Intel Haswell Core i5-4670K & Core i7-4770K Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅01-06-13
Conclusion

Intel Haswell has been a hot topic for a considerable amount of time. Even before Ivy Bridge had even hit the shelves troops of enthusiasts were speculating about what could be, but some 12 months since Intel’s 3rd generation processor launch we are once again with the biggest name in the industry for that much anticipated showdown. So what do we think of Intel Haswell now that it is finally here?

With Haswell a new socket is required – this will probably exasperate some, especially if they have only just moved to Intel Z77. But with this new LGA 1150 socket, there is still compatibility with LGA115X CPU coolers and of course dual DDR3 memory kits which should help lower the cost for those wanting to jump ship.

In our benchmarks we examined the unlocked Core i5 and Core i7 flagships – 4670K and 4770K. Both chips revealed significant gains in most of the tests we conducted, demonstrating prowess and reasons to justify upgrading from previous generations. The 4770K in particular pushes the boundaries in a range of scenarios stretching from video encoding to multi-tasking.


Hardcore enthusiasts have had their qualms since the early days of Sandy Bridge in regards to overclocking due to BLCK being restricted. Up until now in order to indulge in more flexibility users had to invest in Intel’s premium SandyBridge-E platform. But fear not, Intel have brought back BCLK adjustments to Haswell and those who once complained that the “fun” had been taken out of overclocking are now silenced. Both the 4670K and 4770K overclocked well in our experience, the 4670K did struggle a little though and required more voltage but we know of others who have had better success. Nevertheless, our 4770K needed very little encouragement to reach the delights of 4.7GHz and we are certain that there will be other chips that will surface in the near future that can attain unto that 5GHz milestone without too much hassle. One thing to mention regarding Haswell is that it requires less voltage to gain good results for overclocking but voltage increase pushes temperatures up much higher than Ivy Bridge.

Compared to the Ivy Bridge launch prices, Haswell has been nudged up ever so slightly. The 4670K should retail for approx.. £199.99 and the 4770K £285.99. The step up in performance is significant in some areas but in others only marginal so in terms of value it’s quite a tricky one. There are definitely a number of key advantages to moving from Ivy Bridge to Haswell, but there are also reasons to resist an upgrade.

Intel’s Haswell Core i5-4670K and Core i7-4770K offer a generous boost in performance over the previous generation of processors in some arenas and we are pleased to see that overclocking is both effective and allows BLCK modifications. Upgrading from Ivy Bridge will be a costly pursuit with a new chip plus motherboard chipset being mandatory and its understandable that for some the performance leap won't be as they expected. Nevertheless, we are pleased to hand out our Silver award to the Core i5-4670K and Gold award to i7-4770K
Pros
+ Good performance increase for different uses
+ Overclocking is easy and effective
+ Overclocking is flexible – BCLK adjustments
+ Overclocking realises significant performance improvements
+ Requires less voltage to overclock
+ Better heat dissipation compared to IVB at stock

Cons
- New socket/motherboard required
- Perhaps not the leap some were hoping for
- Gets hot with small voltage increases
- IGP FPS performance inferior to IVB





Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.


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