Intel Core i5-7600K Kaby Lake Processor Review

Introduction

Intel’s Core i5 processors have been widely used by PC gamers because engines didn’t really take advantage of the additional threads. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to select the significantly cheaper CPU and put the extra money towards a more powerful graphics card. In recent years, game engines have begun to use more than four cores in a proficient manner, but it’s still not widespread. Unless you’re interested in streaming, video transcoding or other tasks, the i5 variant is always a solid investment. The Skylake-based i5-6600K is a superb CPU for gaming and employs a 3.5GHz base frequency and 3.9GHz Turbo. Sadly, the product’s value proposition wasn’t the same as the Haswell i5 and often hovered around the £190-220 mark. Whether or not this price is warranted remains to be seen, especially since the i7-4790K could be procured for £249.99.

As you might expect. Intel has decided to introduce a new range of processors which replace the existing Skylake models. The i5-7600K isn’t a huge departure from the i5-6600K and has the same TDP, level 3 cache, 4-core/4-thread configuration and relies on the LGA1151 socket. This time, the base frequency has gone up by 100MHz while the Turbo boosts to 4.2GHz. Additionally, the official memory support is DDR4-2400 although this isn’t really noteworthy because memory kits tend to utilise higher XMP profiles. The i5-7600K incorporates Intel’s HD Graphics 630 and I’m interested to see how it compares to the HD Graphics 530. Judging by the similar specification, I doubt the performance increase will be enough to make those with a current i5 model upgrade in a hurry.

Specification

What’s New?

The Kaby Lake microarchitecture is based on a 14nm+ manufacturing process and employs a few tweaks to achieve higher frequencies compared to Skylake. In particular, the improved fin profile, transistor channel strain and integrated design contribute towards the enhanced stability. Unfortunately, Intel hasn’t continued with their Tick-Tock policy for the time being which means there’s no IPC changes or die shrink.

Also, Kaby Lake is the first processor series to natively support Intel’s Optane technology which is a revolutionary form of non-volatile, affordable, high-density memory with speeds up to 1000 times faster than traditional NAND. Additionally, the company’s 3D XPoint offers a staggering 10 times the capacity of DRAM with the same surface area while exhibiting much lower latency. Even more impressive, the non-volatile memory can recover lost data during power outages and protects your sensitive data. The Optane technology design is based on submicroscopic layers of materials which are sliced into columns and contain memory cells. These layers attach via a cross point structure of perpendicular wires.

Intel decided to vastly improve Kaby Lake’s video capabilities and make the range more suitable for 4K content. The 7th generation processors support HDCP 2.2, Microsoft PlayReady 3.0, VP decoding and 4K HEVC 10-bit decode/encode. Of course, the 1080p HEVC decode/encode carries forward from Skylake. While this is a welcome bonus, it’s not something that’s going to cause major excitement in the desktop market.

DISCLAIMER: This is a retail CPU that was not provided or supplied by Intel Corporation. Therefore, as we have no NDA with Intel, we are available to publish any content we see fitting.

Test System and Methods

Here is the full range of test systems used for CPU and APU reviews:

Test System

Z87

• Motherboard – ASUS Maximus VII Ranger
• RAM – 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport XT (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866MHz (10-10-10-30)
• CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme
• Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti
• Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt
• Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB
• Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench
• Displays – U2868PQU 4K
• Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

Z170

• Motherboard – ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
• RAM – Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2x8GB) 2666MHz (16-17-17)
• CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme
• Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti
• Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt
• Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB
• Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench
• Displays – U2868PQU 4K
• Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

Z270

• Motherboard – Combination used to determine widespread performance
• RAM – Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB (2x8GB) 2666MHz (16-17-17)
• CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme
• Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti
• Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt
• Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB
• Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench
• Displays – U2868PQU 4K
• Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

X99

• Motherboard – ASUS ROG STRIX X99 GAMING
• RAM – 32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport (4x8GB) 2400MHz (16-16-16-39)
• CPU Cooler – Thermaltake Water 3.0 with Gelid GC-Extreme
• Graphics Card – Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980Ti
• Power Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 Watt
• Main Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GB
• Chassis – Lian Li T80 Test Bench
• Displays – U2868PQU 4K
• Operating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

Games Used

• Ashes of the Singularity (DirectX 12)
• Dirt Rally
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (DirectX 12)
• Shadow of Mordor
• Tomb Raider

Test Software

• 3DMark – available here
• AIDA64 Engineer – available here
• Cinebench – available here
• CPUID HWMonitor – available here
• CPU-Z – available here
• Handbrake – available here
• Prime95 – available here
• WinRAR – available here
• WPrime – available here

Test Procedure 

Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose key information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their own hardware. When it comes to CPU reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Please note, we prefer to re-test each CPU within a product’s performance range to ensure the results are completely accurate and reflect any changes to our samples over time or enhancements via graphics drivers.

