Core i5-7600K vs Core i7-6700K

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Core i5-7600K and the Core i7-6700K are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Core i5-7600K has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i7-6700K has 4 cores and 8 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 4.2 GHz and 4.2 GHz.

Platform, power and price

Both chips use the LGA1151 socket, so they fit the same motherboards. You can swap one for the other without changing the board.

Rated power is 91 W for the first and 91 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Core i5-7600K cost $242 and the Core i7-6700K $350, which gives 11.6 and 8.0 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 i5-7600K can feed a card up to the GeForce RTX 5050 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i7-6700K reaches the GeForce RTX 5050. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Core i5-7600K if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i7-6700K if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.