Overclocking and testing the Core i7-11700K: an 8-core Rocket Lake in modern games and applications

In 2021, Intel's long-running Skylake architecture finally gave way to the much-anticipated Rocket Lake. Unlike previous generations, these new processors didn't demand a new socket, slotting right into existing LGA 1200 motherboards. Even the Z490 chipset, which was technically outdated by the 11th-gen Core launch, remained fully compatible with the new CPUs.

Rocket Lake chips introduced out-of-the-box support for high-frequency DDR4-3200, memory controller dividers to simplify RAM operation and overclocking, PCI-e 4.0 support, and the AVX-512 instruction set.

In this article, we'll find out what the top-tier 11th-gen Core i7-11700K processor is capable of in 2024. We'll also compare it against relatively newer chips like the Core i5-10400F, Core i5-12400F, Ryzen 5 3600, and the ultra-budget Xeon E5-2670 v3.

At first glance, the potentially powerful Core i7-11700K doesn't have an obvious competitor among our selection of processors. But that's just a first impression; let's delve into the details.

Processor

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Our test sample's marking is SRKNL. This is a retail version of the CPU, supposedly "boxed." However, the "boxed" designation is debatable, as the processor doesn't come with a cooler. That's been the reality for Intel's high-end chips for the past few generations.

The Intel Core i7-11700K processor is based on an 8-core, 14nm B0 revision die, leveraging the Intel Rocket Lake architecture. The 11th generation marked Intel's first CPUs in a long time (around 6 years) to adopt a relatively new microarchitecture, finally moving beyond yet another iteration of the aging Skylake.

The chip features 512KB of L2 cache per core and a relatively large 16MB of shared L3 cache. Designed for LGA 1200 motherboards, this CPU has a nominal frequency of 3600 MHz. However, Intel's Turbo Boost technology can push it to 5000 MHz for a single core, or up to 4600 MHz across all 8 cores and 16 threads (4600 MHz is what users will typically see in most games and software). Yet, even this rather straightforward frequency profile isn't achievable in all applications. For instance, under LinX with AVX loads, core frequencies dropped to 4200-4400 MHz, even with CPU power limits disabled.

This chip's TDP is rated at 125 watts. That's a significant power draw, so prospective buyers should ensure adequate cooling.

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The i7-11700K's integrated memory controller (IMC) speed is entirely dependent on RAM frequency but also features GEAR 1 and GEAR 2 dividers. These dividers significantly extend the IMC's frequency limit, enabling more serious DDR4 overclocking (effectively halving its frequency). However, if your system uses mid-range RAM, its maximum performance is only achieved in GEAR 1 mode. GEAR 2, on the other hand, is well-suited for DDR4 modules capable of 4200 MHz and above (ideally 4400 MHz).

Officially, the Core i7-11700K supports a maximum of dual-channel DDR4-3200 MHz RAM. However, XMP profiles function reliably. We had no trouble running our test Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO sticks at an effective DDR4-3600 frequency.

The 11700K also supports the full, current set of processor instructions, including the essential AVX-512 extension, which significantly accelerates complex computations and ensures high performance for various emulators.

Essentially, this processor is a complete analog to the more expensive Intel Core i9-11900K. Apart from slightly higher operating frequencies on the i9 (around ~200MHz), these chips are identical.

Processor overclocking and RAM optimization

For obvious reasons, we couldn't use the ASUS PRIME B560M-A motherboard when testing the i7-11700K. Instead, we selected the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS ELITE AC. Additionally, we opted to overclock the processor exclusively with widely available air cooling — specifically, the budget-friendly Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition.

Our experiments yielded the following results: We overclocked the processor cores to 4800 MHz (for context, the stock frequency for all 8 cores/16 threads under load doesn't exceed 4600MHz), the L3 cache to 4400 MHz, and the RAM to 3600 MHz:

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In stress tests like AIDA64 (with AVX) and LinX (without AVX), the processor consumed just over 200 watts, with core temperatures not exceeding 91 degrees under these unrealistic loads. In Cinebench R24, consumption was around 160-180 watts, dropping to about 80-120 watts in games. Surprisingly, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition handled the i7-11700K's high power consumption remarkably well.