This means we now include fewer results, but they are more accurate and easier to decipher. As always, your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery and other factors can yield different numbers and there’s always a margin for error when using software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Saying that, each benchmark is run at least three times and the average figure is taken to try to reduce the effect of hardware variation. Any important details regarding the benchmarks will be listed below.

Handbrake

To stress processors to their absolute limit and accurately judge performance in video editing workloads, we transcode a 7.7GB compilation of gaming footage. This particular file is freely available from here. The captured footage is 22 minutes and 12 seconds long, has a bit rate of 50.1 Mbps and uses the Advanced Video Codec. Additionally, the video runs at a constant 30 frames-per-second and opts for a 3820×2140 (4K) resolution. Once loaded into Handbrake, we transcode the 4K MP4 to a 1080p MKV file.

CPU Benchmarks – Ashes of the Singularity, Cinebench, Handbrake, WPrime and WinRAR

Ashes of the Singularity

Before I get into the benchmarks, it’s important to clarify that I’ve not been provided with a previous generation i5-6600K and this doesn’t look like changing anytime soon. While this isn’t ideal for a comparative purpose, it’s what I had at my disposal. Ashes of the Singularity’s CPU benchmark is extremely demanding and takes full advantage of higher-core CPUs. Despite the lack of hyperthreading, the i7-7600K at default values was able to record a commendable result and just edge the i7-4770K. Once overclocked, the performance increases by a good amount but it’s not enough to make up for the basic 4-core/4-thread arrangement.

Cinebench R15

In Cinebench R15, the i5-7600K achieves a commendable multi-threaded result but it’s some way behind the i7-7700K. On a more positive note, the single-threaded performance is good and akin to the i7-6700K. Once overclocked to a hefty 5.1GHz, the processor’s single-threaded performance isn’t too adrift of the i7-7700K and the multi-threaded score closes the gap to the i7-6700K.

Handbrake

The i5-7600K isn’t really tailored towards video workloads and lingers behind other higher-end CPUs from recent years. Saying that, the conversion is completed in a reasonable time and you could probably use the CPU for video tasks providing it’s not on a regular basis. After the overclock was applied, the i5-7600K obtained a much better FPS score and even finished ahead of an i7-4770K running at 4.8GHz. This is a major feat and it’s interesting to see such a huge performance gain via overclocking.

WPrime

The i5-7600K at stock settings isn’t able to contend with the i7-4770K and suffers quite badly due to the lack of hyperthreading. To be fair, it’s still a great result for a 4-core/4-thread CPU and the higher Turbo frequency undoubtedly gives it a performance boost over its predecessor. Overclocking the CPU to 5.1GHz brings it ahead of the i7-4770K and much closer to the i7-6700K.

WinRAR

The i5-7600K is much slower than even the i7-4770K when dealing with WinRAR compression and the situation doesn’t improve at 5.1GHz. This is somewhat surprisingly and I would have expected the CPU exhibit a more substantial performance improvement after overclocking. Rest assured, I ran the benchmarks multiple times and experienced a similar situation.

Memory Benchmarks – AIDA64

Memory Bandwidth

In terms of memory bandwidth, the i5-7600K achieves excellent read, write and copy rates. The figures are similar to the i7-6700K and i7-7700K due to the dual-channel configuration and identical memory speed.

Memory Latency

Even though the i7-7700K’s memory latency is lower than the i5-7600K, the difference remains relatively slim and shouldn’t be noticeable outside of synthetic benchmarking. Honestly, the 57 nanoseconds result is more than acceptable and identical to the i7-6700K.

