Intel
Intel Core i7-8700K
The top 8th gen chip for LGA1151-v2: six cores, twelve threads, 4.7 GHz single-core turbo and an unlocked multiplier. In 2026 it is a cheap used drop-in for a Z370 or Z390 board, though a 9th gen i9-9900K is the fastest part those boards will take.
Pros
- Six cores / twelve threads at 3.7 GHz base and 4.7 GHz turbo, with 12 MB L3
- Unlocked - 5.0 GHz all-core is common on a good air or AIO cooler
- The fastest 8th gen part any 300-series board will accept - going higher means a 9th gen i7-9700K or i9-9900K, and a BIOS update on Z370
- UHD Graphics 630 at 1200 MHz gives QuickSync encoding and a fallback display output
- Z370/Z390 memory overclocking pushes well past the official DDR4-2666
Cons
- 95 W rating is optimistic - overclocked it draws well past 130 W and runs hot on thermal paste, not solder
- No cooler in the retail box
- Will not run in a Z170 or Z270 board despite the identical-looking LGA1151 socket
- 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes and dual-channel DDR4-2666 are dated next to anything current
Below average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Intel Core i7-8700K
General
- Announced
- 2017
- Socket
- LGA1151-v2
- Process
- 14 nm
- Base TDP
- 95 W
- Unlocked multiplier
- Yes
- Cooler included
- No
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 6
- Performance cores
- 6
- Efficiency cores
- 0
- Threads
- 12
- Base clock
- 3.7 GHz
- Boost clock
- 4.7 GHz
- L2 cache
- 2 MB
- L3 cache
- 12 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Intel UHD Graphics 630
- iGPU clock
- 1,200 MHz
Memory
- Memory support
- DDR4-2666
- Max memory
- 64 GB
- Memory channels
- 2
Platform
- PCIe version
- 3
- CPU PCIe lanes
- 16
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 1,560
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 6,800
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 1,270
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 9,200
- PassMark
- 13,900
Quick answers
Is the Intel Core i7-8700K good in 2026?
The Intel Core i7-8700K earns an Inno Score of 36.4/100 (“Below average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. The top 8th gen chip for LGA1151-v2: six cores, twelve threads, 4.7 GHz single-core turbo and an unlocked multiplier. In 2026 it is a cheap used drop-in for a Z370 or Z390 board, though a 9th gen i9-9900K is the fastest part those boards will take.
What are the key specs of the Intel Core i7-8700K?
Cores: 6 · Threads: 12 · Boost clock: 4.7 GHz · Socket: LGA1151-v2
What are the closest alternatives to the Intel Core i7-8700K?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Intel Core i5-10600K, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, Intel Core i5-11400 — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.