Intel Core i7-4770K vs 3770K vs 2600K Gaming-Performance
Category : 2013
Published by Marc Büchel on 22.11.13
When scrolling through the comments regarding our CPU gaming performance articles, quite a few of you guys were asking if for once, we could compare not only two but three generations. Today we're giving this a shot but it turned out that especially the conclusion was quite a bit tougher than when comparing two CPUs. Nevertheless we're hoping this article is also going to be an interesting read. We believe that quite a few gamer out there might be interested in seeing Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell quad core parts with hyper threading in a gaming performance article.
[pagebreak]
Test Setup
Hardware
|
Mainboard |
- ASUS Maximus V Gene
- ASUS Maximus VI Gene
|
| CPUs |
- Intel Core i7-4770K @ Stock (Turbo On / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-4770K @ 4.5 GHz (Turbo Off / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-3770K @ Stock (Turbo On / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.5 GHz (Turbo Off / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-2600K @ Stock (Turbo On / HT On)
- Intel Core i7-2600K @ 4.5 GHz (Turbo Off / HT On)
|
|
Memory |
- 2x4GB RipjawZ 2400C11 @ CL9-9-9-24-1T-Auto DDR3-1600 MHz
|
|
Graphic Cards (Driver) |
- ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix @ 1'100
MHz / 1'650 MHz
|
| Drivers |
|
| Games and OS |
- Windows 7 x64 (Up to date
on the 25/07/2013
- All
games were up to date on the 25/07/2013)
|
|
HDD |
- OCZ Technology Octane 512 GB SSD
|
PSU
|
- Seasonic Platinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts
|
[pagebreak]
3DMark - Fire Strike
| Overall Score |
Points |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
7'466 |
103.81 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
7'392 |
102.78 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
7'292 |
101.39 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
7'296 |
101.45 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
7'273 |
101.13 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
7'192 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| GPU Score |
Points |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
8'274 |
100.90 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
8'274 |
100.90 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
8'233 |
100.40 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
8'271 |
100.87 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
8'262 |
100.76 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
8'200 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
| Basic Preset |
Points |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
4280 |
103.01 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
4276 |
102.91 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
4243 |
102.12 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
4265 |
102.65 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
4221 |
101.59 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
4155 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| Extreme Preset |
Points |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
1'207 |
102.12 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
1'204 |
101.86 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
1'198 |
101.35 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
1'192 |
100.85 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
1'194 |
101.02 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
1'182 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
BattleField 3
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
200.0 |
110.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
200.2 |
110.61 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
199.8 |
110.39 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
186.6 |
103.09 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
178.4 |
98.56 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
181.0 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
82.0 |
101.49 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
81.4 |
100.74 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
81.2 |
100.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
82.0 |
101.49 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
81.2 |
100.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
80.8 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Bioshock Infinite - Benchmark
| 1280 x 720, low details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
265.90 |
119.67 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
251.70 |
113.28 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
243.20 |
109.45 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
248.62 |
111.89 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
232.81 |
104.77 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
222.20 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
166.43 |
102.24 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
166.50 |
102.28 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
163.66 |
100.53 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
166.00 |
101.97 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
165.68 |
101.78 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
162.79 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Crysis 3
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
93.0 |
115.67 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
92.6 |
115.17 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
91.0 |
113.18 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
86.2 |
107.21 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
83.6 |
103.98 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
80.4 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
21.8 |
103.81 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
22.0 |
104.76 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
21.4 |
101.90 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
21.2 |
100.95 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
22.2 |
105.71 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
21.0 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
382.8 |
110.06 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
380.4 |
109.37 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
355.4 |
102.19 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
357.6 |
102.82 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
336.6 |
96.78 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
347.8 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
94.0 |
102.62 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
93.6 |
102.18 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
93.0 |
101.53 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
93.0 |
101.53 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
92.4 |
100.87 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
91.6 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Far Cry 3
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
222.8 |
123.37 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
197.4 |
109.30 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
195.2 |
108.08 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
200.6 |
111.07 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
193.2 |
106.98 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
180.6 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
32.6 |
103.16 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
32.8 |
