Coffee lake review: Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400

Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400

by Ian Cutresson October 5, 2017 9:00 AM EST

  • Posted in
  • CPUs
  • Intel
  • Core i5
  • Core i7
  • Core i3
  • 14nm
  • Coffee Lake
  • 14++
  • Hex-Core
  • Hyperthreading

222 Comments
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222 Comments

The Intel Coffee Lake Early ReviewDie Sizes and DRAM CompatibilityPhysical Design, Integrated Graphics, and the Z370 Chipset: DifferencesIntel vs AMD: The Start of Core WarsPower Consumption, Test Bed and SetupBenchmark OverviewBenchmarking Performance: CPU System TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Rendering TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Web TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Encoding TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Office TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Legacy TestsCPU Gaming Performance: Civilization 6CPU Gaming Performance: Ashes of the Singularity Escalation CPU Gaming Performance: Shadow of MordorCPU Gaming Performance: Rise of the Tomb RaiderCPU Gaming Performance: Grand Theft AutoIntel Coffee Lake Conclusion

It has been ten years since Intel introduced quad-core processors into its mainstream product range. It was expected that six-core parts would hit the segment a few years after, however due to process improvements, microarchitecture gains, cost, and a lack of competition, the top-end mainstream processor is still a quad-core a decade later. That changes today.

Launching today are Intel’s new 8th Generation Coffee Lake CPUs, with the Core i5 and Core i7 parts having six distinct physical cores. In this review we’re covering the top SKU, the Core i7-8700K, along with looking at numbers from the Core i5-8400.

Buy Intel Core i7-8700K on Newegg

There are a number of interesting elements to this launch to be excited about, and a number of factors that raise even further questions, which we will go in to.

To start, the processor stack that Intel is making available today consists of six desktop processors that all fall under the ‘8th Generation’ nomenclature, and are built under the codename ‘Coffee Lake’ to designate the microarchitecture and manufacturing process combination.

  

All these new processors are desktop parts, meaning they are socketed processors for use in appropriate motherboards featuring the Z370 chipset. Technically these processors use the LGA1151 socket, which is also used by the 6th Generation and 7th Generation processors with the Z170 and Z270 chipsets. However due to differences in the pin-layout of these two sets of processors, 8th Gen will only work in Z370 boards and there is no level of cross compatibility. We will discuss this later.

Intel 8th Generation ‘Coffee Lake’ Desktop Processors
  i7-8700K i7-8700 i5-8600K i5-8400 i3-8350K i3-8100
Cores 6C / 12T 6C / 6T 4C / 4T
Base Frequency 3. 7 GHz 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz 2.8 GHz 4.0 GHz 3.6 GHz
Turbo Boost 2.0 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.3 GHz 4.0 GHz
L3 Cache 12 MB 9 MB 8 MB 6 MB
DRAM Support DDR4-2666 DDR4-2400
Integrated Graphics GT2: 24 EUs GT2: 23 EUs
IGP Base Freq 350 MHz 350 MHz
IGP Turbo 1.20 GHz 1.15 GHz 1.05 GHz 1.15 GHz 1.10 GHz
PCIe Lanes (CPU) 16 16
PCIe Lanes (Z370) < 24 < 24
TDP 95 W 65 W 95 W 65 W 91 W 65 W
Price (tray) $359 $303 $257 $182 $168 $117
Price (Newegg)
Sale until 10/12
$380 $315 $260 $190 $180 $120
Price (Amazon) $N/A $N/A $N/A $N/A $N/A $N/A

At the top of the stack are two Core i7 Coffee Lake processors. In previous generations ‘Core i7’ meant that we were discussing quad-core parts with hyperthreading, but for this generation it moves up to a six-core part with hyperthreading. The Core i7-8700K starts at a 3.7 GHz base frequency and is designed to turbo to 4.7 GHz in single threaded workloads, with a thermal design power (TDP) of 95W. The K designation means this processor is unlocked and can be overclocked by adjusting the frequency multiplier, subject to appropriate cooling, applied voltage, and the quality of the chip (Intel only guarantees 4.7 GHz).  The Core i7-8700 is the non-K variant, with lower clocks (3.2 GHz base, 4.6 GHz turbo) and a lower TDP (65W).  Both of these processors use 256 KB of L2 cache per core and 2 MB of L3 cache per core.

Kaby Lake i7-K vs Coffee Lake i7-K
i7-7700K   i7-8700K
4C / 8T Cores 6C / 12T
4. 2 GHz Base Frequency 3.7 GHz
4.5 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 4.7 GHz
8 MB L3 Cache 12 MB
DDR4-2400 DRAM Support DDR4-2666
GT2: 24 EUs Integrated Graphics GT2: 24 EUs
350 MHz IGP Base Freq 350 MHz
1.15 GHz IGP Turbo 1.20 GHz
16 PCIe Lanes (CPU) 16
< 24 PCIe Lanes (Chipset) < 24
95W TDP 95 W
$339 Price (tray) $359
$340 Price (Newegg) $380
$351 Price (Amazon) $N/A

When compared to the previous generation, the Core i7-8700K starts at a higher price, but for that price comes more cores and a higher turbo frequency. The Core i7-8700K is a good example of how adding cores works: in order to keep the same power consumption, the overall base frequency has to be lowered to match the presence of extra cores. However, in order to keep the responsiveness higher than the previous generation, the single thread performance is often pushed to a higher multiplier. In almost all situations this counts as a win-win, and makes pushing for the 6-core part, on paper at least, a no-brainer.

Kaby Lake i5-7400 vs Coffee Lake i5-8400
i5-7400   i5-8400
4C / 4T Cores 6C / 6T
3.0 GHz Base Frequency 2.8 GHz
3.5 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 4.0 GHz
6 MB L3 Cache 9 MB
DDR4-2400 DRAM Support DDR4-2666
GT2 Integrated Graphics GT2: 23 EUs
350 MHz IGP Base Freq 350 MHz
1. 00 GHz IGP Turbo 1.05 GHz
16 PCIe Lanes (CPU) 16
< 24 PCIe Lanes (Chipset) < 24
65 W TDP 65 W
$182 Price (tray) $182
$190 Price (Newegg) $190
$185 Price (Amazon) $N/A

In the middle of the stack are the Core i5 processors, with the new generation matching the ‘same configuration without hyperthreading’ philosophy that followed in the previous generation. The two Core i5 parts operate at lower clockspeeds compared to the Core i7, and perhaps more so than we are previously used to, especially with the Core i5-8400 having a base frequency of 2.8 GHz. Intel sampled us the Core i5-8400 for our review, because it hits an important metric: six cores for under $200. Comparing cache sizes to the Core i7, the new parts have the same L2 configuration at 256 KB per core, but have a reduced L3 at 1.5 MB per core as part of the product segmentation.

Kaby Lake i5-7400 vs Coffee Lake i3-8100
i5-7400   i3-8100
4C / 4T Cores 4C / 4T
3.0 GHz Base Frequency 3.6 GHz
3.5 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0
6 MB L3 Cache 6 MB
DDR4-2400 DRAM Support DDR4-2400
GT2 Integrated Graphics GT2: 23 EUs
350 MHz IGP Base Freq 350 MHz
1.00 GHz IGP Turbo 1. 10 GHz
16 PCIe Lanes (CPU) 16
< 24 PCIe Lanes (Chipset) < 24
65 W TDP 65 W
$182 Price (tray) $117
$190 Price (Newegg) $120
$185 Price (Amazon) $N/A

It is interesting to note that in the last generation, Intel had processors with two cores and two threads (2C/2T), two cores with hyperthreading (2C/4T), quad cores with four threads (4C/4T) and quad cores with hyperthreading (4C/8T). This layout had staggered, regular steps. With the move to 6C/12T on the high-end Core i7, and 6C/6T on the mid-range Core i5, Intel completely skips the 4C/8T parts and moves straight to 4C/4T on the Core i3. This is likely because a 4C/8T processor might overtake a 6C/6T part in some multi-threaded tests (it would also explain why moving from a previous 4C/8T Core i7 processor to a 6C/6T Core i5 8th generation is not always an increase in performance).

However at the bottom of the stack are the 4C/4T Core i3 processors, where Intel is pushing out an overclockable Core i3 processor again. This is a little bit of a surprise: in our testing of the previous generation overclockable Core i3, the fact that it was dual core was a setback in a lot of testing. With the Core i3-K now being quad-core, and overclocking it to try and beat a six-core chip for less money, for certain things like gaming we might see less of a difference between the two. Nonetheless, the Core i3s do retain the policy of no Turbo modes on these parts. Another interesting point is the cache: the i3-8350K has 2 MB of L3 cache per core, whereas the i3-8100 only has 1.5 MB of L3 cache per core.

One of our key items to watch in this segment from the initial announcement is that i3-8100. Here is a quad-core processor for only $117. I suspect that this will hit most of the mainstream computing requirements that the previous generation Core i5 (at $182) used to cater for. On paper at least, it seems Intel might have an interesting task trying to explain why more users are opting for a Core i3 this time around.

Turbo Modes

One of the interesting things to come out of our briefings with Intel was the fact that Intel made a very clear change in policy when it comes to press disclosure. When the question was asked about per-core turbo values for each of the CPUs, Intel made a clear statement first, then a secondary one when quizzed further:

“Intel will no longer provide this information”

«We are only including processor frequencies for base and single-core Turbo in our materials going forward — the reasoning is that turbo frequencies are opportunistic given their dependency on system configuration and workloads»

This change in policy is somewhat concerning and completely unnecessary. The information itself could be easily obtained by actually having the processors and probing the required P-states (assuming the motherboard manufacturer does not play silly tricks), so this comes across as Intel withholding information for arbitrary reasons.

Nonetheless, we were able to obtain the per-core turbo ratios for each of the new processors for our motherboard. Given Intel’s statement above, it seems to suggest that each motherboard might have different values for these, with no Intel guidelines given.

For the most part, there is nothing out of the ordinary here. Intel uses the base frequency as a guaranteed base under abnormal environmental circumstances and heavy code (AVX2), although in most circumstances even the all-core turbo ratio will be higher than the base frequency.

The odd-one-out is actually the Core i5-8400. It is being shipped with a low base frequency, at 2.8 GHz, but the all-core turbo ratio is 3.8 GHz. Shipping with such a low base frequency is perhaps masking the performance of this part: it should be, on paper at least, only a whisker or two behind the Core i5-8600K.

It is noticeable that the two Core i7 parts both have an all-core turbo of 4.3 GHz, which is only ever matched by the single threaded turbo of the Core i5-8600K. Not only is moving up from the Core i5 to the Core i7 doubling the threads, but the frequency gain is another addition in performance. The Core i5-8600K has a tray price of $257, while the Core i7-8700 is at $303. Overclocking is lost but the threads are doubled, the available turbo frequencies are improved, the cache goes up, and the TDP goes down.

 

CPU A, $250. CPU B, $300.
CPU A has overclocking.
CPU B has double threads, +20% frequency at stock, +33% L3 cache, 1/3 less TDP, but no OC

— Ian Cutress (@IanCutress) October 5, 2017

 

I’ve been running a little Twitter poll on this. It looks like the Core i7-8700 gets the nod almost every time.

This Review: Initial Impressions

For this review today, we are focusing on our preliminary testing of the Core i7-8700K. Intel sampled us both the Core i7-8700K and the Core i5-8400.

These chips only arrived three days before launch. They would have arrived sooner, but I was out of the country on a pre-booked business trip and the courier decided to redeliver as late as possible when I returned. So despite some initial motherboard teething issues (again!), we were able to run our CPU suites and GTX 1080 testing on both chips. We will follow up with data on the other GPUs in the meantime, likely in dedicated CPU reviews, where we’ll include overclocking performance and workstation analysis.

