i7 4790K ES Review: mildly disappointing?

[TheFamilyMan 279]

First off, read all about it here:

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/70473-intel-core-i7-4790k-devils-canyon-22nm-haswell/

 

Highlights:

Base clock 4Ghz

Will work in Z87 mobos (firmware upgraded)

 

Lowlights:

Non-OC stress loads run at 88c

1.152v base voltage (VID?)

New TIM is NOT solder

OC ability is so weak they didn't bother with it

 

IMO:

Essentially a rebadged 4770K sporting a clock and voltage boost, and somewhat better packaging.

I was once excited, but considering my stock TIM 4770K runs stable at 4.5Ghz at 1.21v (HT on, 1.19v HT off) and stays under 90c with my air cooler, I doubt the 4790K is worth my while.  But for those yet upgrade (or have a really lousy 4770K), getting a 4790K is a no brainer.

 

BUT...this is an engineering sample (ES) so I can't say anything for certain.

[mike2060 4]

I think we have to wait until sites start reviewing the final product.

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

When I read that it would have a silicon-based TIM and not fluxless solder, I had the feeling that it wouldn't go well. This confirmed my fears.

 

I think that we should accept it now, as long as AMD keep being uncompetitive, Intel will keep crippling the consumer parts. If you want fluxless solder and all features enabled, you'll have to go with the enthusiast parts (Ivy Bridge-E or the upcoming Haswell-E).

 

Please AMD, make your 2015 architecture good.

[mike2060 4]

Devil's Canyon is supposed to be for enthusiasts.

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

Devil's Canyon is supposed to be for enthusiasts.

 

Not really, Devil's Canyon CPUs are the unlocked variants of Haswell Refresh. Like the 4770K and the 4670K, they're consumer models.

 

Haswell-E CPUs will be the enthusiast models, namely the 5820K, the 5930K and the 5960X.

[fullmetal02 23]

Sigh. I guess this isn't it. We need something clockable to 5.0 Ghz.

[kamaz74 81]

Sigh. I guess this isn't it. We need something clockable to 5.0 Ghz.

 

Yes, we do need that, but a stock 4Ghz chip capable of Turbo'ing to 4.4Ghz is a pretty big deal... seeing as clock speed matters more than just about anything else when it comes to the MSFS line. 

 

I am waiting for Broadwell, but this is great news to see clock speeds continuing to trend upwards. 

[CaptKornDog 281]

Non-OC temps at 88C???  Holy ****.  :huh: :blink: :wacko:

[z06z33 763]

Non-OC temps at 88C???  Holy ****.  :huh: :blink: :wacko:

I have a feeling thats with a crappy stock cooler a h110 would bring that down quite a bit

[westman 257]

Its to early to judge the 4790k on a ES sample ,wait to we get some more rewiews .

[Bionor 44]

http://www.hardware.no/artikler/her-kjorer-devil-s-canyon-pa-4-5-ghz-med-passiv-kjoling/160521

 

Sorry it's in norwegian, but it can be translated with Google Translate Web I guess:-)

 

4,5Ghz with passive cooling sounds very promising. I don't know if its worth upgrading from a 4770k, but for those like me who are sitting on a 3570k or so, it might be worth our while:-)

[Riche 5]

Doing a new build , so going to wait to see how these go .

What about the lapping thing. & changing the paste and using Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra

Seen others do this to there cpu,s

Riche

[levada 1]

Why, did you expect anything different? Did you really think that they would redesign the chip?

 

Disappointing? Only for overclockers, for anyone else it's quite an improvement going from 3.5Ghz to 4, that's about a 15% gain, even better for people like me who have skipped the 4770K.

 

And last.... you're making conclusion on a single site, based on a none-retail version of the CPU.

[ChaoticBeauty 6,692]

Why, did you expect anything different? Did you really think that they would redesign the chip?

 

Disappointing? Only for overclockers, for anyone else it's quite an improvement going from 3.5Ghz to 4, that's about a 15% gain, even better for people like me who have skipped the 4770K.

 

And last.... you're making conclusion on a single site, based on a none-retail version of the CPU.

 

The bad overclockability is the fault of the TIM, not the chip itself. If they used fluxless solder (as it was expected), it would overclock fine.

[martin-w 3,234]

But gentlemen... if it's still TIM, think what you can achieve if you delid it!!!!

 

New TIM is NOT solder

 

 

 

Don't forget, fluxless solder isn't truly "solder" either. It's a conductive epoxy... glue in other words. Better than TIM probably, but still just glue.