i7-4770 vs i7-4790: Which Should You Buy in 2026?
The Core i7-4770 and i7-4790 sit just 100 MHz apart in real-world clock speed. If you are upgrading an old LGA 1150 system, pick whichever is cheapest.
The Quick Answer: Pick Whichever Is Cheaper
Between the Intel Core i7-4770 and Core i7-4790, buy whichever processor costs less on the used market. The real-world performance difference sits between 2% and 4%, making any price gap over $3 a complete waste of cash.
Both chips run on the legacy LGA 1150 socket with four cores and eight threads. In 2026, these are ultra-budget rescue components meant for reviving older office towers like Dell OptiPlex or HP ProDesk machines. If you see old listings quoting original MSRP prices around $300, ignore them immediately. On eBay or secondary markets, neither processor is worth more than $25 to $35.
- Top Pick for LGA 1150: Intel Core i7-4790 (if found under $30)
- Budget Equivalent: Intel Core i7-4770 (identical real-world feel, usually $3 to $5 cheaper)
- Sleeper Value Pick: Xeon E3-1240 v3 / E3-1270 v3 (same silicon without integrated graphics, often under $20)
- Modern Alternative: Intel Core i3-12100F (costs roughly $75 new, runs circles around both)
Core Specs and Architecture Breakdown
The Core i7-4770 launched in mid-2013 on Intel's 22nm Haswell architecture. A year later, Intel released the i7-4790 as part of the "Haswell Refresh" lineup. Under the integrated heat spreader, both chips share the exact same microarchitecture, cache size, memory support, and integrated graphics.
The only physical change on the i7-4790 was a 200 MHz increase in base clock speed and a 100 MHz bump in maximum single-core turbo. Both chips feature an 84W TDP and use the Intel HD Graphics 4600 engine.
| Specification | Intel Core i7-4770 | Intel Core i7-4790 |
|---|---|---|
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 8 | 4 / 8 |
| Base Clock | 3.40 GHz | 3.60 GHz |
| Max Turbo Clock | 3.90 GHz | 4.00 GHz |
| All-Core Turbo | 3.70 GHz | 3.80 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 8 MB SmartCache | 8 MB SmartCache |
| TDP | 84W | 84W |
| Socket | LGA 1150 | LGA 1150 |
| Memory Support | DDR3-1333 / 1600 | DDR3-1333 / 1600 |
| Integrated GPU | Intel HD Graphics 4600 | Intel HD Graphics 4600 |
| Realistic Used Price | $20 – $28 | $25 – $32 |
Gaming and Everyday Performance
In synthetic benchmarks like Cinebench R15 and Geekbench, the i7-4790 holds a microscopic 3% lead over the i7-4770 due to its 100 MHz all-core boost advantage (3.8 GHz vs. 3.7 GHz under load). You will not feel this difference in daily computing, web browsing, or media streaming.
For gaming, pairing either chip with a budget graphics card like an Nvidia GTX 1650 Super, GTX 1060 6GB, or AMD Radeon RX 580 produces identical frame rates. In esports titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Rocket League, both CPUs manage playable frame rates at 1080p, though modern 1% low frame times will suffer due to four-core limitations.
Modern AAA releases from recent years will push both processors to 100% utilization across all eight threads. Expect stuttering in heavy open-world titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Starfield. Neither processor has the instruction throughput or cache to handle modern physics engines smoothly.
LGA 1150 Platform Limitations
Before spending money on an i7-4770 or i7-4790, understand the hard walls you will hit with an LGA 1150 motherboard:
- No Official Windows 11 Support: Microsoft requires an 8th Gen Intel chip or newer. You will need registry bypasses to run Windows 11, or stick to Windows 10 / Linux distributions.
- DDR3 Memory Speeds: You are locked to DDR3 memory (usually 1600 MHz), which provides a fraction of the bandwidth found in modern DDR4 or DDR5 systems.
- PCIe 3.0 Standard: Modern budget graphics cards wired for PCIe 4.0 x4 or x8 lanes will experience performance penalties on these older boards.
- No Native NVMe Boot Support: Most H81, B85, and H87 motherboards cannot boot directly from NVMe M.2 drives without custom BIOS mods.
The Secret Value Pick: Xeon E3-1200 v3 Series
If you own an LGA 1150 motherboard with an old Core i3 or i5 and want a cheap upgrade, don't limit your search to Core i7 models. Intel produced server-grade Xeon E3 v3 chips that drop directly into standard consumer LGA 1150 motherboards (after a basic BIOS update on most consumer boards).
The Xeon E3-1240 v3 and Xeon E3-1270 v3 provide four cores, eight threads, and clock speeds virtually identical to the i7-4770 and i7-4790. Because corporate servers discard them in bulk, you can routinely find them on eBay for $15 to $20. The only catch: most Xeon E3 chips lack integrated graphics (indicated by numbers ending in '0' rather than '5'), so you must use a dedicated graphics card.
When to Upgrade vs. When to Build Fresh
Only buy an i7-4770 or i7-4790 under one condition: you already own an LGA 1150 motherboard with working DDR3 RAM and a slow Core i3 or Pentium chip, and you want to spend under $30 to give the machine another year or two of light utility.
If you do not already own the motherboard and RAM, stop right there. Do not buy into the LGA 1150 platform from scratch. A modern entry-level setup featuring an Intel Core i3-12100F ($75), an inexpensive H610 motherboard ($70), and 16GB of DDR4 ($30) costs under $180 total and delivers triple the single-core processing speed, double the multi-core muscle, full Windows 11 compatibility, and modern PCIe 4.0 storage support.
FAQ
Can an i7-4770 or i7-4790 run Windows 11?
Not natively. Microsoft's official system requirements mandate at least an 8th Gen Intel Core processor and TPM 2.0. While you can install Windows 11 using workarounds like Rufus, these machines do not receive official support and may miss certain automated feature updates.
Can I overclock the i7-4770 or i7-4790?
No. Both the standard i7-4770 and i7-4790 have locked multipliers. If you want to overclock on the LGA 1150 platform using a Z87 or Z97 motherboard, you must look for the unlocked Core i7-4770K or Core i7-4790K variants.
Will an i7-4790 bottleneck an RTX 3060 or RX 6600?
Yes, significantly. In modern games, both the i7-4770 and i7-4790 will hit 100% usage and prevent cards like the RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6600 from reaching full performance. A GTX 1660 Super, GTX 1060 6GB, or RX 580 represents the practical limit for balanced pairing.