Core i3-7300 vs Core i7-4790

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i3-7300 scores 21.8 and the Core i7-4790 scores 21, about 4% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i3-7300 has 2 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i7-4790 has 4 cores and 8 threads. The extra cores of the Core i7-4790 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 3.8 GHz and 4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i3-7300 uses the LGA1151 socket and the Core i7-4790 uses LGA1150, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 51 W for the first and 84 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

We do not have launch prices for both chips, so we cannot compare value.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the Core i3-7300 can feed a card up to the Arc A580 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i7-4790 reaches the Radeon RX 5600 XT. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i3-7300 if you want the faster gaming chip. Choose the Core i7-4790 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.