i9 14900K Vs i7 13700KF: Should You Upgrade?

See full bio

Shehryar Khan

Senior Editor and Content Writer:

• Lead the comparison and blog writing teams at Tech4Gamers.
• Oversee teams with a keen eye for detail and precision.
• Ensure hands-on writing, with benchmarks and testing as guiding principles.
• Guarantee the delivery of the best possible results in concise yet impactful tech tales.

See full bio

Pros & Cons

Comparison Table

Architectural Difference

1. Process Node: Intel stuck with the same 10nm processing nodes for its 14th generation processors as it used in its 13th generation chips, meaning both processors of our comparison today have the same processing nodes.
2. Core Count: The Core i9 14900K has a significant advantage over its competitor in core count, with 8 performance and 16 efficiency cores. In contrast, the 13700KF has 8 performance and 8 efficiency cores. This brings the thread count of the 14900K to 32, while the i7 has 24 threads.
3. Clock Speed: The performance cores on the Core i9 have a base clock of 3.2GHz, with a boost of up to 6GHz, while the i7 has a frequency range of 3.4GHz to 5.4GHz.
4. L3 Cache: The i9 has a larger 36MB L3 cache, while the i7 is stuck with a slightly smaller 24MB cache.
5. Other Differences: There are no integrated graphics on the Core i7 13700KF, while the Core i9 14900K supports Intel’s UHD Graphics 770. Realistically, most people might not count this as a noticeable difference, but the graphics can be handy to use while your GPU is unavailable for whatever reason.

Diminishing returns have become a recurrent theme with every high-end tech release in recent memory. In the Core i9 14900K vs i7 13700KF comparison, we will see if the absolute highest-end processor is worth its increase in price over a midrange option.

Gaming Benchmarks – 1080p

To even out the playing field as much as possible, we have constructed a test bench that only leaves the CPU as the point of failure to let both chips spread their legs. The specifications of this test bench are written below:

Test Bench

• OS – Windows 11
• RAM – XPG Lancer RGB 32GB 7200MT/s DDR5
• Mobo – MSI MAG Z790 Tomohawk DDR5
• SSD – XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 2TB NVMe
• CPU Cooler – Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 – AIO Water Cooler
• PSU – ENERMAX REVOLUTION D.F. X 1050W
• GPU – Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC Edition

Baldur’s Gate 3

• Starting with Baldur’s Gate, our Core i9 14900KF was around 5% faster than the Core i7, with an average framerate of around 155 FPS instead of the 147 FPS of the lower-end processor.
• As for the 1% lows, the i9 had lows for around 132 FPS, while the 13700KF had a framerate of around 127 FPS.

Hogwarts Legacy

• The i9 had an average framerate of around 76 FPS, which was only a few frames off from the 73 FPS average of the Core i7.
• The 1% lows were quite slightly different between the two processors, with the i9 getting minimums of around 50 FPS while the Core i7 dipped to around 45 FPS.

Starfield

• Starfield demanded significant CPU power in our test of it, and the Core i9 shined through this challenge. It had an average framerate of 109 FPS, 13.5% higher than the 96 FPS average of the Core i7.
• The 1% lows bounced around 91 FPS on the 14900K, while the 13700KF hovered around 84 FPS in graphically demanding scenarios.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

• This game had a less noticeable impact going from the i7 to the i9. The newer chip had an average framerate of 169 FPS, while the Core i7 13700KF managed an average of 164 FPS. This made up a 3% advantage for the 14900K, but it was barely noticeable at these framerates.
• The 1% lows told a similar story, with the Core i9 14900K going down to around 142 FPS in hard-to-render scenes, while the Core i7 13700KF went down to around 137 FPS.

The Last Of Us Part 1

• Even with the resolution set to 1080p, The Last Of Us seemed to be GPU-limited in our testing, with small differences between our two processors. The 14900K had an average framerate of 182 FPS, while the Core i7 13700KF managed an average framerate of 177 FPS. The difference here approached 3% but was not noticeable because of the high framerates.
• The 1% lows of the i7 accumulated some noticeable differences. Its dips to 158 FPS made the game a bit choppy compared to the 168 FPS lows of the 14900K.