So my apologies go out to our regular readers, especially those that have been expecting the usual gargantuan AnandTech reviews. Time and travel are cruel mistresses, and regular scheduled programming should recommence shortly. 2017 has been the most exciting year in a long while for these quick-fire CPU launches, but also the toughest: whereas previously we would be able to line up a couple of rounds of extra testing, this year has been one launch after another.

Die Sizes and DRAM Compatibility
The Intel Coffee Lake Early ReviewDie Sizes and DRAM CompatibilityPhysical Design, Integrated Graphics, and the Z370 Chipset: DifferencesIntel vs AMD: The Start of Core WarsPower Consumption, Test Bed and SetupBenchmark OverviewBenchmarking Performance: CPU System TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Rendering TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Web TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Encoding TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Office TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Legacy TestsCPU Gaming Performance: Civilization 6CPU Gaming Performance: Ashes of the Singularity Escalation CPU Gaming Performance: Shadow of MordorCPU Gaming Performance: Rise of the Tomb RaiderCPU Gaming Performance: Grand Theft AutoIntel Coffee Lake Conclusion

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Die Sizes and DRAM Compatibility

by Ian Cutresson October 5, 2017 9:00 AM EST

  • Posted in
  • CPUs
  • Intel
  • Core i5
  • Core i7
  • Core i3
  • 14nm
  • Coffee Lake
  • 14++
  • Hex-Core
  • Hyperthreading

222 Comments
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222 Comments

The Intel Coffee Lake Early ReviewDie Sizes and DRAM CompatibilityPhysical Design, Integrated Graphics, and the Z370 Chipset: DifferencesIntel vs AMD: The Start of Core WarsPower Consumption, Test Bed and SetupBenchmark OverviewBenchmarking Performance: CPU System TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Rendering TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Web TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Encoding TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Office TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Legacy TestsCPU Gaming Performance: Civilization 6CPU Gaming Performance: Ashes of the Singularity Escalation CPU Gaming Performance: Shadow of MordorCPU Gaming Performance: Rise of the Tomb RaiderCPU Gaming Performance: Grand Theft AutoIntel Coffee Lake Conclusion

Despite being somewhat reserved in our pre-briefing, and initially blanket labeling the process node for these chips as ‘14nm’, we can confirm that Intel’s newest ‘14++’ manufacturing process is being used for these 8th Generation processors. This becomes Intel’s third crack at a 14nm process, following on from Broadwell though Skylake (14), Kaby Lake (14+), and now Coffee Lake (14++).

With the 8th Generation of processors, Intel is moving away from having the generation correlate to both the process node and microarchitecture. As Intel’s plans to shrink its process nodes have become elongated, Intel has decided that it will use multiple process nodes and microarchitectures across a single generation of products to ensure that every update cycle has a process node and microarchitecture that Intel feels best suits that market. A lot of this is down to product maturity, yields, and progress on the manufacturing side.












Intel’s Core Architecture Cadence (8/20)
Core Generation Microarchitecture Process Node Release Year
2nd Sandy Bridge 32nm 2011
3rd Ivy Bridge 22nm 2012
4th Haswell 22nm 2013
5th Broadwell 14nm 2014
6th Skylake 14nm 2015
7th Kaby Lake 14nm+ 2016
8th Kaby Lake Refresh

Coffee Lake

Cannon Lake
14nm+

14nm++

10nm
2017

2017

2018?
9th Ice Lake?

. ..
10nm+ 2018?
Unknown Cascade Lake (Server) ? ?

Kaby Lake was advertised as using a 14+ node with slightly relaxed manufacturing parameters and a new FinFET profile. This was to allow for higher frequencies and better overclocking, although nothing was fundamentally changed in the core manufacturing parameters. With Coffee Lake at least, the minimum gate pitch has increased from 70nm for 84nm, with all other features being equal.

Increased gate pitch moves transistors further apart, forcing a lower current density. This allows for higher leakage transistors, meaning higher peak power and higher frequency at the expense of die area and idle power.

Normally Intel aims to improve their process every generation, however this seems like a step ‘back’ in some of the metrics in order to gain performance. The truth of the matter is that back in 2015, we were expecting Intel to be selling 10nm processors en-masse by now. As delays have crept into that timeline, the 14++ note is holding over until 10nm is on track. Intel has already stated that 10+ is likely to be the first node on the desktop, which given the track record on 14+ and 14++ might be a relaxed version of 10 in order to hit performance/power/yield targets, with some minor updates. Conceptually, Intel seems to be drifting towards seperate low-power and high-performance process nodes, with the former coming first.

Of course, changing the fin pitch is expected to increase the die area. With thanks to HEKPC (via Videocardz), we can already see a six-core i7-8700K silicon die compared to a quad-core i7-7700K.

The die area of the Coffee Lake 6+2 design (six cores and GT2 graphics) sits at ~151 mm2, compared to the ~125 mm2 for Kaby Lake 4+2 processor: a 26mm2 increase. This increase is mainly due to the two cores, however there is a minor adjustment in the integrated grpahics as well to support HDCP 2.2, not to mention any unpublished changes Intel has made to their designs between Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake.

The following calculations are built on assumptions and contain a margin of error

With the silicon floor plan, we can calculate that the CPU cores (plus cache) account for 47.3% of the die, or 71.35 mm2. Divided by six gives a value of 11.9 mm2 per core, which means that it takes 23.8 mm2 of die area for two cores. Out of the 26mm2 increase then, 91.5% of it is for the CPU area, and the rest is likely accounting for the change in the gate pitch across the whole processor. 

The Coffee Lake 4+2 die would then be expected to be around ~127 mm2, making a 2mm2 increase over the equivalent Kaby Lake 4+2, although this is well within the margin of error for measuring these processors. We are expecting to see some overclockers delid the quad-core processors soon after launch.

In previous Intel silicon designs, when Intel was ramping up its integrated graphics, we were surpassing 50% of the die area being dedicated to graphics. In this 6+2 design, the GPU area accounts for only 30.2% of the floor plan as provided, which is 45.6 mm2 of the full die.

Memory Support on Coffee Lake

With a new processor generation comes an update to memory support. There is always a small amount of confusion here about what Intel calls ‘official memory support’ and what the processors can actually run. Intel’s official memory support is typically a guarantee, saying that in all circumstances, with all processors, this memory speed should work. However motherboard manufacturers might offer speeds over 50% higher in their specification sheets, which Intel technically counts as an overclock.

This is usually seen as Intel processors having a lot of headroom to be conservative, avoid RMAs, and maintain stability. In most cases this is usually a good thing: there are only a few niche scenarios where super high-speed memory can equate to tangible performance gains* but they do exist.

*Based on previous experience, but pending a memory scaling review

For our testing at least, our philosophy is that we test at the CPU manufacturers’ recommended setting. If there is a performance gain to be had from slightly faster memory, then it pays dividends to set that as the limit for official memory support. This way, there is no argument on what the rated performance of the processor is.

For the new generation, Intel is supporting DDR4-2666 for the six-core parts and DDR4-2400 for the quad-core parts, in both 1DPC (one DIMM per channel) and 2DPC modes. This should make it relatively simple, compared to AMD’s memory support differing on DPC and type of memory.

It gets simple until we talk about AIO designs using the processors, which typically require SODIMM memory. For these parts, for both quad-core and hex-core, Intel is supporting DDR4-2400 at 1DPC and DDR4-2133 at 2DPC. LPDDR3 support is dropped entirely. The reason for supporting a reduced memory frequency in an AIO environment with SODIMMs is because these motherboards typically run their traces as chained between the memory slots, rather than a T-Topology which helps with timing synchronization. Intel has made the T-Topology part of the specification for desktop motherboards, but not for AIO or integrated ones, which explains the difference in DRAM speed support.

These supported frequencies follow JEDEC official sub-timings. Familiar system builders will be used to DDR4-2133 at a CAS Latency of 15, but as we increase the speed of the modules, the latency increases to compensate:

Intel’s official sub-timing support at DDR4-2666 is 19-19-19. Outside of enterprise modules, that memory does not really exist, because memory manufacturers can seem to mint DDR4-2666 16-17-17 modules fairly easily, and these processors are typically fine with those sub-timings. CPU manufacturers typically only state ‘supported frequency at JEDEC sub-timings’ and do not go into sub-timing discussions, because most users care more about the memory frequency. If time permits, it would be interesting to see just how much of a performance deficit the official JEDEC sub-timings provide compared to what memory is actually on sale.

The Intel Coffee Lake Early Review
Physical Design, Integrated Graphics, and the Z370 Chipset: Differences
The Intel Coffee Lake Early ReviewDie Sizes and DRAM CompatibilityPhysical Design, Integrated Graphics, and the Z370 Chipset: DifferencesIntel vs AMD: The Start of Core WarsPower Consumption, Test Bed and SetupBenchmark OverviewBenchmarking Performance: CPU System TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Rendering TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Web TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Encoding TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Office TestsBenchmarking Performance: CPU Legacy TestsCPU Gaming Performance: Civilization 6CPU Gaming Performance: Ashes of the Singularity Escalation CPU Gaming Performance: Shadow of MordorCPU Gaming Performance: Rise of the Tomb RaiderCPU Gaming Performance: Grand Theft AutoIntel Coffee Lake Conclusion

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Intel Core i5 8400 review: this is THE gaming Coffee Lake

Normally we’d be falling head over heels for the new K-series i5 in an Intel CPU generation, but the Core i5 8400 has turned out to be the best CPU that’s come out of Coffee Lake. It’s also the only Intel processor we’d even think to consider instead of the mid-price AMD Ryzen competition.

The plucky i5 8400 has been the surprise package of the Coffee Lake CPUs. While the K-series Core i7 8700K might have grabbed all the headlines, with its Ryzen-battling multi-threaded performance and 5.2GHz overclocking chops, it’s the i5 8400 which has really turned out to be the best Intel CPU for gamers. That means we have a battle royale going down between this and the Ryzen 5 2600 for the mighty PC gaming dollar.

It’s normal for the Core i5 chips in a new generation to be the ones we end up recommending for gamers – historically, the HyperThreading tech only offers a little extra gaming performance with the Core i7 – but this is the first time I’ve recommended ditching the K-series processors in their entirety.

The Core i5 8400 is also one of the most affordable Coffee Lake chips you can actually buy right now, thankfully it’s also the best one for purestrain gamers. It used to be far more of a bargain, unfortunately the 14nm CPU shortage has pushed its pricing well above $200 and beyond the budget costings of the Ryzen 5 chips.

The AMD Ryzen 2 CPUs traditionally had to compete against the 8400 on both the gaming performance and price sides of the equation, but the darling Ryzen 5 2600 manages to offer serious computational chops and a level of gaming performance that puts it right up there with Intel’s best, and now for a lot less cash.

Intel Core i5 8400 specs

The Core i5 8400 is still a six-core CPU, but without HyperThreading it remains stuck at six threads of processing power. It’s also been saddled with a relatively low 2.8GHz base clockspeed, but is capable of hitting a maximum Turbo speed of 4GHz. That is, however, only on a single core, with the chip generally sticking to a 3.8GHz frequency during standard usage.

That would seem to make it very much the poor cousin to the Core i5 8600K. That’s still a resolutely six-core chip, but with an all-core Turbo of 4. 3GHz (or 4.6GHz if you go for a belligerent Asus board that flouts Intel’s Turbo ratings), and is capable of overclocking to a massive 5.1GHz without much effort at all.

But the i5 8400 has still got the same 9MB of L3 cache, a lower-rated TDP of 65W – versus the K-series’ 95W TDP – and honestly performs like an absolute hero.

We’ve previously gone into depth on the Coffee Lake architecture, but suffice to say, it’s more or less the same 14nm design we’ve seen in Skylake and Kaby Lake, the 6th and 7th Gen, architectures.

