Review The Intel i7-10700 (not K) review @ TechPowerUp

[UsandThem]

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-10700/

Spoiler

Here's a review you don't see very often (locked Intel higher-end CPUs). Intel doesn't send out many locked CPUs to be tested, so this review caught my eye.

With the 10th gen CPUs, Intel has allowed the motherboard manufacturer's to play around with the power limits, effectively making this ($320 Newegg) CPU a viable option compared to the "K" version ($409.99 Newegg).

However, when removing the lower power limits, it comes at the expense of very high power usage, while at stock the CPU is pretty efficient. I'm not comparing this to the AMD options, just focusing on the overall value for users who will only use Intel CPUs.

 

[coercitiv]

With the 10th gen CPUs, Intel has allowed the motherboard manufacturer's to play around with the power limits, effectively making this ($320 Newegg) CPU a viable option compared to the "K" version ($409.99 Newegg).

However, when removing the lower power limits, it comes at the expense of very high power usage, while at stock the CPU is pretty efficient.

This has been true ever since Coffee Lake. My 8700 is effectively equal with 8700K at stock config, and I didn't even have to change power limits in BIOS (they were already removed by MSI). Had they allowed setting the all-core multi to the top single-core multi the 8700 would have been a no-brainer for most people.

My 65W TDP i7 is effectively a 120W TDP CPU, needs a beefy cooler too to stay cool & silent.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

for users who will only use Intel CPUs.

I have to agree with the conclusion. It is not a compelling purchase for anything, because there are better choices from both companies better suited to whatever you are looking to do. Few are going to pair a non K with Z490, so making it really shine with memory tuning won't be happening. It's a great CPU, but Intel hamstringing it to avoid cannibalization, and overpricing it, leaves it as meh.

 

[Arkaign]

^^ Agreed. Especially in terms of how crippled Intel limits the B series mobos in terms of memory options, I find the non K Intel parts pathetic for the most part these days.

One of my only serious criticisms of AMD in regards to the Ryzen lineup was that in terms of offering platforms for your typical corporate desktop use was suboptimal to an extent due to no IGP on anything with 6 Cores or more. This meant that comparing say an i7 8700, i5 9400, i5 10400 desktop vs a Ryzen 2600/3600/3300 etc ended up requiring a dGPU to complete the system.

Supporting a bunch of lawyers and healthcare professionals in my time, along with misc other office and corporate to small business users, it is definitely nice for someone to be able to get 6 or 8 cores and 16GB or more of Ram, along with an appropriate SSD, so that the kind of user who leaves Outlook open with a ton of email, multiple documents, Time Matters, and multiple browsers and sometimes an Adobe app or two can maintain good performance. None of these things honestly tax even the fairly mediocre Intel HD IGPs whatsoever, and being able to have less points of failure, noise, and expense vs a dGPU setup is a real bonus.

The only exceptions I run into is for daytrader types and users who want to run three or more displays simultaneously, or occasionally two or more displays when some awful OEM (*cough* HP!) offers only a single HDMI and a single VGA as outputs. Which while it does indeed support two screens out of the box, VGA is garbage for modern use and has nearly disappeared from modern monitors.

Now with AMD launching new 6 and 8 core 4000 series Zen2 APUs, this essentially erases one of the last use cases for Intel SKUs IMHO outside of extremely narrow gaming-as-primary/main scenarios.

And even in the purely gaming only scenario, if Intel offered just a BIT more flexibility with their non K series lineup, it would be easier to recommend them as alternative DIY options.

In the best case world, the K series should be binned top end options only, and the rest of the lineup should be fully unlocked and supporting XMP up to contemporary options. Take this 10700 for example. If it supported DDR4 3600 on a B460 Mobo, as well as being fully unlocked and being able to OC a bit on AIB mobos, it would be a respectable option. Let the OEMs like HP, Dell, etc lock them on their end, but let the DIY crowd have full control, and it would make SO much more sense.

As is, I have to give the bulk of the Intel lineup a 👎👎👎👎, and despite the XP Ryzens being disappointing, I think their new APUs are 🤘🤘🤘👍👍👍

 

[DAPUNISHER]

XT Ryzens are a bad joke.

And I would consider Intel for budget gaming builds, if the CPU prices were significantly lower. It would justify spending more on the board for it. Then with a little tweaking, you get a nice gamer with a good upgrade path, for the right price point.

 

[Zstream]

XT Ryzens are a bad joke.

And I would consider Intel for budget gaming builds, if the CPU prices were significantly lower. It would justify spending more on the board for it. Then with a little tweaking, you get a nice gamer with a good upgrade path, for the right price point.

Not sure why they would be a joke unless you expected much more than I did.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Not sure why they would be a joke unless you expected much more than I did.

You misunderstood and misquoted me. They are not a joke, they are a bad joke. I forget who said it, but they called the line up a waste of sand. I was not expecting them to exist, but they do. And their existence is pointless for anything except milking super fans. They are flippant, but not funny = bad joke.