Intel Core i7-4790K vs Intel Core i7-12700K. Specifications, performance, tests

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

• Segment
  Desktop / Server Desktop / Server
• Family
  Intel Core i7 Intel Core i7
• Generation
  4 12
• CPU group
  Intel Core i 4000 Intel Core i 12000
• Predecessor
  -- Intel Core i7-11700K

Basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base and turbo frequency, and cache size. These parameters indirectly tell about the speed of the processor, the higher they are the better.

• Frequency
  4.00 GHz 3.60 GHz
• CPU Cores
  4 12
• Turbo (1 Core)
  4.40 GHz 5.00 GHz
• CPU Threads
  8 20
• Hyperthreading
  Yes Yes
• Overclocking
  Yes Yes
• Core architecture
  normal hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A core
  -- 8x Golden Cove
• B core
  -- 4x Gracemont

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

• GPU name
  Intel HD Graphics 4600 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S)
• GPU frequency
  0.35 GHz 0.40 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  1.25 GHz 1.45 GHz
• Execution units
  20 32
• Shader
  160 256
• Max. GPU Memory
  2 GB 16 GB
• Max. displays
  3 4
• Generation
  7.5 12
• DirectX Version
  11.1 12
• Technology
  22 nm 10 nm
• Release date
  Q2/2013 Q4/2021

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  No Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No Decode / Encode
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  No Decode / Encode
• VP8
  No Decode
• AV1
  No Decode
• AVC
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode Decode / Encode

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Core i7-4790K. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

• Memory type
  DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
• Max. Memory
  32 GB 256 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 2
• PCIe version
  3.0 5.0
• PCIe lanes
  16 20

• AES-NI
  Yes Yes

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i7-4790K and Intel Core i7-12700K to select a cooling system. Note, the TDP value refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  88 W 125 W
• TDP (PL2)
  -- 228 W / 56 s
• Tjunction max.
  -- 100 °C

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i7-4790K and Intel Core i7-4790K, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
• ISA extensions
  SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
• L2-Cache
  -- 2.50 MB
• L3-Cache
  8.00 MB 25.00 MB
• Architecture
  Devils Canyon S Alder Lake S
• Technology
  22 nm 10 nm
• Socket
  LGA 1150 LGA 1700
• Release date
  Q2/2014 Q4/2021
• Part Number
  -- BX8071512700K