This time, however, there is no option for backwards compatibility, unless you’re happy to make with the microcode updates yourself. The new Coffee Lake chips, such as this ‘ere Core i5, will only function within the confines of a 300-series chipset. And, until this year, your only option on that front was the high-end Z370 chipset. That did take some of the shine out of this relatively budget-oriented hex-core CPU, as the expensive Z370 feature set isn’t really necessary with the 8400 and it’s locked down multipliers.

Intel Core i5 8400 benchmarks

PCGamesN Test Rig: Asus ROG Strix Z370-F Gaming,
Nvidia GTX 1070, 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4, Corsair HX1200i,
Philips BDM3275

Intel Core i5 8400 performance

Back in the dark old Kaby Lake days of early 2017 there was only a modicum of gaming performance difference between the K-series Core i5 7600K and the Core i7 7700K. It was a no-brainer, then, for us to recommend gamers eschew the more expensive HyperThreaded chip in favour of the Core i5.

There was a non-K Core i5 – the i5 7400 – which had essentially the same core configuration, but with a slightly lower clockspeed. Sound familiar? But it was generally well off the pace of the 7600K in our gaming benchmarks so we largely ignored it. That was why I was less excited about the prospect of the Core i5 8400, despite its extra couple Coffee Lake cores. After all, if you wanted to save a few quid, and bag a hexcore chip regardless of its gaming performance, then AMD had you covered with the original Ryzen 5 1600.

With the Coffee Lake processors, however, there is zero difference in gaming performance between either of the Core i5s and the top-spec Core i7. And that remains the case whether you’re running the chips at stock speeds or hitting 5GHz+ with the K-series CPUs. The performance of the 8400 is genuinely pretty stunning for a processor that just about costs less than AMD’s cheapest six-core Ryzen 5. Then there’s the fact that it’s capable of delivering gaming frame rates that are higher than either the i7 7700K and i7 7800K.

Unfortunately, for Intel, the second-gen Ryzen processors have closed the gap considerably in terms of gaming, which means they offer more for the money.

Outside of the realm of gaming things are obviously different. The higher frequency of the overclocked i5 8600K, and the extra thread-count of the R5 2600 and 2600X, mean that they’re far better choices for anything that demands serious multi-threaded CPU performance.

Intel Core i5 8400 verdict

Forget all the headline-grabbing overclocking figures, this is the Coffee Lake chip for gamers. Sure, the tantalising prospect of having your K-series i5 running at a heady 5.1GHz, without melting through the layered PCB of your motherboard, is like a siren call to us PC people, but if it’s not delivering anything tangible for games that hardly matters.

We’re going to see a whole lot of gaming machines built around the Core i5 8400 in the coming year, and rightly so. It’s a seriously powerful little gaming chip for the money, and it’s definitely grabbed my attention.

AMD’s magnificent Ryzen 5 2600 has captured our hearts as the go-to gaming CPU of the moment, packing serious computational and decent overclocking performance into a package that still delivers competitive gaming performance.

The fantastic-value Core i5 8400 is the gamer’s chip from Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake range, which is surprising considering the K-series i5 is capable of hitting 5. 1GHz without issue. But overclocking gives you no extra gaming performance that the powerful extra cores Coffee Lake can’t offer on their own.

Intel Core i5 8400

The fantastic-value Core i5 8400 is THE gamer’s chip from Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake range. It’s mix of multi-core performance, gaming power, and fantastic value make it one of the best CPUs we’ve tested.

9

Intel Core i7-8700K Review — Tom’s Hardware

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Early Verdict

Intel finally expanded the core count of its mainstream processors, facilitating solid all-around performance from the Core i7-8700K. Aggressive Turbo Boost bins ensure great performance in lightly-threaded workloads, while six cores cut through demanding tasks much more adeptly than Core i7-7700K. Intel’s Core i7 line-up is still expensive, but you’ll pay a lot less per core than in prior generations.

Pros
  • +

    Strong performance in games and productivity applications

  • +

    Lower price-per-thread than competition

  • +

    Overclocking headroom

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Intel Brings More Cores

Intel’s Core 2 Quad processors debuted with four cores in 2006. Although six-core models landed four years later in the high-end desktop space, the company’s most accessible chips topped out in quad-core configurations for more than a decade. The Coffee Lake era begins with Intel upending its mainstream line-up by adding two more cores to Core i7, i5, and i3 families. Call this a much-needed improvement, cleverly timed to stave off AMD’s core-laden Ryzen assault.

Of course, while Intel’s accelerated Coffee Lake-S launch makes it look today’s unveiling is a direct response to heated competition, in reality, the long incubation period for new processors means it’s more likely the result of 10nm manufacturing delays.

Just last year, Intel announced a new process-architecture-optimize cadence designed to deliver smaller transistors every third generation. That’s a profound departure from the glory days of Intel’s tick-tock model. The latest 14nm++ process is the fourth outing of the 14nm node, which originally debuted with Broadwell back in 2014. So, it appears that PAO is already falling by the wayside. In the days of tick-tock, we’d also be talking about a new architecture right now. But Coffee Lake employs the same Skylake design as Kaby Lake before it. We also get the same fundamental integrated graphics engine found in the previous generation. To be sure, Coffee Lake is another iterative update.

But there’s nothing mundane about adding more cores. Intel claims Coffee Lake offers up to 25% more gaming performance and up to 45% more “mega-tasking” performance. Given similar price points versus Kaby Lake, we’re almost certainly looking at a huge step forward in value.

  • Intel Core i7-8700K (Intel Core i7) at Amazon for $330

This is obviously a busy year for Intel. But as if the company’s product stack wasn’t already confusing, its eighth-generation portfolio draws from three separate architectures, including 14nm+ Kaby Lake-R (refresh), 14nm++ Coffee Lake, and 10nm Cannon Lake, which should land next year.

Intel Core i7-8700K

Core i7-8700K serves as this generation’s flagship, sporting six Hyper-Threaded cores. Already, that’s a big increase from Kaby Lake’s 4C/8T maximum. It features the company’s highest clock rates, accelerating up to 4.7 GHz via Turbo Boost. The -8700K does sacrifice some base frequency in exchange for a higher core count, though. Its 3.7 GHz specification is 500 MHz lower than the -7700K, offsetting the increased power consumption and heat generated by a 6C/12T configuration.

The -8700K’s Coffee Lake design utilizes a 14nm++ process, which Intel claims offers 26% more performance and 52% less leakage power than first-generation 14nm manufacturing. Those advances enable the higher Turbo Boost bins and reduce consumption enough to carve out room for extra cores. A more complex die does necessitate a TDP rating of up to 95W. But that’s only 4% higher than Core i7-7700K. And as we’ve seen before, Turbo Boost allows the CPU to operate beyond its rated TDP as long as current, power, and temperature fall below specified limits. As you might imagine, then, the impact of two additional cores is felt under load.

The top 4.7 GHz Turbo Boost bin should help improve performance in lightly-threaded applications. But Core i7-8700K also includes aggressive multi-core bins to help chew through threaded workloads. Because these CPUs employ Intel’s Skylake architecture, we aren’t expecting any speed-ups attributable to IPC throughput. All gains come from core count and clock rate alone. Intel isn’t officially disclosing a die size or transistor count, but early delidding efforts indicate a ~151mm2 area. That’s naturally larger than Kaby Lake’s ~122mm2, reflecting the additional execution and cache resources. Intel confirms that Coffee Lake continues to employ its ring bus, rather than Skylake-X’s mesh topology.

Active Cores 1 2 4 6
Intel Core i7-8700K 4. 7 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.4 GHz 4.3 GHz
Intel Core i7-7700K 4.5 GHz 4.4 GHz 4.4 GHz

Intel also adds 50% more cores to its Core i5 family, and doubles Core i3’s core count. But it pulls Hyper-Threading support from Core i3 in the process. Nevertheless, we expect gamers to realize palpable gains moving from dual-core Hyper-Threaded platforms to inexpensive quad-core setups.

Core i5 and i7 also support speedier DDR4-2666 transfer rates, up from Kaby Lake’s DDR4-2400 spec. Core i3 remains limited to DDR4-2400, though. This could just be Intel’s attempt to segment its line-up, or perhaps the Core i3s are really just quad-core Kaby Lake designs transplanted onto a 14nm++ process. 

Intel Corei7-8700K Intel Corei7-8700 Intel Core i5-8600K Intel Core i5-8400 Intel Core i3-8350K Intel Core i3-8100
Socket LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151 LGA 1151
Cores/Threads 6 / 12 6 / 12 6 / 6 6 / 6 4 / 4 4 / 4
Base Frequency 3. 7 GHz 3.2 GHz 3.6 GHz 2.8 GHz 4.0 GHz 3.6 GHz
Boost Frequency 4.7 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.3 GHz 4.0 GHz N/A N/A
Memory Speed DDR4-2666 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2400 DDR4-2400
Memory Controller Dual-Channel Dual-Channel Dual-Channel Dual-Channel Dual-Channel Dual-Channel
Unlocked Multiplier Yes No Yes No Yes No
PCIe Lanes x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3 x16 Gen3
Integrated Graphics Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1200 MHz) Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1200 MHz) Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz) Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz) Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz) Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz)
Cache (L2+L3) 13. 5MB 13.5MB 10.5MB 10.5MB 9MB 7MB
Architecture Coffee Lake Coffee Lake Coffee Lake Coffee Lake Coffee Lake Coffee Lake
Process 14nm++ 14nm++ 14nm++ 14nm++ 14nm++ 14nm++
TDP 95W 65W 95W 65W 91W 65W
Price (per 1K Unit) $359 $303 $257 $182 $168 $117

Unfortunately, Intel still doesn’t enable Turbo Boost on its Core i3 CPUs. So, we could see a performance dip in lightly threaded workloads due to Coffee Lake’s lower base frequencies. You do get 100% more cores in exchange, though. Physical cores are always preferable to logical ones, so the new implementation of Core i3 should come out ahead in most of our benchmarks.

As expected, most models continue to wield 2MB of L3 and 256KB of L2 cache per core. As a side effect of its higher core counts, then, Coffee Lake processors enjoy the benefits of more cache. Core i3-8100 is the lone exception with only 6MB of L3 cache.

PCIe connectivity remains unchanged; you get 16 lanes of third-gen PCIe from the CPU’s controller. Intel reminds us, though, that it offers up to 40 lanes when we add the platform controller hub’s 24.

You’ll need a Z370-based motherboard for Coffee Lake processors. The 200-series chipsets are not compatible. And in a clear indication that Intel really hurried its launch schedule, less expensive B- or H-series chipsets won’t be ready until next year. Paying a premium for Z-class core logic isn’t much of a surprise for enthusiasts, who need the higher-end chipset to support unlocked multipliers. But it’s a little bit overkill for everyone else.

Coffee Lake Intel Corei7-8700K Intel Corei7-8700 Intel Core i5-8600K Intel Core i5-8400 Intel Core i3-8350K Intel Core i3-8100
Cost Per Core/Thread $59. 83 / $29.92 $50.50 / $25.25 $42.83 / $42.83 $30.33 / $30.33 $42 / $42 $29.95 / $29.95
Kaby Lake Intel Core i7-7700K Intel Core i7-7700 Intel Core i5-7600K Intel Core i5-7400 Intel i3-7350K Intel i3-7100
Cost Per Core/Thread $84.75 / $42.38 $75.75 / $37.88 $60.50 / $60.50 $45.50 / $45.50 $84 / $42 $58.50 / $29.95
Ryzen Ryzen 71700X Ryzen 71700 Ryzen 51600X Ryzen 51500X Ryzen 51400 Ryzen 31300X
Cost Per Core/Thread $49.88 / $24.94 $41.13 / $20.56 $41.50 / $20.75 $47.50 / $23.75 $42. 25 / $21.12 $32.50 / $32.50

We’re using Intel’s 1K unit pricing for comparisons to the Kaby Lake models and AMD’s MSRP for price-equivalent Ryzen chips. We may see higher prices on Intel’s CPUs at retail, while AMD models routinely sell below MSRP.

