Core i5-4690K vs Core i7-3770K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the Core i5-4690K scores 20 and the Core i7-3770K scores 19, about 5% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The Core i5-4690K has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i7-3770K has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.9 GHz and 3.9 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Core i5-4690K uses the LGA1150 socket and the Core i7-3770K 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 88 W for the first and 77 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i5-4690K cost $242 and the Core i7-3770K $332, which gives 8.3 and 5.7 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 i5-4690K can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 2060 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i7-3770K reaches the GeForce RTX 3050. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i5-4690K if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i7-3770K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.