103.80 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
32.2 |
101.90 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
31.6 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
31.6 |
100.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
31.6 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
234.0 |
124.60 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
214.4 |
114.16 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
208.5 |
111.02 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
199.6 |
106.28 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
190.2 |
101.28 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
187.8 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
54.0 |
100.37 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
54.0 |
100.37 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
53.6 |
99.63 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
54.2 |
100.74 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
54.3 |
100.93 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
53.8 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| 1280 x 720, low details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
288.2 |
125.63 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
293.4 |
127.90 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
269.8 |
117.61 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
243.0 |
105.93 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
252.6 |
110.11 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
229.4 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
115.4 |
107.45 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
115.0 |
107.08 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
114.6 |
106.70 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
114.2 |
106.33 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
113.6 |
105.77 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
107.4 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Metro: Last Light - Benchmark
| 1280 x 1024, low
details |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
149.56 |
121.39 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
141.27 |
114.66 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
138.09 |
112.08 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
132.39 |
107.45 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
124.43 |
100.99 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
123.21 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| 1920 x 1080, max
details, max AA, max AF |
fps |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
40.27 |
100.47 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
40.37 |
100.72 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
40.38 |
100.75 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
39.90 |
99.55 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
40.20 |
100.30 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
40.08 |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
[pagebreak]
Power Consumption
| load (wPrime 1024M,
peak during first minute) |
Watt |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
169 |
123.36 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
149 |
108.76 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
155 |
113.14 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
123 |
89.78 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
120 |
87.59 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
137 |
100.00 % |
| |
less is better |
| peak (LinX, peak during
first run) |
Watt |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
190 |
125.00 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
170 |
111.84 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
175 |
115.13 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
134 |
88.16 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
131 |
86.18 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
152 |
100.00 % |
| |
less is better |
[pagebreak]
Performance Index Games and
Price
| Low |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
118.86 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
114.31 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
110.50 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
106.97 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
102.93 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| High |
Index |
| Intel Core i7-4770K 4.5G |
102.70 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K 4.5G |
102.74 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K 4.5G |
101.68 % |
| Intel Core i7-4770K Stock |
101.57 % |
| Intel Core i7-3770K Stock |
101.98 % |
| Intel Core i7-2600K Stock |
100.00 % |
| |
More is better |
| CPU |
Geizhals |
Toppreise |
| Intel Core i7-4770K |
 |
 |
| Intel Core i7-3770K |
 |
 |
| Intel Core i7-2600K |
 |
 |
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
In the past few months we have
published a lot of these CPU gaming performance articles. So far we've always
compared two models with one another to give direct advice if an upgrade would
be worth your money or not. Since quite a few readers have been asking to
compare Haswell, Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge in one article, well here it is.
Last week we've been looking at quad core CPUs without Hyperthreading and this
week it's time to have a closer look Sandy, Ivy and Haswell with HT.
Especially when the graphics card is the bottleneck in your setup, performance
differences are virtually inexistent and when even overclocking all CPUs to a
whopping 4.5 GHz doesn't change anything on these results, then it can be
considered as proven, that the CPU is really not crucial in a gaming setup. As
long as a graphics card, when dealing with high resolutions, can account quickly
for a 20 to 50 percent performance bump at high-resolutions, then the single
digit change you get by swapping CPUs doesn't matter at all. If you only use
your computer for gaming, then buying always the latest CPU is a waste of money.
Apparently when reducing resolutions drastically, or in other words opening the
bottleneck of the VGA, then you clearly see that there have actually been
improvements made.
Having a closer look at test results conducted with high resolutions, shows the
same surprise we already found with quad core parts without HT, which means that
Ivy Bridge is a tiny little bit faster than Haswell. The only thing that
actually went different than expected was the Core i7-2600K being slower than the
other CPUs. In case of lower resolutions, or in other words open the VGA
bottleneck, we measured three percent performance difference between the Core
i7-2600K and the Core i7-3770K as well as another four percent between the Core
i7-3770K and the Core i7-4770K.
When it comes to power consumption, we once again see, that the Core i7-3770K is
the CPU that convinces the most. Equipped with the CPU our test system needed
the least power. Overall we can say, that since Sandy Bridge there have been
some improvements, but from Ivy Bridge to Haswell there is nothing more than
stagnation. Should you have bought a Core i7-3770K then there is really no need
at all to move to a Haswell CPU. Gaming performance between Haswell and Ivy
Bridge is almost identical and Ivy Bridge even runs more efficiently. Other than
that Ivy Bridge runs cooler, which means it can be overclocked better. Overall
we come to the conclusion that if you bought an Ivy Bridge CPU back in the days,
that was a really good decision.
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