Intel adds a ~$20 premium to its K-series SKUs compared to their Kaby Lake equivalents. Overall, though, you pay less per core. Again, Intel removed Hyper-Threading from its Core i3s, so their price per thread remains unchanged. With the exception of Ryzen 3, AMD maintains a price advantage across its portfolio, due in part to SMT on the Ryzen 5 family. The benchmarks will give us a better idea of performance-per-dollar compared to Kaby Lake and Ryzen, though.    

Overclocking headroom was one of Kaby Lake’s biggest advantages due to Ryzen’s limited scaling. Intel adds per-core overclocking support to this generation, but doesn’t provide per-core voltage and P-state controls. It also enables live memory timing adjustments (without rebooting), along with memory multipliers up to 8400 MT/s, so you don’t have to adjust the BCLK frequency to chase bleeding-edge transfer rates. Finally, enhanced GT and Ring PLL Trim controls add more granular control.

Intel makes some power optimizations to its interface that promise to extend the advantage while overclocking. However, the company continues to insist on using thermal paste between its die and IHS, rather than solder. Like all unlocked Intel models, the Core i7-8700K doesn’t include a stock cooler.

Nevertheless, we have to give the big company credit for staying on its toes this year. It already introduced Kaby Lake, Skylake-X, and Kaby Lake-Refresh. Next year, we’ll have new Pentium and Celeron line-ups headed our way. But for now, we’re looking forward to testing what Intel claims is its best gaming chip yet.

MORE: Best CPUs

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Intel Coffee Lake-S: Core i7 8700K review

The rumours are true. Intel’s new Coffee Lake-S represents the biggest generational leap we’ve seen since the classic Sandy Bridge second-gen Core line, launched way back in 2011. The Core i5 2500K and i7 2600K were the stuff of legend — processors so good, many still use them today, convinced that Intel’s iterative approach to CPU upgrades didn’t justify replacing a solid platform. Coffee Lake-S has much in common with those classic processors: there’s a big gen-on-gen upgrade, an immediately noticeable improvement to performance in all areas and excellent overclocking. The key to Coffee Lake’s power is simple: a refined process technology allows for overall faster clocks, while the move from four to six cores in both i5 and i7 offers a massive increase to processing power.

And to be frank, we’ve been waiting for a many-core processor to arrive that comprehensively trumps the mainstream i7 of the day. Whether we’re talking about the current enthusiast-level Skylake-X or indeed Ryzen 7, the six and eight core chips released by Intel and AMD power through productivity and other multi-core heavy tasks, but fall a little short in gaming. What’s interesting about Coffee Lake-S is that Intel hasn’t repurposed its existing six-core processor — it’s brand new. And instead of scaling down a many-core architecture specifically designed for server applications, it’s upgraded its existing mainstream platform instead.

As a result, the Core i7 8700K is a winner for several reasons. First of all, it takes the existing Kaby Lake/Skylake architecture and refines it, so the single-thread power that works so well for the mainstream line in gaming is fully retained here. Indeed it’s very slightly faster owing to architectural tweaks, meaning that some of the single-core weakness we saw in Skylake-X isn’t an issue here. And secondly, that refined process doesn’t just allow for improved single-core turbo boost — it also paves the way to the first solid 5. 0GHz-stable overclock we’ve achieved on Intel hardware. And that’s all on top of those additional cores, which scale just as they should in heavily threaded workloads and prove far more potent in gaming than the six and eight-core i7 7800X and 7820X.

Here’s the breakdown of the current Intel i7 line and how the i7 8700K fits in. There are improved base and boost clocks compared to Skylake-X, along with a much lower TDP and more onboard cache. The enthusiast line’s only real advantage is its PCI Express connectivity, along with sheer brute force power on the much more expensive chips. The comparison with the Kaby Lake 7700K sees a lowering of base clock and an increase in TDP. In our tests, the stated 3.7GHz base clock is overly pessimistic — with a decent cooler, the lowest we saw the 8700K deliver was 4.3GHz on all cores.

Rich presents a video breakdown of the rather special Core i7 8700K and its fierce multi-threaded gaming performance.

Core i7 8700K Core i7 7700K Core i7 7800X Core i7 7820X Core i7 7900X
Cores/Threads 6/12 4/8 6/12 8/16 10/20
Base/Boost Clocks 3. 7GHz/ 4.7GHz 4.2GHz/ 4.5GHz 3.5GHz/ 4.0GHz 3.6GHz/ 4.3GHz 3.3GHz/ 4.3GHz
L3 Cache 12.00MB 8.00MB 8.25MB 11.00MB 13.75MB
PCI Express Lanes 16 16 28 28 44
Architecture Coffee Lake Kaby Lake Skylake-X Skylake-X Skylake-X
TDP 95W 91W 140W 140W 140W

In terms of how this all shakes out in terms of hard benchmarks, we’ve stacked up the i7 8700K against its predecessor, the top-end Ryzen 7 1800X and a range of Skylake-X processors. On top of that, we’ve also included benchmark data from some overclocked i7s from back in the day. Just about any i7 going back to the 2011 Sandy Bridge should be able to comfortably sustain 4.5GHz, and we’ve also paired each processor here with the fastest 2400MHz DDR3 we could find. Our intent with this data for legacy processors is to see how overclocking old tech can — or cannot — keep your existing CPU in contention.

There are few surprises from the Cinebench R15 single-core test — the Core i7 8700K and 7700K easily take point, but it’s interesting to note that our older overclocked chips still hold up fairly well. Fundamentally, i7s have always been really good buys that have a very long lifespan. Equally unsurprising is the multi-core turnout: the quads are roundly thrashed by the new wave of many-core chips. The 8700K inches ahead of its enthusiast counterpart, the 7800X, but the eight-core Skylake-X and Ryzen 7 are still comfortably ahead.

Beyond the synthetic bench, we also tested video processing with Handbrake for both h.264 and HEVC encoding at 4K using the presets we’ve chosen for content available on our video download site digitalfoundry.net. Think of this as a real world application for these many-core processors. With h.264 processing, the 8700K is effectively on par with Ryzen, thrashing the 7700K and moving ahead of the 7800X. It’s a strong showing that only gets better with overclocking.

HEVC in Handbrake is heavily reliant on AVX instructions — an area where Intel is stronger than AMD. Here, the 8700K storms ahead of Ryzen and isn’t a million miles away from the i7 7820X (Handbrake’s effectiveness seems to diminish somewhat beyond eight cores). Also unsurprising is that the i7 quads are left for dust. The older i7 3770K is particularly weak here as the old Ivy Bridge architecture lacks AVX instructions. In short, the benchmarks show nothing out of the ordinary really — the numbers suggest that Coffee Lake-S really is a junior enthusiast chip, its stock performance pleasingly beating the 7800X. Gaming, however, is an entirely different story — it’s fast. Really fast.

Core i7 8700K Core i7 7700K Core i7 7800X Core i7 7820X Core i9 7900X Core i7 3770K 4.5GHz Core i7 4790K 4.5GHz Ryzen 7 1800X
Cinebench R15 Single-Core 191 187 171 177 177 161 177 162
Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 1427 963 1313 1768 2203 795 891 1605
Handbrake 0. 10.5 x264 19.7fps 13.1fps 18.3fps 22.5fps 25.4fps 9.8fps 11.6fps 19.6fps
Handbrake 0.10.5 x265/HEVC 8.1fps 6.2fps 7.9fps 8.5fps 10.6fps 3.7fps 5.5fps 6.5fps

There’s a reason that Core i7 has been such a great brand for gaming across the years — and it’s borne out by many of the numbers below. Older chips like the i7 3770K and i7 4790K still run modern games beautifully when overclocked and paired with fast memory. We may have moved on from four to six cores, but the i7 6700K and 7700K are still brutally quick, regardless. For the most part, the GPU is still the defining limiting factor in gameplay — but in our tests, we want to see which processors have the most headroom and by extension, which are more futureproof. It’s our contention that a good PC platform should last you for four to five years or more, and the better the processor you have, the more headroom you have available.

To get a good idea of relative performance in gaming workloads, our methodology is to run titles at max settings or close to it, running at 1080p resolution and using an overclocked Titan X Pascal to remove that GPU bottleneck as much as we can. Effectively, we’re engineering a scenario where we are CPU-bound, and the importance of memory bandwidth also comes to the fore.

Even in this extreme scenario, there are benchmark that show little to no difference across the run of play — Ubisoft’s The Division is the most obvious example here, running beautifully across all processors. Assassin’s Creed Unity also performs admirably here, regardless of which i7 you may have. Meanwhile, Far Cry Primal represents legacy titles with engines reliant on one or two cores. Again, all i7s hold up nicely, though gaps are starting to appear between the generations, regardless of the older CPUs’ overclocks. However, when we move onto the heavily threaded games, magical things happen. The Witcher 3’s taxing Novigrad City bench hands in point-blank the fastest gaming experience we’ve ever seen onthe 8700K, while the jump in Crysis 3 is phenomenal. Ashes of the Singularity’s gruelling CPU test also shows the six cores in the 8700K flexing their muscles — the leap is highly impressive.

We’ve got average frame-rates here across our various runs, but really, we recommend checking out the video review where we talk more about ‘in the moment’ performance. Intel’s own gaming benchmark notes a 25 per cent uplift over the 7700K in Gears of War 4 frame-rates — and we can produce similar results in several titles. However, fundamentally, buying a fast CPU is all about overhead: in Crysis 3 we noted areas where the i7 8700K offers an in the moment performance boost of 50 per cent over its quad-core predecessor. While there’s a good argument that the 8700K may be too powerful for most users, games are only going to become more complex in future (especially when consoles move to Ryzen). In the here and now, users of high frequency displays will appreciate the big bump in performance. Key titles like Destiny 2 and Battlefield 1 should play beautifully on this new i7.

Your i7 is fast. This one is faster — dramatically so in a range of multithreaded game engines.

1080p/Titan X Pascal OC Core i7 8700K Stock Core i7 8700K 5.0GHz Core i7 7700K Stock Core i7 7700K 4.8GHz Core i7 3770K 4.5GHz Core i7 4790K 4.5GHz
Memory 3000MHz DDR4 3000MHz DDR4 3000MHz DDR4 3000MHz DDR4 2400MHz DDR3 2400MHz DDR3
Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ultra High, FXAA 134.0 135.0 132.2 132.9 123.8 129.7
Ashes of the Singularity, DX12, CPU Test 52.2 53.9 41.9 44.1 35.4 35.4
Crysis 3, Very High, SMAA T2x 176.9 179.6 138.2 145. 5 118.6 129.4
The Division, Ultra, SMAA 138.1 138.1 133.8 133.9 129.1 132.7
Far Cry Primal, Ultra, SMAA 137.3 138.3 137.9 140.1 111.9 121.8
Rise of the Tomb Raider DX12, Very High, SMAA 140.0 143.6 126.5 131.0 96.3 106.3
The Witcher 3, Ultra, No Hairworks 170.1 172.3 139.4 145.2 121.2 122.1

The Core i7 8700K is a curious product, blurring the lines between Intel’s mainstream and enthusiast lines. From our perspective, unless you really need those extra PCI Express lanes, the similarly-priced i7 7800X is now surplus to requirements, and you’ll need to move onto the 7820X — preferably overclocked — to see a big boost in raw performance. However, based on our tests, Coffee Lake-S really is an astonishingly good gaming processor and it’s even better for gaming than the $1000 Core i9 7900X.

