Intel Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, Core i5-14600K Desktop CPU Review: More Performance, Same Price

Conclusion - A Good End For LGA 1700

The Intel 14th Gen CPUs mark the end of the LGA 1700 platform and I must say that it has been a really good run for the blue team. Introducing its first hybrid desktop design, offering a huge jump in core counts, ramping up the clock speeds, and offering a platform with a robust set of features.

With the Intel Raptor Lake Refresh lineup, Chipzilla offered one last push before its 2024 revamp which is still a year away from now. Setting things clear, the Intel Core i9-14900K & Core i5-14600K are pretty much the same stuff we saw with the Core i9-13900K & Core i5-13600K with an uplift of 2-3% that tops out around 5% in a few cases. These chips are slightly more power-hungry and run a tad bit hotter but the good part is that they are at least priced the same as the 13th Gen CPUs. This gives us three categories of buyers:

• First, we have the older 12th Gen CPU owners who will find a 14th Gen lineup to a good boost with 15-25% performance boosts over their older chips while keeping the same motherboard and memory.
• Secondly, we have new PC builders who were going to purchase a 13th Gen chip but now have the option to purchase a 14th Gen chip for the same price but with added performance.
• Thirdly, we have the overclocking enthusiast who will find the 14th Gen chips to offer better bins and support for higher memory overclocks.

The general and existing 13th Gen chip owners won't find a need to upgrade to the 14th Gen CPU lineup and it's better to wait for the next-gen for them. Also, while the prices of the 14th Gen CPUs are the same as the 13th Gen chips, do look out for 13th Gen discounts which should be available in the coming weeks as getting a 13900K or 13500K for $50 US less might be the best path to go.

Then we have the Intel Core i7-14700K which is a very strong chip with lots of performance at hand. This chip competes favorably against the Ryzen 9 7950X3D in multi-threaded workloads & is faster than the Ryzen 9 7900X/X3D CPUs too thanks to its extra E-Cores and higher clocks. This is one chip that even 13th Gen 13700K owners might find reasonable to upgrade to as it will make content and rendering tasks faster by over 10%. Gaming performance is also very strong for the 14700K just like all the other 14th Gen chips but the Ryzen X3D parts still lead in the overall performance efficiency department.

So overall, I would consider the Intel Core i7-14700K to be a strong contender in the $400-$420 US segment if you are looking at its great multi-threaded and the gaming performance. The Intel Core i9-14900K puts up a good fight against the 7950X3D and beats the 7950X across multiple workloads but it is a very hot and power-hungry chip to tame. If you have the right cooling equipment, then it is definitely an option worth considering in the high-end category.

That is also the biggest drawback of going Intel this generation. Both the 14th Gen & 13th Gen chips are insanely hot and require several hundreds of watts. In the efficiency department, Ryzen and especially Ryzen X3D CPUs are king in gaming. Intel has used up all the resources available to go brute force but users will have to pay the extra cost of investing into some ultra-enthusiast equipment when running the 14900K & 14700K.

The 14600K also boasts some nice multi-threaded performance but if you are looking for a chip purely for gaming, then the 7800X3D is the option to go for in the $300-$350 US segment. With that, Intel's LGA 1700 journey will come to an end and we will talk about Intel CPUs next year when Arrow Lake hits desktops.

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