Intel
Intel Core i7-6700K
Skylake's flagship: four cores, eight threads at 4.0/4.2 GHz with an unlocked multiplier and 8 MB of L3. It was the fastest mainstream desktop chip of 2015-2016 and is still usable for 1080p gaming, but only as a cheap used drop-in for a 100/200-series board you already own.
Pros
- Four cores with Hyper-Threading - eight threads, double the 6600K's
- 4.0 GHz base is unusually high for a stock part; 4.5-4.7 GHz overclocks are routine
- 8 MB L3, a third more than any Skylake i5
- Unlocked multiplier plus Z170/Z270 memory overclocking headroom
- HD Graphics 530 iGPU is genuinely useful for GPU troubleshooting and QuickSync encoding
Cons
- 91 W part with no cooler in the box
- Thermal paste under the IHS rather than solder - hot when overclocked, which is why delidding became a thing
- Four cores is thin in 2026; a six-core i5-8400 beats it in multi-threaded work
- Not on the Windows 11 supported-CPU list
Below average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Intel Core i7-6700K
General
- Announced
- 2015
- Socket
- LGA1151
- Process
- 14 nm
- Base TDP
- 91 W
- Unlocked multiplier
- Yes
- Cooler included
- No
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 4
- Performance cores
- 4
- Efficiency cores
- 0
- Threads
- 8
- Base clock
- 4 GHz
- Boost clock
- 4.2 GHz
- L2 cache
- 1 MB
- L3 cache
- 8 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Intel HD Graphics 530
- iGPU clock
- 1,150 MHz
Memory
- Memory support
- DDR4-2133 / DDR3L-1600
- Max memory
- 64 GB
- Memory channels
- 2
Platform
- PCIe version
- 3
- CPU PCIe lanes
- 16
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 1,420
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 4,650
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 1,090
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 5,000
- PassMark
- 8,900
Quick answers
Is the Intel Core i7-6700K good in 2026?
The Intel Core i7-6700K earns an Inno Score of 27.8/100 (“Below average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. Skylake's flagship: four cores, eight threads at 4.0/4.2 GHz with an unlocked multiplier and 8 MB of L3. It was the fastest mainstream desktop chip of 2015-2016 and is still usable for 1080p gaming, but only as a cheap used drop-in for a 100/200-series board you already own.
What are the key specs of the Intel Core i7-6700K?
Cores: 4 · Threads: 8 · Boost clock: 4.2 GHz · Socket: LGA1151
What are the closest alternatives to the Intel Core i7-6700K?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Intel Core i7-4790K, Intel Core i5-9400F, Intel Core i5-8400 — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.