Intel migrated to an inter-core ‘mesh’ for its latest enthusiast-level chips, introducing latency issues that can have a profound impact on gaming. There are similar issues with AMD’s Ryzen and Threadripper (represented in the table below by an overclocked eight-core Ryzen 7), which prove to be exceptionally fast at just about everything — except gaming. Our numbers here demonstrate just how far ahead the 8700K can be.

It opens up an interesting question, depending on your work/productivity/gaming requirements from your PC. There’s no doubt that the Core i7 7820X and the i9 range can blitz the 8700K when it comes to out and out horsepower. However, nothing touches Coffee Lake-S’s gaming performance. And then there’s the question of overclocking: we found that with a 1.32v core voltage tweak, the 8700K ran just fine at 5.0GHz — even under testing AVX workloads under Handbrake. Performance in non-gaming tasks is propelled within spitting distance of the stock core i7 7820X — though it must be remembered that Skylake-X processors overclock beautifully too.

Bearing in mind that the surrounding costs of a Z370-based Coffee Lake-S build are significantly lower than the X299 Skylake-X, there’s a really compelling argument that many users who may have considered an enthusiast build may be better served by going for the 8700K instead.

The 8700K straddles traditional mainstream CPU and enthusiast markets, but in gaming, there’s only winner.

1080p/Titan X OC Core i7 8700K Core i7 7800X Core i7 7820X Core i9 7900X Ryzen 7 1700 4.0GHz
Memory 3000MHz DDR4 3200MHz DDR4 3200MHz DDR4 3200MHz DDR4 3200MHz DDR4
Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ultra High 135.0 127.5 125.5 128.1 120.8
Crysis 3, Very High 176.9 149. 1 154.8 165.4 143.8
The Division, Ultra 138.1 135.9 137.2 136.2 128.4
Far Cry Primal, Ultra 137.3 110.2 106.3 109.0 97.2
The Witcher 3, Ultra, No Hairworks 170.0 131.8 142.0 147.7 121.3

Finally, we wanted to discuss memory bandwidth and what system RAM you should pair with a new Coffee Lake-S system. For the six-core i5s and i7s, Intel has increased bandwidth compatibility to 2666MHz DDR4, a match for Ryzen. We’re still of the belief that AMD has the right idea in opening up DDR4 overclocking to a wider range of boards (this remains unlocked on the Z-boards with Intel, the same as always) but the good news is that with the Core i7 8700K at least, 2666MHz RAM offers fairly close performance in many games when compared against our standard Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz sticks. Memory bandwidth monsters like The Witcher 3 still see a boost when faster memory is in play, but in many of our other tests, the dent in frame-rates by running at the rated 2666MHz isn’t so pronounced.

This is especially good news for the locked processors like the non-K Core i7 8700 down to the ‘entry level’ six-core i4 8400, all of which will run with 2666MHz memory (unfortunately, all the eighth-gen i3 quad-core chips are limited to DDR4-2400). The benchmarks here demonstrate that memory bandwidth is still important when it comes to processor overclocking though — you can waste a lot of time and energy overclocking your i7 8700K to 5.0GHz, but if you’re using bargain basement 2133MHz DDR4, it’ll still run games slower than a stock chip paired with faster modules.

Memory bandwidth usually makes a big difference in CPU performance in gaming, but as long as you’re at 2666MHz DDR4 or higher, the 8700K runs beautifully. We’d be interested to see if scaling improves beyond 3000MHz bandwidth.

1080p/Titan X OC Core i7 8700K Core i7 8700K Core i7 8700K Core i7 8700K 5.0GHz Core i7 8700K 5.0GHz Core i7 8700K 5.0GHz
Memory 2133MHz DDR4 2666MHz DDR4 3000MHz DDR4 2133MHz DDR4 2666MHz DDR4 3000MHz DDR4
Far Cry Primal, Ultra 133.1 140.0 141.0 136.1 141.7 143.6
Rise of the Tomb Raider DX12, Very High 133.2 139.2 140.0 135.5 138.9 141.2
The Witcher 3, Ultra, No Hairworks 142.8 162.0 170.0 144.7 164.0 172.3

The move from four to six cores has delivered the biggest generational leap in mainstream gaming CPU power we’ve seen from Intel for many years, making the Core i7 8700K a simply terrific processor. It’s especially impressive bearing in mind just how potent its predecessor was — and still is. Out-of-the-box performance is massively improved, non-gaming tasks see some surprisingly positive results up against the enthusiast chips, while Intel’s continuing refinements to its 14nm fabrication process have resulted in even better overclocking results, even though the Coffee Lake processor itself is obviously larger and more complex than the outgoing Kaby Lake.

Every time a new mainstream i7 arrives, it becomes the default best-buy for extreme gaming but there’s a genuine level of excitement here with Coffee Lake-S — you’re getting many of the advantages of the enthusiast line without the impact on gaming performance. As the benchmark results rolled in, there was almost a sense of disbelief in how fast some of the boosts were — the 8700K retains everything that was impressive about the 6700K and 7700K, amplifying their best qualities with the brace of extra cores.

But it’s not all good news. The Z370 chipset offers the same physical socket and a very similar feature set to the older Z270 offering, but the increased power demands on Coffee Lake-S ensure that your older motherboard can’t run the new line of processors. Bearing in mind the big boost in performance, moving from Skylake or Kaby Lake to the new i7 is far more attractive than prior gen-to-gen upgrades, but the cost of a new motherboard adds significantly to the expense. Additionally, the i5 and i7 K chips are also pricier than their predecessors — UK pricing is uncertain right now, but we’re looking at an additional $50 USD for the i7. For this much extra power though, we’ll take it.

In the here and now though, it’s been a remarkable year for PC CPU technology. AMD’s return with Ryzen has shaken things up, but the lacklustre incremental improvements found in the i7 7700K have effectively forced Intel to be more bold — to go wider with more cores, more threads and more performance. Put simply, the Core i7 8700K is an excellent flagship product, and we look forward to testing the cheaper six-core i5 alternatives.

Intel Core i9-9900K Review (Coffee Lake Refresh) Review

Written by

Antony Leather

October 19, 2018 | 14:00

1 — Intel Core i9-9900K Review (Coffee Lake Refresh) Review2 — The Z390 chipset, backwards compatibility and soldered heat spreaders return3 — Test Setup4 — Content Creation and Synthetic Tests5 — Rendering and File Compression6 — 3D Performance7 — Power Consumption8 — Overclocking, Performance Analysis, and Conclusion

Manufacturer: Intel
UK price (as reviewed): £599.99 (inc. VAT)
US price (as reviewed): $579.99 (exc. tax)

The end is nowhere near in sight yet for the end of the CPU wars and there’s plenty more in store for the rest of 2018 too, with both Intel and AMD launching full broadsides of high-end desktop CPUs. Today, though, we’re blurring the lines between mainstream and high-end as we put Intel’s new mainstream flaghip through its paces — the Core i9-9900K.

In case you’ve been on another planet recently, you won’t have failed to see the numerous leaks and dodgy benchmarks that have revealed nearly all we need to know about this eight-core, 16-thread CPU, but today we’re finally allowed to provide those bonified numbers that you’re after in everything from games to rendering and content creation.

It’s an increasingly crowded market and from several angles too. Intel already has eight-core CPUs in its high-end desktop range and AMD, of course, has its Ryzen 7 CPUs as well as last generation Threadrippers that cost less than the Core i9-9900K. Intel’s lower stack also means it has competition from the Core i7-8700K, which even at the more inflated current prices around £450, is £150 cheaper than pre-orders of the first mainstream desktop Core i9.

Core i9-9900K versus, well, everything

So where on earth does the Core i9-9900K fit in? Well, at face value, you’re looking at Coffee Lake refresh using Intel’s aging 14nm manufacturing process, specifically 14nm++, thanks to yet another generation of CPUs based on this lithography due to 10nm’s delay. Intel’s 14nm parts now encompasses five distinct generations of mainstream desktop CPUs, stretching back to 2014’s Broadwell. Apart from 128GB RAM support, some tweaked frequencies and perhaps more significantly, altered cache amounts which we’ll talk about in a minute, it’s not completely wrong to think of the Core i9-9900K is essentially a Core i7-8700K with two more cores and four more threads. Intel has made quite a fuss about content creation this time around and rightly so — those two cores aren’t likely to yield any boosts to gaming performance but should offer a sizeable increase in multi-threaded prowess.

However, the more crowded the CPU market gets, the more niche each product will be and many are struggling to see why you’d fork out £600 for a CPU that will probably offer slim gains compared to cheaper Intel CPUs in games, lack value compared to AMD’s eight-core Ryzen CPUs and lacks multi-threaded grunt compared to AMD’s 1st gen Threadripper CPUs, namely the 1920X and 1950X, which are £200 cheaper and £100 dearer respectively, but both offer more cores and threads. In other words, the Core i9-9900K appears to have competition both from within its own ranks and from both AMD’s mainstream and high-end platforms in terms of price, performance and value.

A 4.7GHz all-core boost

One answer is frequency. With a peak boost frequency of 5GHz across not one but two cores and a massive all-core boost of 4.7GHz that proved to be a solid feature in our testing (400MHz higher than the Core i7-8700K), these are lofty numbers, even compared to Coffee Lake CPUs. For example, the Core i7-8700K only reached an all-core boost of 4.3GHz and topped out at 4.7GHz, while also having 4MB less L3 cache. In fact, many overclocking with the Core i7-8700K will likely have settled with a 4.7GHz all-core overclock or not much higher so the fact the Core i9-9900K does this across all eight cores at stock speed means that it’s a bit of speed daemon out of the box and will certainly have some of the lower end HEDT CPUs quaking in their boots. With on board graphics, specifically Intel UHD Graphics 630 with a maximum frequency of 1. 20 GHz, there’s scope for building the most powerful discrete GPU-less rig possible too, which might appeal to those after a super-small system just for content creation and rendering, depending specific GPU-acceleration requirements of course, and obviously something you can’t do with AMD CPUs except its Ryzen CPUs with Radeon Vega graphics (APUs), which are of course limited to four cores and eight threads at the moment.

Core i9-9900K Core i7-9700K Core i5-9600K Core i7-8700K Core i5-8600K
Base Freq 3.6GHz 3.6GHz 3.7GHz 3.7GHz 3.6GHz
Max Freq 5GHz 4. 9GHz 4.6GHz 4.7GHz 4.3GHz
Cores/threads 8/16 8/8 6/6 6/12 6/6
Core Coffee Lake Refresh Coffee Lake Refresh Coffee Lake Refresh Coffee Lake Coffee Lake
TDP 95W 95W 95W 95W 95W
L3 Cache 16MB 12MB 9MB 12MB 9MB
Lithography 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm
UK Price £599. 99 £499.99 £389.99 £458.99 £329.99

The 9th gen CPUs further complicate Intel’s mainstream line-up too. As of yet, there does not appear to be a K-series CPU below the Core i5-9600K, which in itself is only a modest upgrade from the Core i5-8600K with the same TDP, cores, threads and cache. However, the Core i7-9700K’s lack of hyper-threading indicates a shift in the product stack. This CPU is the real successor to the Core i7-8700K, but it’s eight cores and eight threads versus six cores and 12 threads. Our bets are on the former for multi-threaded prowess, but as the two CPUs have the same amount of cache, the Core i7-8700K has 2MB L3 cache per core compared to 1.5MB for the Core i7-9700K. With the increased cache on the Core i9, only it maintains the 2MB L3 cache per core of the old Core i7. It also marks the first time a mainstream desktop Core i7 CPU lacks hyper-threading — even in pre-Sandy Bridge days, after which the 4-digit naming scheme was introduced, the likes of the Lynnfield-based Core i7-860 sported four cores and eight threads.  

