IntelCore i7-9700K Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 4.9 GHz Turbo unlocked LGA1151 300 Series 95W

I'm upgrading from a 4790k. If you own something from recent generations, then upgrading may be unnecessary (depending on your disposable income). I know the allure of owning the latest and greatest, of which this is for gaming.Previous build:cpu: 4790K @4.4GHzcooler: Cooler Master GeminII S524 Version 2mobo: MIS Z97 Gaming 7gpu: Asus ROG Strix OC 1080 Timemory: Corsair Vengeance 2 x 8 DDR3 1600MHzpsu: Corsair TX750Current build:cpu: 9700K @5.1GHzcooler: CORSAIR H100i PRO RGBmobo: Asus ROG Strix Z390-Igpu: Asus ROG Strix OC 1080 Timemory: Corsair Vengeance 2 x 16 DDR4 3200MHzpsu: Corsair HX850i9700K v 9900K:For gaming, the 9700K is ~$120-150 cheaper and you only lose a few frames and in some cases gain frames. The question of whether Hyper-threading is right for you is up to your application. Gaming benefits from clock speed over core count once a minimum core count is reached. I think the was Intel's rationale in offering the 9700K. It's a budget 8 core unlocked 9th gen cpu with no Hyper-threading.The 9900K is the obvious superior choice for multi-threaded operations and encoding. If you're looking for a powerful encoding cpu for broadcasting/recording, the 9900K will be a budget buy beating out the entry X-series HEDT chips by at least half the price.If you are looking for a high performance gaming cpu, this should be on your short list. Gaming benchmarks comparing the 9700K v 9900K show negligible differences. I'll leave the AMD debate/comparisons for others.I'll let the benchmarks I've attached speak for themselves, but here is the tldr.I overclocked to 5.1Ghz using XMP I, DDR4 3200MHz. I turned off Speedstep and Speed shift as this brought me more stability when playing games, specifically LoL.Idles at ~40 degrees @1.359-1.368v. Under load ~80 degrees @1.376-1.385v.I have included benchmark screen shots (each paired with the corresponding HWMonitor results) from CineBench, CPU-Z, 3DMark Time Spy Benchmark & Stress tests. I'm extremely happy with the performance of this processor. It runs warm, but an overclocker should be prepared for advanced cooling solutions.

I upgraded from the i5 9400F. I didn’t want to change my motherboard to accommodate the ene-of-the-line 10th generation intel processor. I change up every few years and I think it is more prudent to wait until the 10nm fabrication this time around.I bought the processor for gaming and VR. At first I was getting major loss in fps at 80-90 hz on a 165hz hertz monitor (HP Omen 27i IPS display, 1440 res., 165 hz). I have Noctua NH-U95 cooling it with one fan, which isn’t enough. It would exceed 75C without overclocking under full load. Once I added a second fan attached to the heatsink, and one above to vent of out the warm air, it never exceeds 60C and idles at 30C!Paired with a Strix overclocked gtx 2070 and having 32gb of DDR4 memory, I can play almost any PC game at full quality and all VR games. H-K: Alyx is pretty cranked up as far as quality and it runs smoothly. The 9400F was noticeably maxing out in performance. While the 9700K is only around 12-14% faster, it is enough headroom to smooth out performance in gaming. Everything also felt snappier as far as desktop usage. It should give me enough processing power until the next advances in transistor fabrication.This processor probably doesn't overclock well with the performance hit it takes at higher temperatures. Inadequately cooled, the CPU Benchmark was 89%. Once I increased the airflow, it came in at 100%. With my 9400F, the gaming PC score was around 90%. With the 9700K, I’m at 108%. Unless you’re gaming, the 9400F is more than adequate for most needs.

Such a great processor for the price, I bought this in 2020 and I’m still more than adequate in my FPS. I’ve had no issues with processing speed and I don’t plan to upgrade anytime soon. I use my desktop daily and I get the same performance as my buddy’s 2024 build.

My setup:Intel i7-9700K @ 5.0 GhzNoctua NH-U14S (2 fan)Asus ROG Maximus X Code - BIOS 1704Team Dark Pro 2x8 CL14 @ 3200 MhzEVGA RTX 2080 XC UltraEVGA Supernova 1000W GThere's little doubt in my mind this is the best gaming processor available for sale today. It's fast, reliable and cooler than the previous i7, also very easily overclockable.This processor is so fast for everyday use and gaming I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about it. Having upgraded from an old system, it feels so completely different I cannot recommend it enough, however the best things about it (for me) is its performance while gaming and its thermals.Paired with a RTX 2080 this processor is able to deliver a stable 120+ FPS on most titles I tested in a 2K resolution, multitasking is also incredibly fast, haven't noticed any influence at all on games even with open software in the background.I have it OC'ed with 1.3 Volts Vcore to 5.0Ghz and right now, no problems in any stress tests I tried and I've done absolutely zero tinkering yet, it worked right ou of the box. I'm using a Noctua NH-U14S aircooler with 2 fans and usual load temps (while gaming) are in the high 50s low 60s, on all my stress tests the highest temp I got was 85oC under heavy AVX load, which is unbelievably cool for the setup I think. The soldered IHS is perfect for those who (like me) are not comfortable with deliding their CPUs giving us way better results for zero hassle. I think it's important to say that I'm running it in a (high end) Z370 motherboard and it's working perfectly.

so got this about 3 years ago now thought i make a review on it so the i7-9700k is a great cpu i have not had problems with no overheating no problems i have built it a gigabyte z390 designer motherboard got a NZXT Kraken Elite 360mm for cooling and its still going strong i would recommend this cpu for beginners because its a budget friendly cpu.