Discrete GPU Benchmarks

3DMark

The 3DMark application tends to throw up a larger variation than most games and favours more powerful processors. Clearly, the i5-7600K’s 4-thread setup inhibits the performance somewhat and falls behind the i7-4770K. Once overclocked, the CPU fares much better and even manages to surpass the 6-core i7-5820K.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

During the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the i5-7600K performs brilliantly and almost matches the i7-7700K. Overclocking the CPU to 5.1GHz doesn’t dramatically change the frame-rate but it’s just enough to make it forge ahead of the i7-7700K running at stock parameters.

Shadow of Mordor

In Shadow of Mordor, the CPU manages a respectable result and competes rather nicely with i7-7700K. Once overclocked, the frame-rate barely improves but it’s still a solid showing nonetheless. I’m not entirely sure why the i7-7700K at 5.1GHz has such a lead but it’s probably down to the margin of error when dealing with an extremely high frame-rate.

IGPU, IGPU + GPU Benchmarks

Theoretically, Intel iGPUs can combine with a discrete graphics card to achieve better performance using the latest DirectX 12 API. Unfortunately, the parallel queues feature and cross adapter support is non-existent at the moment. I’m hoping development studios will acknowledge the performance benefits this can bring to the table and work on implementing the proper multi-adapter functionality. Sadly, even discrete dual-GPU scaling is dreadful in most DirectX 12 titles so this is something which could take some time to become widely adopted. Of course, you don’t have to use a discrete graphics card and it’s possible to rely on the iGPU. Intel’s HD Graphics 630 solution is better than the previous offering but it’s still underpowered.

3DMark

The i5-7600K’s iGPU records a relatively decent 3DMark Fire Strike score and enjoys a good lead over the i7-6700K. Overclocking the CPU doesn’t make a huge difference and I couldn’t find any settings to adjust the iGPU directly.

Dirt Rally

On a similar note, the i5-7600K can contend with Dirt Rally’s low preset and maintain a perfectly playable user experience. Actually, the graphics don’t look that bad and I could easily invest time on Dirt Rally using the iGPU without any problems.

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider on the lowest preset doesn’t look very appealing but this is needed due to the weak nature of integrated graphics options. Despite the atrocious visuals, the i5-7600K reported an excellent frame-rate and didn’t drop below the 40 mark. This is a good improvement over the previous generation i7-6700K and illustrates the steps forward Intel have made.

Overclocking

Overclocking

Overclocking the i5-7600K shouldn’t be a difficult task providing you employ a patient approach and gently find your chip’s maximum potential. Given the 5.1GHz figure I achieved on the i7-7700K, it wasn’t too bold to expect something similar or even greater. Please note, the overclocking was conducted on two samples to accurately gauge performance and find an indicator of the headroom you can expect. Initially, I managed to achieve 4.9GHz with a modest voltage setting of 1.335V before increasing the multiplier to x50. The 5.0GHz figure does need some extra voltage but it’s not a monumental amount and the average I experienced was 1.345v. After this was tested as completely stable, 5.1GHz became the next target but this does require a much larger voltage increase than the previous steps. Eventually, I settled on a 1.395V which deviates slightly due to load-line calibration.

Interestingly, the i5-7600K in both cases could reach 5.1GHz without surpassing the 1.4V mark. This is much better than the i7-7700K and ensured the temperatures were well within safe limits. In addition to multiplier overclock, I tried to enhance the 5.1GHz score with BCLK adjustments but this wouldn’t remain stable even though Kaby Lake isn’t restricted by pre-defined straps.

Power Consumption and Temperatures

Power Consumption

The i5-7600K hardly consumes any power in idle scenarios and the load rating hits an average of 126.3-watts. After the overclock was applied, the power draw remains under 150-watts which is pretty impressive given the 5.1GHz frequency.

Temperatures

Unlike the i7-7700K, the more budget-friendly version doesn’t get anywhere near the 90C mark and I didn’t detect any sudden thermal spikes on any of the cores. The 62C average is astounding and I had to double check the stress test a few times to make sure the software wasn’t misreading the thermal values. It seems the lack of hyperthreading and lower voltage results in more consistent temperatures which shouldn’t degrade the CPU’s lifespan.