The reasoning here, especially given the lack of six-core, 12-thread CPU in the new line up, is that Intel is essentially shifting the flagship up to eight cores, so the Core i9-9900K is to the Core i7-8700K what the Core i7-9700K is to the Core i5-8600K, ie one has hyper-threading, the other does not. However, this leaves a sizeable gap in enthusiast K-series products yet again, with nothing below the Core i5-9600K, which costs £390 on pre-order and no sign yet of a quad-core K-series model. That is somewhat concerning, clearly, given we’ve had an option for overclockers here below £300 since the K-series naming scheme was introduced, although we doubt AMD is unhappy at that prospect. 

1 — Intel Core i9-9900K Review (Coffee Lake Refresh) Review2 — The Z390 chipset, backwards compatibility and soldered heat spreaders return3 — Test Setup4 — Content Creation and Synthetic Tests5 — Rendering and File Compression6 — 3D Performance7 — Power Consumption8 — Overclocking, Performance Analysis, and Conclusion

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Coffee Lake: Intel reprioritizes

In Coffee Lake, for the first time in many years, they promised a 30% increase in performance, and said nothing about economy. Other 8th generation architectures, according to Apple engineers, were either not good enough (Kaby Lake) or did not exist in nature (Cannon Lake). The new MacBook Pro decided to use Coffee Lake. In the real world, Coffee Lake is a 40-acre lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. An excellent place for fishing, unspoiled by civilization.

Coffee definitely doesn’t grow there, ten kilometers from the lake there is a border with Canada. But we will not waste time on a riddle from the field of toponymy. Since the second half of 2017, this is the code and marketing name for one of the 8th generation Intel Core architectures, and in addition, it is also the unofficial name of the process by which these processors are manufactured (14nm++, the second upgrade of the 14nm process).

Coffee Lake

The Coffee Lake architecture was developed “under the direction” of the R&D department of Intel Corporation, in Haifa, Israel. It is believed that it was developed for several years, but for some reason it was not released. The development was adapted to technological processes and architectural solutions of new generations of Intel Core, and now they gave the green light. Intel was going through hard times, after decades of leadership in the industry, it is very unpleasant to be in second place, with almost no hope of revenge. And now — Coffee Lake, with an increased number of cores, with higher clock speeds, especially in Turbo Boost mode, and a significant increase in performance. And everything done during the years of reducing energy consumption has not disappeared either.

Why didn’t they do it sooner?

At first glance, Coffee Lake was a response to AMD’s actions. In particular, on AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X. The competitor is increasing performance, increasing the number of cores, the trend is obvious. The reaction of the market to it is obvious: power attracts interest, the method chosen to achieve it literally lay on the surface. Raise frequencies, increase the number of cores, if necessary, improve cooling systems. But why has it become so important to AMD?

Until recently, laptops were the most popular and profitable direction in the industry. For a variety of reasons. It seemed that the whole world was in motion, and even thousands of kilometers from home, no one wanted to be left without electronic assistants. I don’t know what was the root cause here — the appearance of portable devices or some other, but the result is known: huge amounts of money have now been invested in eliminating the problems and shortcomings of mobile devices of all their varieties. Battery life in those days rarely exceeded a couple of hours, processors and peripherals eagerly absorbed energy and turned it into heat. The devices were heavy and uncomfortable.

It’s no surprise that the best minds in the industry have addressed these issues and achieved fantastic results. Intel was at the forefront of this progress. The world was captured by mobile devices — smartphones and tablets, now they could replace the personal computer in almost everything, Apple announced the beginning of the post-computer era, and computer sales really stopped growing. Intel’s attempts to capture the market for processors for mobile devices (Intel Atom) were unsuccessful. In 2017, Samsung took the first place in the processor industry. In the transition to 10 nm technology, TSMC was the first, and Intel in 2017 unsuccessfully struggled with the technical problems of this technology.

Intel needed victories, at any cost — obvious ones that could restore its prestige and stop the crisis. It required, figuratively speaking, Intel’s version of the iMac. Cannon Lake architecture would be best suited for this role. For lack of a stamp, I had to write in simple. It was not possible to solve strategic problems with the help of Coffee Lake, but what happened was not bad either.

Table Coffee Lakes

Coffee Lake was presented to the public on the day of the solar eclipse, August 21, 2017. The fact that the moon will obscure the sun on this day, and that this phenomenon can be observed in most of the United States, was written by a variety of media. All sorts of mystics and predictors of the end of the world came to life — the time for the birth of the architecture on which Intel had high hopes was ideal. 8 a.m. PDT on Facebook Live. Online, yes!

According to Intel, the 14nm++ process technology outperformed both previous 14nm process designs radically and significantly. Experts agreed that this is an improvement, but not a radical one. Coffee Lake was presented as a product of deep optimization and modernization of the Kaby Lake architecture. Processors of this architecture, in the near future, were supposed to be released in mobile (for laptops) and server versions, but their introduction began with six processors for desktop computers. Base clock up to 3.7GHz, Turbo Boost up to 4.7GHz. With a cache of the third level from 6 to 12 MB.

The first six processors of the new architecture are the best illustration of Intel’s intentions, other Coffee Lake processors could not fail to deviate from the original plan, but the essence of these six is ​​reflected clearly and unambiguously. The i7-8700 and i7-8700K are the most powerful of the six. 6 physical cores, each with two threads of control, that is, in fact, these are 12 virtual ones. Third-level cache 12 MB, clock frequency 3.2 and 3.7 GHz, in Turbo Boost mode — 4.6 and 4.7 GHz. TDP (Heat Dissipation Requirements) — 65 and 95 watts. Built-in GT2 level graphics. Power consumption could not help but grow, but compared to the monsters from AMD, it was negligible. RAM was supported up to DDR4-2666.

i5-8400 and i5-8600K are average. Both are 6-core, both do not support Hyperthreading, that is, there are only 6 control flows. Clock frequencies are 2.8 and 3.6 GHz, maximum 4.0 and 4.3 GHz, third-level cache 9 MB. The same TDP 65 and 95 watts, GT2 and DDR4-2666. Junior, i3-8100 and i3-8350K — 4-core, without support for Hyperthreading (only 4 control threads), clock speeds 3.6 and 4.0 GHz, no turbo mode, third-level cache 6 and 8 MB, GT2 with 23 execution units (instead of 24 for all others), TDP 65 and 91 Watt, DDR4-2400.

Over time, the line of Coffee Lake desktop processors has expanded, I will even write about one of them (released in June 2018) separately.

Coffee lakes for laptops

“Mobile” processors with Coffee Lake architecture were introduced in early April 2018 (do you have one? Tell us in our Telegram chat). At Apple, they appeared much earlier, at the very beginning of the year — and apparently not only at Apple. There was a revolution in the direction beloved by the corporation. Special. Intel announced that it was able to create the most powerful and best processors for laptops in the history of the existence of this class of computers. The novelty was designated Core i9, and praised it in every possible way wherever possible. Glory went to the team from the R&D center in Haifa, even a group photo of the creators of this processor was published.

New Intel

processors

Only one processor was released in the Core i9 class, the i9-8950HK, clocked at 2.9 GHz, boosted to 4.8 GHz in turbo mode, with 12 MB L3 cache, with integrated graphics GT2 level processor. 6-core processor, with support for Hyperthreading (operating systems perceived it as 12-core), with a declared TDP of 45 watts. The processor aroused a frenzied interest among those who «understand» until it fell into the hands of vivisectors and naturalists. The processor was really fast and really was not bad, but according to experts it was still the same i7.

There were publications about Intel as an untrustworthy company, for the sake of selfish and selfish purposes, renamed i7 to i9, i5 to i7 and i3 to i5. In fact, everything was not so simple, although the marketing component in the actions of the corporation, desperately trying to stay afloat and stay at least in second place, has noticeably increased. What should Intel do? Give up?

The line of “mobile” Coffee Lake processors included all the classic subgroups of Intel processors, including the Core i3. The Core i5 and Core i7 lived up to their designations, the only processor that broke the traditional mold was indeed the best, at least in the Intel product line, and possibly in the world.

To be continued

from canyons and salt lakes to flamingos and volcanoes

The fourth amazing week of B2B.Ostrovok fell on the hottest resort destination. Yes, we are talking about Turkey — a country that is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and never ceases to impress!

Prepared material about the main attractions of Cappadocia. The region will be of interest to tourists not only for its extraordinary nature, but also for the opportunity to touch the history of the mysterious Ottoman Empire. We tell you what to do in an amazing place, in addition to flying in hot air balloons.

Break the stereotypes

Cappadocia is an unusually picturesque region, which is rightly praised by bloggers from all over the world. However, apart from the spectacular balloons, this place is truly unique and impressive. What are the amazing canyons, salt lakes, pink flamingos and ancient temples in the rubble of rocks.

Translated from the Persian language, Cappadocia means “the country of thoroughbred horses”. Travelers from all over the world discovered this central region of Turkey relatively recently, although its rich history dates back to the 6th century BC. e.

Cappadocia is a challenging region and may not be to everyone’s taste. Here the sun is hot and there is no sea, and a walk is impossible without ups and downs. From Russia, you cannot get here by direct flight — only with a transfer in Istanbul or other cities in Turkey. However, those who go on such a journey will find the pristine beauty of the ancient world and immersion in history.

When is the best time to go to Cappadocia

The tourist season in Cappadocia is five months — from May to September. At this time, there is the most comfortable weather, tents with ripe fruits and local flavor.

Fall in love with the city

An obligatory part of a trip to Cappadocia is a walk through the most popular city of Goreme. This can be done alone or with a guide. Even in the center, where there are a lot of tourists during the day, you can breathe in the atmosphere of a Turkish town — look into the windows of the rock houses of local residents, drink a cup of Turkish coffee and go to a local fortuneteller on coffee grounds.

In the evenings, when the day trips are over, Göreme is at the disposal of those who stay overnight. Pleasant places, quiet walks and mesmerizing sunsets — this original place, similar to the scenery for a movie, will definitely be remembered for a long time!

An obligatory part of a trip to Cappadocia is a walk through the most popular city of Goreme. Photo: Huseyin Eren Obuz / Shutterstock.com

Where to stay

  • Melek Cave Hotel
  • Panoramic Cave Hotel
  • Hotel Mosaic Cave
  • Divan Cave House
  • Henna Hotel

Surprise at the salt lake

Tuz salt lake in the Kayseri region can be called a natural miracle without exaggeration. It is definitely necessary to go here in the summer, when most of the salt in the lake evaporates and covers the surface of the water with snow-white «snow». We advise you to visit the lake during sunset, when the mirror surface acquires a rich pink hue.

If you’re lucky, you might see flamingos — Lake Tuz is their favorite spot during mating season.

Salt Lake Tuz in the Kayseri region can be called a natural miracle without exaggeration. Photo: Olena Znak / Shutterstock.com

Getting there

Lake Tuz is located 160 km from Goreme. It is convenient to get there by car, so you can safely take car sharing or rent a car on B2B.Ostrovok and trust the navigator.

You can also get to the natural attraction by bus. To do this, you need to buy a ticket in Goreme or Kayseri and go to Aksaray for 5-8 €, then you have to take a taxi for 30-40 €.

The third way is a transfer from a hotel or a taxi. For a comfortable trip from Goreme, you will have to pay 80 € — ideal for those traveling with a company. The transfer can also be ordered on B2B.Ostrovok.

Lake Tuz is located 160 km from Goreme. Photo: Naeblys / Shutterstock.com

Explore the ancient canyon

In the Ihlara valley, you can feel the expanses of Turkey’s many facets like nowhere else. A natural attraction arose after a volcanic eruption and spread over several kilometers. The canyon originates in the village of Ihlara and ends in the settlement of Selime.