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

• In our Star Wars: Jedi Survivor test, the average framerates of both chips converged closely. The Core i9-14900K achieved a framerate of 163 FPS, while the 13700KF maintained an average of approximately 159 FPS. This resulted in a marginal 2.5% difference between them.
• The 1% lows of the Core i9 14900K came out to be around 150 FPS, while the 13700KF had lows closer to 147 FPS.

Spider-Man Remastered

• In Spider-Man Remastered, the 14900K achieved an average framerate of 156 FPS, surpassing the Core i7 13700KF, which maintained an average framerate of 145 FPS. This marked a difference of approximately 7.6% between the two processors.
• The 1% lows were around 128 FPS on the newer processor, while the 13th-gen chip had dipped to around 123 FPS, making the gameplay slightly more stuttery.

Watch Dogs: Legion

A Plague Tale: Requiem

• The performance gap between the two chips was practically negligible in A Plague Tale: Requiem. The Core i9 14900K achieved an average framerate of 150 FPS, while the Core i7 13700KF trailed slightly with an average of 148 FPS, resulting in a minimal difference of around 1.35%.
• The 1% lows brought a bit more diversity, with the 14900K going down to around 137 FPS, while the 13th-gen processor managed dips to around 133 FPS.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

• Finally, the last game of our testing showed the Core i9 14900K to have a lead of 4.2% over the 13700KF, with an average framerate of 197 FPS against the 189 FPS of its competitor.
• The 1% lows of the 14900K were around 164 FPS in this game, significantly higher than the 148 FPS minimums of the Core i7 13700KF.

Overall Gaming Performance

Average Framerate

There was only a 4.5% difference between the performance of these chips on average, with the i9 getting an overall average framerate of 153 FPS, while the 13700KF had an average of 146 FPS. For most people, this difference will go largely unnoticed, especially if you are playing at a higher resolution.

1% Lows

The minimum framerates of these chips had a slightly larger delta, with the 14900K giving a 5.5% higher framerate at around 128 FPS, while the 13700KF had lows at around 122 FPS on average.

Overall, gaming performance is not very different between these two processors. In some performance scenarios, you might find the i9 significantly more powerful than the i7, but our tests conclude that the difference in gaming is rather unnoticeable.

Winner: Intel's Core i9 14900K

Editor`s Note

The extra cores of the Core i9 14900K do not perform great in gaming workloads, but productivity is another story. The new i9 performs around 35% better in the Cinebench 2024 multicore test, which is something to keep in mind if you intend to use these processors for anything more than gaming.

– Shehryar Khan

Gaming Power Consumption

Our measurements of the total system power draw using both processors show a difference of 9.2% between the power consumption of these two CPUs, making the Core i9 14900K less power-efficient than the chip from the last generation. This is a disappointment as the power efficiency of Intel chips has not improved for the last few generations.

Price And Value

In our opinion, the price of both processors, both the one at launch and what you can currently get it for, is rather steep. There has been a price cut to the 14900K since its launch, but its price-to-performance ratio is still bad, considering only gaming workloads.

Our search of the internet came up with the 13700KF’s price falling only slightly lower than what it was being sold at launch, which is also a disappointment.

Core i9 14900K Vs i7 13700KF: What We Recommend

Core i9 14900K: Intel’s newest high-end processor has some benefits and some weaknesses. It possesses much power for CPU-demanding professional workloads, but gaming is not its strong suit.

Getting this chip to play games does not make sense for most people unless you want as much power as possible, and price is not a problem. The high price and its minimal performance improvements over the last generation force us to recommend people avoid this processor.

Core i7 13700KF: Despite the relatively high price of this processor compared to its launch MSRP, the Core i7 13700KF does give you more bang for your buck for gaming scenarios. You’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference between this processor and its competitor at resolutions higher than 1080p, so we recommend the 13700KF over the 14900K.

The most noticeable pitfall you might encounter with the 13700KF processor is its lack of integrated graphics, which should not be an issue if you have a reliable graphics card. To cap this comparison off, the Core i9 14900K certainly provides more power than the Core i7 13700KF, but its much higher price tag undercuts its advantages.

More From Core i9 14900K

• Core i9-14900K Vs Ryzen 7 5800X3D
• i9 14900K Vs i7 14700KF
• Core i9-14900k Vs Ryzen 9 7950X

Shehryar Khan

[Comparisons Expert]

Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.

Get In Touch: shehryar@tech4gamers.com