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Intel hasn’t officially released any information regarding the i5-7600K’s launch price which means it’s difficult to analyse the product’s value. Saying that, I can speculate based on the company’s strategy, market trends and insider sources. Honestly, I wouldn’t be too surprised if the i5-7600K costs slightly more than the previous generation i5-6660K and received a price increase around 2-10%. The current value of Sterling might also be a contributing factor as well as retailers cashing in on the early rush. While it’s pure speculation, the i5-7600K’s pricing is unlikely to be dropped to combat AMD’s Zen architecture.

Some time ago, a European posting popped up which priced the i5-7600K at €301. If correct, that converts to £252.58, which is £22.59 more expensive than the current i5-6600K. Of course, this shouldn’t be considered as substantive evidence because it could simply be a placeholder and not reflect the chip’s retail price. On the other hand, it does appear really close to the range I expected which makes me think it’s genuine.

Overview

The Intel Core i5-7600K isn’t a revolutionary release and can only be described as a slightly overclocked version of the i5-6600K with enhanced media features. One the one hand, the i5-7600K offers superb single-threaded performance and it’s a fantastic CPU for games because hyperthreading rarely comes to play. However, this can also be said of the CPU’s predecessor which perfectly demonstrates the lack of real progress. Don’t get me wrong, the faster Turbo does provide a minor performance boost but you can achieve this on the Skylake-based i5-6600K with a minor overclock. Sadly, there are no IPC enhancements and comparing both chips at 4.2GHz, 4.3GHz and beyond yields almost identical results, barring a margin of error.

It’s not all negative though because Intel has incorporated the company’s Optane technology which is an affordable, non-volatile memory solution offering speeds up to 1000 times than NAND. Not only that, it can recover data during power outages and has the potential to dramatically improve both storage and memory performance. Of course, this might be some time off until manufacturers launch products which take full advantage of this technology. Intel also worked on the processor’s 4K media functionality and added support for 4K 10-bit HEVC encode/code and VP9 decode. Also, the product is suitable for Microsoft PlayReady 3.0 and supports HDCP 2.2. Essentially, you can view 4K Netflix streams on your PC although this will only be an option via the Edge browser.

Intel’s new iGPU is certainly a step in the right direction and appears to cope rather well with games at the lowest graphical details. Granted, it’s not powerful enough to reach 60 frames-per-second or rival a low-end discrete graphics card, but the performance is better than the HD Graphics 530. Kaby Lake appears to have some small power consumption improvements clock-for-clock which is another positive element.

In terms of overclocking, the i5-7600K is excellent and you should able be to achieve 4.8-4.9GHz with potent cooling hardware. Remarkably, I managed to keep 5.1GHz stable without setting the voltage above 1.4v. This is a vast improvement on the i7-7700K and contributed towards the more manageable temperatures. Speaking of thermals, the CPU runs extremely cool even when overclocked just like its predecessor. I’m not entirely certain, but I doubt the TIM has improved from Skylake.

To conclude, the i5-7600K is a stellar processor if you want to play the latest games and do light video work but it’s not the dramatic change enthusiasts hoped for. It’s very difficult to find reasons to purchase this model instead of the i5-6600K unless you care about the new media features or slightly higher Turbo frequency. Nevertheless, it’s a good processor for gaming and just about worthy of the Gamer’s Choice award because it offers a great experience while being cheaper than the i7 model.

Pros

• 5.1GHz is possible with less than 1.4V
• Excellent overclocking temperatures
• Good iGPU improvements over Skylake
• Great single-threaded performance
• HDCP 2.2 and Microsoft PlayReady 3.0 compliant
• Lower wattage than Skylake clock-for-clock
• Intel’s Optane technology is a revolution in waiting
• Supports 4K 10-bit HEVC encode/decode and VP9 decode

Cons

• Doesn’t try to end stagnation in the CPU sector
• Higher frequency results in an increased power draw over the i5-6600K
• Performance benefits come entirely from the new Turbo clock
• Poor reaction to Zen which provides no reasons at all to rush out and upgrade
• Zero IPC improvements

“The Intel Core i5-7600K is a great processor for gaming but it’s completely devoid of meaningful performance gains clock-for-clock. While the higher Turbo frequency is welcome, it’s easily achieved via overclocking on the i5-6600K. In simple terms, the i5-7600K is a major disappointment and only a good upgrade option if you’re current CPU isn’t cutting it anymore and you cannot wait to see if Zen can be a worthwhile alternative.”

Intel Core i5-7600K Kaby Lake Processor Review