The ideal position to view the canyon is from above, so you can feel the whole breathtaking scale of the valley and see the details against the backdrop of mountains and forest. There is also life inside the Millennium Canyon, and there are footpaths and bridges for tourists. The entrance to the canyon is 3 €, the view from above is free.

The canyon starts in the village of Ihlara and ends in the settlement of Selime. Photo: el_cigarrito / Shutterstock.com

How to get there

Already familiar options: car, taxi (about 20 €) or excursion from the hotel in Goreme (15 to 25 €).

You can also get to the location by public transport from Goreme. To do this, you need to get to Aksaray by bus (5-8 €) and transfer to a minibus that goes to Ihlara (0.7 €) — you should get off at the stop of the settlement of Selime or Belysyrma.

There is also life inside the Millennium Canyon, there are footpaths and bridges for tourists. Photo: Sener Dagasan / Shutterstock.com

Try not to wake up the volcano

Cappadocia is a mysterious region full of mysteries. Some say that the local relief is the seabed, while others are sure that the unusual landscape is the result of volcanic formations. Nevertheless, there is also a real volcano in Cappadocia!

Erciyes dormant volcano is covered with a striped blanket of snow and earth. Almost 4000 meters high, it is located on a plain, which makes it look very majestic and visible for many kilometers. The view from above is indistinguishable from the Austrian Alps, and below there is a lake and cozy houses.

In the winter season, Erciyes turns into a ski resort with a convenient infrastructure. Tourists can spend the night in a tent on a mountain slope or book a room in a comfortable hotel at the foot of the volcano and use the cable car.

Accommodation

  • Magna Pivot Hotel
  • Ramada Resort Erciyes
  • Grand Eras Hotel
  • Erciyes Hill Hotel

Erciyes dormant volcano is covered with a striped blanket of snow and earth. Photo: muratart / Shutterstock.com

Getting there

You can get to the giant by public transport, which runs from Kayseri to Develi and back. The journey by bus will take no more than an hour, the ticket costs 6 €.

You can also get to the volcano by taxi or with an excursion from the hotel (such entertainment will cost 20-25 €).

Take a walk in the national park

Goreme National Park is like a huge sandbox, in which bizarre wet sand towers are built. The size of the park is impressive, so it is better to lay a whole day to visit it. Of course, you won’t be able to get around everything, but your tourists will definitely have time to enjoy breathtaking views and find abandoned temples.

Göreme National Park is like a huge sandbox filled with bizarre wet sand towers. Photo: Michelle Silke / Shutterstock.com

Walking through the park, you can easily feel like an archaeologist at the excavations of ancient civilizations. To do this, you need to turn off the tourist zone of the park and try to find icons on the rocks, ancient cells and messages from people from past centuries.

Getting there

The park is within walking distance from the center of Goreme. A walk with a slight uphill climb will take half an hour. Entrance to the park costs 6-7 €.

Walking through the park, you can easily feel like an archaeologist at the excavations of ancient civilizations. Photo: nurdem atay / Shutterstock.com


Turkey is a country that has long been familiar to everyone, but at the same time continues to give new discoveries and impressions. The best place to once again be convinced of this is definitely space Cappadocia.

Share material with clients and plan your dream trip. If you need help, write to the curator — he will tell you how to organize a trip and answer any questions.

Even more surprising Turkey in the blog: about thermal resorts, about small charming towns.

Book on B2B.Ostrovok

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      tours to Armenia

      dated 34064

    • , 12.1 Breakfast

      Tours to Armenia

      dated 34064

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    • from 13.10.2022 for 4 nights, 3 , breakfasts

      rounds in Armenia

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      of 9000 3 of 9000 3 dated 9042 34060437 on 1 night, 3 , breakfasts and dinners

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      ground service

      dated 1757

      *

    • from 02.10.2022 for 1 night, 3 , breakfasts

      Tuitionary service

      dated 1757

      *

    • from 03.10.2022 for 1 night, 3 , breakfast

      GUENDARY SAMS

      dated 1757 9009 9000 9000 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 904 90EV Moscow on the ship Swan Lake

      Cruise route: Moscow — Tver — Moscow
      Departure: 19:30 Moscow time
      Arrival: 18:00 Moscow time

      More 14 photos

      Accommodation during tour

      Cabin

      2 nights

      Comfort

      Above average

      Complexity

      Difficulty levels

      Basic

      Suitable for everyone regardless of physical fitness and age

      Medium

      Moderate exercise suitable for beginners

      Advanced

      Does not require special skills, but tourists must be in good physical shape: expeditions, long rafting trips, etc.

      Complex

      Hiking experience, special skills and excellent physical condition required: climbing, extreme rafting, etc.

      Basic
      level

      Group meeting place

      Moscow

      Minimum age

      1 year

      Ask an expert

      8 800 551-95-12

      Free in Russia

      +7 (495) 128-95-55

      Moscow and other countries

      Or send a message to

      The cheapest tickets in Russia

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      Subsidized tickets with 50% discount

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      buy subsidized tickets

      Subsidies provided

      • Pensioners: women over 55 and men over 60
      • The younger generation under 23
      • People with disabilities of group I
      • Children with disabilities and an accompanying assistant

      Federal program
      for subsidizing air transportation of the Russian Federation

      Tour program

      • 1 day

        Moscow

        1 day

        Moscow

        Moscow, Northern river station (SRV), Leningradskoe sh. , 51

      • Day 2

        Day 2

      • Day 3

        Moscow

        Day 3

        Moscow

      Complexity

      Difficulty levels

      Basic

      Suitable for everyone regardless of physical fitness and age

      Medium

      Moderate exercise suitable for beginners

      Advanced

      Does not require special skills, but tourists must be in good physical shape: expeditions, long rafting trips, etc.

      Complex

      Hiking experience, special skills and excellent physical condition required: climbing, extreme rafting, etc.

      Basic
      Level

      Accommodation

      Cabin

      2 nights

      Comfort

      Above average


      «Swan Lake» — a large motor ship-boarding house of the company «Sozvezdie». The ratio of the number of crew members to the number of guests: 1:3.
      Here everyone will find something to their liking: from professional yoga lessons to a visit to a real theater.
      ACCOMMODATION

      The ship’s cabins can comfortably accommodate up to 300 guests. On the middle deck, 50 cabins have been modernized: with a change in layout, design, all furniture and decoration. The area of ​​the bathroom has been increased, where a separate area for the shower has been allocated. Cabins are classified as A2 comfort. Some of the cabins have balconies. The 20 «Junior Suites» with balconies are named after famous ballet dancers.
      CATERING

      All Sozvezdie ships have a single catering concept (read more). If you have special nutritional requirements or contraindications for certain products, please inform our staff and the dish will be prepared individually. The restaurant offers diet and gluten-free menus upon request. On board the ship you can enjoy delicious pastries and fragrant coffee Jardin Supremo (Colombian Arabica), prepared by a professional barista. FOR CHILDREN
      There is a special offer «Children free» on the ship. Qualified animators work. Entertainment programs, children’s hour, master classes and quests are held for children and teenagers. Each child under 10 years of age receives a gift upon registration. On request, cots and bed linen are offered free of charge on board, the restaurant has a specially designed menu, the dishes of which are served in children’s dishes, and there are also special high chairs for babies from one to three years old.
      ENTERTAINMENT
      AND SERVICES
      A full range of entertainment is available to tourists on board: bars, dance evenings with live music, master classes, yoga classes, chamber music programs, evening theater performances, kids club. On the ship you will find not only varied, but also useful rest. Professional instructors conduct morning exercises every morning and organize yoga and Pilates classes. There are exercise machines on the deck where you can work out at any time. And in the restaurant and bar you will be offered herbal tea and an oxygen cocktail.

      2 Nights

      A4N or A2N, or other options

      2 Nights

      A4N or A2N, or other options

      A4N

      to category A4N include cabins: 105, 108, 112, 113 .

      Four-bed bunk cabin with all amenities, located on the lower deck.

      Cabin area from 11.7 to 13.3 m²

      Cabin: two single beds and two bunk beds, wardrobe, table, two chairs, wall shelf, mirror, air conditioning, refrigerator, bathroom (sink , shower, toilet), radio, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, hair dryer, sockets 220 V, brush for clothes, portholes, a blanket for each tourist.

      Main beds: 4
      Extra beds: 0

      2

      Category 2 includes cabins: 106, 107, 109–111, 114 .

      Double bunk cabin with all amenities, located on the lower deck.

      Cabin area from 11.7 to 13.3 m²

      In the cabin: two single beds and two bunk beds, wardrobe, table, two chairs, mirror, wall shelf, air conditioning, refrigerator, bathroom (sink , shower, toilet), radio, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, hairdryer, sockets 220 V, brush for clothes, blanket for each tourist, portholes. It is possible to accommodate a third and fourth person on an additional sleeping place on the top.

      Main places: 2
      Extra places: 2

      2(III)

      Category 2(III) includes cabins: 207–236, 305–312 .

      Double cabin with all amenities, located on the main and aft middle decks.

      Cabin area from 8.3 to 8.7 m²

      In the cabin: two single beds, wardrobe, table, mirror, wall shelf, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), radio, air conditioning, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, hairdryer, blanket for each tourist, brush for clothes, sockets 220 V, viewing window.

      Main places: 2
      Extra places: 0

      1 more photo

      Double cabin with all amenities, located on the main and aft middle decks.

      Cabin area from 8.3 to 8.7 m²

      In the cabin: two single beds, wardrobe, table, mirror, wall shelf, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), radio, air conditioning, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, hairdryer, blanket for each tourist, brush for clothes, sockets 220 V, viewing window.

      Main places: 2
      Extra places: 0

      1 more photo

      Double cabin with all amenities, located on the middle deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 9.2 to 9.6 m²

      Cabin: two single beds, dressing table, wardrobe, table, padded pouffe, coat rack, mirror, radio, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, telephone, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), slippers, observation window, hair dryer, set of dishes, blankets, brush for clothes, the optimal number of electrical sockets for 220V, air conditioning.

      • In cabins 355-360, a third person can be accommodated on an extra bed on the top.

      Main beds: 2
      Extra beds: 0

      2 more photos

      Large double cabin with all amenities, located on the boat deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 12.3 m²

      In the cabin: one double bed (if necessary, it can be transformed into two single beds), bedside tables, coat rack, coffee table, two armchairs, wardrobe, pouffe, mirror, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), air conditioning, safe, radio, hairdryer, blanket for each tourist, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, sockets 220 V, two viewing windows.

      Also at the service of tourists in the cabin: cosmetics for the shower, toiletries, brush for clothes, bathrobes, sleep masks, slippers, a set of dishes and cutlery, tea pair, drinking water and a «welcome set» (sparkling drink, fruit ), mini-bar (extra charge), Bosch Tassimo capsule coffee machine (one cup of coffee per person as a gift).

      Basic beds: 2
      Extra beds: 0

      3 more photos

      No. 421 — «Galina Ulanova»
      No. 422 — «Anna Pavlova»
      No. 423 — «Maya Plisetskaya»
      No. 424 — «Agrippina Vaganova»

      Extra spacious double cabin with all amenities located on the boat deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 29.2 m² (including balcony ≈ 7.2 m²).

      In the cabin: one double bed (transformed into two single beds if necessary), double sofa (2 extra beds), bedside tables, wardrobe, pouffe, dressing table, coat rack, bathroom (sink, shower cabin, toilet), refrigerator, air conditioner, safe, radio, hairdryer, cable and satellite TV, telephone, blanket for each tourist, 220 V sockets, viewing window, glass balcony door, private balcony with furniture for relaxation. Can accommodate up to 4 people.

      Also available to tourists in the cabin: shower cosmetics, toiletries, brush for clothes, bathrobes, sleep masks, slippers, set of dishes and cutlery, tea pair, drinking water and a “welcome set” (sparkling drink, fruit ), mini-bar (extra charge), Bosch Tassimo capsule coffee machine (one cup of coffee per person as a gift).

