Intel Core i7-4790K
Specifications, where the Core i7-4790K sits for gaming, the graphics card worth pairing with it, and the frame rate the pair returns at every resolution.
Radeon RX 6950 XT
The Core i7-4790K and the Radeon RX 6950 XT return about 77 fps on High at 1440p with neither part wasting the other. A card slower than the Radeon RX 6950 XT wastes the Core i7-4790K, and a faster one runs straight into it.
Check current priceon Amazon See the full bottleneck result for this pairCore i7-4790K specifications
| Manufacturer | Intel |
| Released | 2014 |
| Cores and threads | 4 cores, 8 threads |
| Boost clock | 4.4 GHz |
| TDP | 88 W |
| Gaming performance index | 52.0 (Ryzen 7 9800X3D = 100) |
| Multithread index | 34.0 |
What these numbers mean for the Core i7-4790K
On our index the Core i7-4790K scores 52.0, which places it 73rd of the 83 processors we track and puts it faster than roughly 12% of them.
The Core i7-4790K and the Core i5-7600K land on exactly the same index score of 52.0, so on raw throughput the two are interchangeable and the choice between them comes down to memory, power draw and price on the day.
The Core i7-4790K is tuned for games rather than throughput, scoring 52.0 for games against 34.0 for multithread work, and that shape is the signature of a part built around cache and per core speed at 4.4 GHz rather than around core count, which is what game engines actually use.
The Core i7-4790K has 4 cores and 8 threads, which is below where modern titles are comfortable: several recent games run badly on 4 cores regardless of a 4.4 GHz boost clock, so this is a chip to pair modestly and plan to replace rather than build around.
A 2014 part, so the platform around the Core i7-4790K matters as much as the chip: expect PCIe 3.0, slower memory support and no upgrade path left on that socket after 12 years. Those cost a few percent on top of whatever its 52.0 index says.
Core i7-4790K frame rate at each resolution
The Core i7-4790K paired with the Radeon RX 6950 XT on the High preset with 16 GB of system memory. The processor is the limit at all three resolutions here, so the Core i7-4790K only drops 49% from 89 fps to 45 fps across them and keeps capacity it is never asked for.
| Resolution | Estimated fps | Limited by |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p (1920 x 1080) | 89 fps | CPU |
| 1440p (2560 x 1440) | 77 fps | Balanced |
| 4K (3840 x 2160) | 45 fps | Balanced |
How the Core i7-4790K compares
6 processors sit within 30% of the Core i7-4790K on our gaming index, running from the Core i5-10600K at +29% to the Ryzen 9 3900X at +19%, a window narrow enough that price, memory and power decide it rather than raw speed.
What to pair with the Core i7-4790K, and when to upgrade
Best GPU for the Core i7-4790K
When the Core i7-4790K becomes the limit, the Ryzen 5 5600 is the next step worth paying for: 70.0 on our index against 52.0, a jump of 35%, which is roughly where an upgrade stops being something you have to look at a counter to notice. See its specs.
Check the Core i7-4790K against your own parts
Core i7-4790K specifications on this page are from Intel, while its gaming index of 52.0 is modelled from published benchmark data for the Core i7-4790K rather than measured on a test bench, and every frame rate above follows from that figure. How we calculate this