Core i5-4590 vs Core i7-2600K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i5-4590 scores 18 and the Core i7-2600K scores 17, about 6% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i5-4590 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i7-2600K has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.7 GHz and 3.8 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i5-4590 uses the LGA1150 socket and the Core i7-2600K uses LGA1155, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 84 W for the first and 95 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i5-4590 cost $192 and the Core i7-2600K $317, which gives 9.4 and 5.4 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

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

At 1080p the Core i5-4590 can feed a card up to the GeForce GTX 1070 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i7-2600K reaches the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB. If you plan to buy a fast graphics card, that gap is the real difference between these two.

Choose the Core i5-4590 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i7-2600K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.