5-6600K vs Intel Core i5-4690
- Intel Core i5-6600K vs Intel Core i5-6600
- Intel Core i5-6600K vs AMD FX-4100
- Intel Core i5-6600K vs Intel Core i7-4770
- Intel Core i5-6600K vs AMD A8-6600K with Radeon HD 8570D
- Intel Core i7-4770K vs Intel Core i7-4770
- Intel Core i7-4770K vs AMD A8-6600K with Radeon HD 8570D
- Intel Core i7-4770K vs AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
- Intel Core i7-4770K vs Intel Core i5-4690
- Intel Core i7-4770K vs Intel Core i5-6600
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.