      Main beds: 2
      Extra beds: 2

      10 more photos

      Junior suite with balcony B

      Category Junior suite with balcony B includes cabins: 401–408, 411–418 .

      No. 401 — “Anna Vybeschanskaya”
      No. 402 — “Tamara Karsavina”
      No. 403 — “Mikhail Fokin”
      No. 404 — “Matilda Kshesinskaya”
      No. 405 — “Venzlav Nizhinsky”
      No. 406 — “Ekaterina” — “Catherine Vazem
      No. 407 — Tatyana Vecheslova
      No. 408 — Maris Liepa
      No. 411 — Ekaterina Maksimova
      No. 412 — Olga Lepeshinskaya
      No. 413 — Shulamith Messerer
      No. 414 — «Sofya Golovkina»
      No. 415 — «Natalia Bessmertnova»
      No. 416 — «Marina Semenova»
      No. 417 — «Alla Shelest»
      No. 418 — «Natalya Dudinskaya»

      Cabins 401, 402, 407, 408, 413-416 are large double cabins with all amenities located on the boat deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 20.6 m² (including balcony ≈ 6.8 m²).

      In the cabin: one double bed (transformed into two single beds if necessary), single sofa, bedside tables, wardrobe, dressing table, pouffe, coat rack, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet) , air conditioning, radio, hairdryer, blanket for each tourist, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, safe, telephone, sockets 220 V, observation window, glass balcony door, private balcony with furniture for relaxation. It is possible to accommodate a third person on an extra bed (single sofa).

      Also at the service of tourists in the cabin: cosmetics, toiletries, a brush for clothes, bathrobes, sleep masks, slippers, a set of dishes and cutlery, tea couple, drinking water and a «welcome set» (sparkling drink, fruit), mini-bar (for an additional fee), capsule coffee machine (one cup of coffee per person — as a gift).

      Cabins 403–406, 411, 412, 417, 418 are large double cabins with all amenities located on the boat deck.

      In the cabin: one double bed (transformed into two single beds if necessary), bedside tables, two armchairs, coffee table, dressing table, pouffe, wardrobe, coat rack, safe, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), air conditioning, radio, hairdryer, blanket for each tourist, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, telephone, sockets 220 V, panoramic window, glass balcony door, private balcony with furniture for relaxation.

      Also available to tourists in the cabin: shower cosmetics, toiletries, brush for clothes, bathrobes, sleep masks, slippers, set of dishes and cutlery, tea pair, drinking water and a “welcome set” (sparkling drink, fruit ), mini-bar (extra charge), Bosch Tassimo capsule coffee machine (one cup of coffee per person as a gift).

      Main places: 2
      Additional places: 1

      11 more photos

      1

      Category A1 includes cabins: 429, 430 .

      Single cabin with all amenities located on the boat deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 7.3 m²

      In the cabin: bed, wardrobe, table, wall shelf, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), radio, air conditioning, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, hair dryer, blanket, brush for clothes, sockets 220 V, viewing window.

      Main places: 1
      Additional places: 0

      3 more photos

      A1+ with balcony

      Category A1+ with balcony includes cabins: 409, 410, 419, 420 .

      Single cabin with balcony with all amenities, located on the boat deck.

      Cabin area ≈ 14.4 m² (including balcony ≈ 4.8 m²).

      In the cabin: single bed, extra bed on the top (folding bunk), armchair, dressing table, wardrobe, mirror, refrigerator, bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), radio, air conditioning, hair dryer, blanket for each tourist, TV with cable and satellite broadcasting, sockets 220 V, a blanket, a brush for clothes, a glass balcony door-window, a private balcony with furniture for relaxation.

      • It is possible to place a second person on an extra bed (folding shelf).

      Main places: 1
      Extra places: 1

      11 more photos

      Reviews

      write a feedback

      Organization of the tour — 100%. Well done! Thanks for the story!

      Everything is wonderful.

      Tour conditions

      Tver region

      Meeting point of the group

      Moscow

      Duration

      3 days

      Included in the price

      Included in the price

      • accommodation in a cabin of the corresponding category
      • three meals a day: buffet breakfast (water, tea, coffee included), lunch and dinner — to order (water, tea, coffee included)
      • excursion service according to the cruise program
      • entertainment and travel information on board

      Additional drinks (free of charge) :

      • tea, coffee for early risers — 1 hour before breakfast at the bar (on flights over 4 days)
      • breakfast — a glass of sparkling wine, fruit drink, juice
      • dinner — a glass of fruit drink
      • dinner — 1 glass of juice or alcoholic drink (red or white wine/vodka/cognac)

      This cruise takes place on the ship of the company «Sozvezdie».
      Detailed information about the services provided by the company on board:
      Power concept

      Send a request to the organizer

      Dates and cost of the tour are being specified.
      Submit a request for up-to-date information

      Submit your application

      Safari: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro. Serena Lodge 5* | Tour program

      Animal migration in Tanzania 5*
      Safari: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro. Serena Lodge 5*

      Tour duration

      6 days / 5 nights

      Price from

      2580 USD

      The next dates of the races

      Any day for a group of 2 people

      Tour

      Aryusha — National Park Serengeti — Natural Park of the Crater Ngororo

      Welcome to real, wild Africa! Living in savannahs, forests, along riverbanks and on vast plains, inhabited by animals that we could see in the zoo, in the circus, somewhere else, gives an unforgettable experience of experiencing a different reality. Our program includes visits to the best national parks in Tanzania. This is a private tour for a group of 2 or more: Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This is the quintessence of Tanzanian safaris. You can continue the tour by relaxing on the sea in the vicinity of Dar es Salaam or on the island of Zanzibar.
      Dates of arrival in Arusha: Any day for a group of 2 people

      3

      Buy Tour

      Program Tour
      Day 1

      Arrival in Arusha (before 10.00). Meeting. Moving to Lake Manyara National Park . The word «manyara» comes from the name of the plant «emanyara», from which the Maasai tribes built their dwellings. Unique in its beauty, Lake Manyara National Park was founded in 1960 year. The lush forest, where colonies of baboons and blue monkeys live, gives way to woodlands, meadows, swamps and lakes. Buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, antelopes, hippos, zebras are found everywhere here. However, the most famous sight is the lions climbing trees. They spend most of the day sprawling on acacia branches six to seven meters above the ground, looking for prey. The bird world of the park is also unusually rich, especially near the lake. Pink flamingos, three species of cormorants, a darter and several species of herons living in huge colonies live here, there is an ibis, a red pelican, a marabou and a razin stork, whose amazing beak shape allows it to catch snails, as well as migrant birds, which number more than 380 varieties. Dinner. Safari in the park . Accommodation at the lodge, dinner.

      Day 2

      In the morning we drive through coffee plantations and sown fields through the uplift formed by the Ngorongoro Crater further into the valley of the Serengeti National Park. This park was created in 1951 by the British colonial authorities. In 1981, it was included in the UNESCO list of world natural heritage. The word «Serengeti» in translation means «endless plains» or, more precisely, comes from the Masai word «siringet» — «elongated platform». The oldest and most famous in Tanzania and, according to some estimates, one of the best reserves in the world , covers an area of ​​​​almost 15,000 square meters. km. Here you can get acquainted with the East Africa that existed on the planet before the white man appeared here. And indeed, for centuries, the wastelands of the Serengeti plains were practically not inhabited, but about 100 years ago, the nomadic Masai tribes came from the north. Accommodation at Serena 5* lodge.

      Day 3

      Early breakfast, departure for safari in the Serengeti park. Huge populations of migratory animals live here, moving around the park in search of food. In the central part of the Serengeti in the Seronera Valley, you can always find large herds of buffalo and elephants, giraffes and wildebeests. Lions and leoprads are nearby. In the south of the park, the salty Lake Ndatu attracts thousands of flamingos. Lunch-picnic and continuation of the safari, return to the lodge in the evening.

      Day 4

      Transfer to Ngorongoro National Wildlife Refuge . On the way — observation of animals walking around the savannah. Accommodation in a lodge, outdoor recreation. Added value (USD 36 per person): Visit to Olduvai Gorge, home to many prehistoric finds. A huge fissure of the Great African Rift 100 meters deep, in the outcrops of the steep slopes of which the remains and tools of a Handy Man (lived about 2 million years ago) were found. Incredibly beautiful remnants of red sandstone in the middle of a green plain look very photogenic.

      Day 5

      Panoramic view of the crater from its edge. Ngorongoro is a huge crater on the edge of the Serengeti savannah, resulting from the explosion of a large volcano about 2. 5 million years ago. At the bottom of the crater is Lake Magami, famous for its flamingo population. Today you will descend to the 600-meter depth of the crater. Explore forest areas inhabited by monkeys and elephants, volcanic lakes where flamingos appear in all their glory, and open savannahs where lions hunt for prey. Ngorongoro Crater is unique in that over the years it has developed its own habitat for many animal species that are unable to escape. About 25 thousand animals live in the crater, it has the highest density of predators in all of Africa. Especially common in Ngorongoro are zebras, buffaloes and various types of antelopes such as wildebeest, eland and gazelles. In addition to them, black rhinos, elephants and, which is unusual for these latitudes, hippos also live in Ngorongoro. Full day safari with a stop for lunch on the shores of a picturesque lake. Dinner in the evening at the lodge.

      Day 6 Transfer to Arusha (125 km) and further to Kilimanjaro airport for a flight to Moscow or to the island of Zanzibar. Before departure: lunch and visit to the largest souvenir shop in Arusha.

      Tour cost per person: from 2580 USD

      Month

      Double occupancy

      Supplement for single accommodation

      June-October 2021 – animal migration tours 3240 +420
      November-December 2021 (except for the New Year period) 2580 +300

      The tour can be extended for several days by choosing a suitable excursion program: https://www.otkrytie.ru/tanzania/odnodnevnye-ehksjursii-v-tanzanii
      Moshi, another safari or holiday in Zanzibar.

      Tour price includes:

      • accommodation in Serena Lodge 5* in double rooms,
      • three meals a day (day 1: lunch and dinner only, day 6: breakfast and lunch only),
      • all safaris with English speaking guides in a private jeep with opening roof,
      • all transfers, meeting-seeing off at the airport,
      • entrance fees according to the program.

      Tour price does not include:

      • flight Moscow — Arusha (ARK or JRO) — Moscow,
      • Tanzania tourist entry visa (50 USD),
      • medical insurance (from 1 Euro per day),
      • all personal expenses, all other expenses not specified in the program.

      Supplement for travel from December 24 to January 2: USD 60 per person per night (based on the number of nights that fall on public holidays).
      Surcharge upon arrival at the airport JRO = 85 USD per car one way.

      Note: Yellow fever vaccination is not required to travel to Tanzania if you are arriving on an international flight from Europe (Turkey, Qatar). However, a vaccination certificate is required if you are entering the country through a land border or from a country where yellow fever is common (Central, West Africa). We strongly recommend that be vaccinated (at least 2 weeks prior to travel) and bring your vaccination certificate with you. Must follow prevent malaria with medicines.

      Ulyana G.

      Sophia, good afternoon!

      I still didn’t have time to write to you.

      Thank you very much for the tour! Everything was great — the program was built in the right way (with an increasing level of interest), the hotels were very good.

      There were no problems.

      The only thing is that upon arrival we waited 20 minutes for the rangers. But at that moment, Mikhail was in touch, for which special thanks to him!

      Everything went great, and especially the birthday! 🙂

      Thank you again!

      How to book a tour

      Route selection

      All our tours contain detailed itinerary and ground handling prices in the country. Choose the offer you like the most, write or call us: tell us the desired dates of the trip, the number and names of participants.