i9-14900 vs i7-2600K

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600K
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.59
Core i9-14900
2024
24 cores / 32 threads, 65 Watt
31.39
+774%

Core i9-14900 outperforms Core i7-2600K by a whopping 774% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking1536134
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.4349.97
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)no data
Power efficiency3.4544.04
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Raptor Lake-R (2023−2024)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years ago)8 January 2024 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$317$549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-14900 has 11521% better value for money than i7-2600K.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)24 (Tetracosa-Core)
Threads832
Base clock speed3.4 GHz2 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz5.6 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s219 MHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)80 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)2 MB (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)36 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size216 mm2257 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °C100 °C
Number of transistors1,160 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketLGA1155FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology+2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access+no data
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data+
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection+-
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 are enumerated here.

VT-d-+
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size32 GB192 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/s89.6 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 3000Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHz1.65 GHz
Execution Unitsno data32
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported24

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900.

PCIe version2.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes1616

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i7-2600K 3.59
i9-14900 31.39
+774%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i7-2600K 5489
i9-14900 48032
+775%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

i7-2600K 667
i9-14900 2900
+335%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

i7-2600K 2295
i9-14900 17580
+666%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i7-2600K 4809
i9-14900 12284
+155%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i7-2600K 18608
i9-14900 82492
+343%

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i7-2600K 6669
i9-14900 18728
+181%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-2600K 10.5
i9-14900 2.41
+336%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i7-2600K 7
i9-14900 57
+737%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i7-2600K 614
i9-14900 4793
+681%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i7-2600K 129
i9-14900 315
+144%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i7-2600K 1.51
i9-14900 3.8
+152%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i7-2600K 3.3
i9-14900 18.5
+461%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i7-2600K 37
i9-14900 222
+508%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i7-2600K 145
i9-14900 359
+147%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i7-2600K 3486
i9-14900 12359
+255%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.59 31.39
Integrated graphics card 0.66 6.15
Recency 9 January 2011 8 January 2024
Physical cores 4 24
Threads 8 32
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

i9-14900 has a 774.4% higher aggregate performance score, 831.8% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 12 years, 500% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Core i9-14900 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-2600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and Core i9-14900, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
Intel Core i9-14900
Core i9-14900

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4.2 1469 votes

Rate Core i7-2600K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.9 70 votes

Rate Core i9-14900 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i7-2600K or Core i9-14900, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.