Core i9-10980HK vs Core i7-4790K
Aggregate performance score
i9-10980HK outperforms i7-4790K by a whopping 111% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1130 | 661 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.33 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | Core i7 (Desktop) | Intel Comet Lake |
| Architecture codename | Devil's Canyon | Comet Lake-H (2020) |
| Release date | June 2014 (10 years ago) | 2 April 2020 (4 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $339 | $583 |
| Current price | $151 (0.4x MSRP) | $3322 (5.7x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK 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 cores | 4 (Quad-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 4 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.4 GHz | 5.1 GHz |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 256K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 16 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 177 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 74 °C | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 72 °C | 72 °C |
| Number of transistors | 1,400 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | Yes | Yes |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK 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 configuration | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | FCLGA1150 | FCBGA1440 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 88 Watt | 45 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | - | - |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | + |
| SIPP | - | - |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Status | Discontinued | Discontinued |
Security technologies
Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | + | + |
| Identity Protection | + | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | + | + |
| Anti-Theft | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | 45.8 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | - |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 4600 | Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen Intel® Processors |
| Max video memory | 2 GB | no data |
| Quick Sync Video | + | + |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.25 GHz | 1.25 GHz |
| Execution Units | 20 | no data |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | 3 |
| eDP | + | + |
| DisplayPort | + | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| DVI | + | + |
| VGA | + | no data |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | 3840x2160@24Hz | 4096 x 2304@30Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | 3840x2160@60Hz | 4096 x 2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | 3840x2160@60Hz | 4096 x 2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over VGA | 1920x1200@60Hz | no data |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | 11.2/12 | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.3 | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 16 |
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.
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 111% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 111% in Passmark.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 19%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 45% in 3DMark06 CPU.
Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core
Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.
Benchmark coverage: 15%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 105% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 15%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 18% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 13%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 102% in TrueCrypt AES.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 13%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 24% in WinRAR 4.0.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 13%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 90% in x264 encoding pass 2.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 13%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 26% in x264 encoding pass 1.
Geekbench 4.0 64-bit multi-core
Benchmark coverage: 2%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 82% in Geekbench 4.0 64-bit multi-core.
Geekbench 4.0 64-bit single-core
Benchmark coverage: 2%
Core i9-10980HK outperforms Core i7-4790K by 11% in Geekbench 4.0 64-bit single-core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 5.22 | 11.01 |
| Recency | on June 2014 | 2 April 2020 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 8 |
| Threads | 8 | 16 |
| Cost | $339 | $583 |
| Chip lithography | 22 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 88 Watt | 45 Watt |
The Core i9-10980HK is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-4790K in performance tests.
Note that Core i7-4790K is a desktop processor while Core i9-10980HK is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4790K and Core i9-10980HK, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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