We should also mention that after overclocking, running LinX with AVX caused core temperatures to hit 100 degrees, which resulted in chip throttling. While it's evident that no real-world application or daily use scenario will generate this kind of load, we couldn't ignore it. Just keep it in mind.

Otherwise, the system ran extremely stably, completing all benchmarks without errors, overheating, or throttling.

BIOS settings:

• vCore voltage - 1.33v;

• mem-IO voltage – 1.2v;

• SA voltage – 1.23v;

• DDR4 voltage – 1.36v

We didn't apply any AVX2/AVX512 offsets. The processor cores consistently operated at 4800 MHz under all load types (excluding LinX AVX).

We consider this overclocking to be entirely safe, both for the CPU die and for the power delivery systems of mid-range Z490-590 motherboards. Moreover, most quality 4-6 heatpipe tower coolers should easily handle 4800 MHz with the voltages mentioned.

However, remember: all manipulations with your hardware are at your own risk! Any overclocking is a lottery, and there's a real chance of damaging your components!

Test bench, software, and CPU settings

Resizable BAR was activated on platforms that support it in the BIOS.

Test bench

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• Intel Processors: Core i3-10100F, Core i5-10400F, Core i7-11700K, Core i3-12100F, Core i5-12400F, Xeon E5-2630 v3, Xeon E5-2670 v3;

• AMD Processors: Ryzen 5 1600X, Ryzen 7 1800X, Ryzen 5 3600;

• CPU Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition (RR-212S-20PK-R1);

• RAM for LGA 1200, LGA 1700, and AM4: two 8 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO (CMW16GX4M2C3600C18) sticks, totaling 16 GB (Micron E-Die chips);

• RAM for LGA 2011 v3: four 4 GB G.SKILL DDR4 F4-2400C15S-4GNT sticks, totaling 16 GB (Hynix MFR chips);

• LGA 1200 Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS ELITE AC for Core i7-11700K, ASUS PRIME B560M-A for Core i3-10100F and Core i5-10400F;

• LGA 1700 Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 (MS-7D25);

• LGA 2011 v3 Motherboard: Kllisre X99-D8 (AD12) with modified BIOS (Unlock Turbo Boost, Undervolt, as well as unlocked timing control);

• AM4 Motherboard: ASUS TUF GAMING B450M-PRO II;

• Graphics Card: PALIT GAMEROCK GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB (~1900/19000 MHz, Power Limit 113%);

• Solid State Drives: 2 x KINGSTON SUV400S37120G 120.0 GB (AMD/Intel Windows 11), SAMSUNG 870 EVO 1 TB (Games/Applications);

• Power Supply: Chieftec GPS-1250C.

Software

• Operating System: Windows 11 Pro x64 with the latest updates as of February 2024. Core isolation/memory integrity disabled;

• Graphics Card Drivers: NVIDIA GeForce 551.23 WHQL;

• FPS Measurement Software: MSI Afterburner 4.6.5;

• Games: testing was conducted on the latest game versions as of February 2024;

• Game Settings: testing was conducted at maximum graphics settings with 1080p resolution.

Tested CPU settings

• Intel Processors:Core i3-10100F@3600-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@2667 MHz (motherboard auto: 16-18-18-36);

• Core i3-10100F@3600-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@4000 MHz (16-21-21-42), IO voltage – 1.2V, SA voltage – 1.2V, DDR4 voltage – 1.420V;

• Core i5-10400F@2900-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@2667 MHz (motherboard auto: 16-18-18-36);

• Core i5-10400F@2900-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@4000 MHz (16-21-21-42), IO voltage – 1.2V, SA voltage – 1.2V, DDR4 voltage – 1.420V;

• Core i7-11700K@3600-5000 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3200 MHz (motherboard auto: 16-18-18-36);

• Core i7-11700K@4800 MHz, UnCore@4400 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3600 MHz (16-19-19-38) GEAR 1, vCore voltage - 1.33V, mem-IO voltage - 1.2V, SA voltage - 1.23V, DDR4 voltage - 1.36V;

• Core i3-12100F@3300-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3200 MHz (motherboard auto: 18-19-19-39) GEAR 1;

• Core i3-12100F@3300-4300 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3600 MHz (16-19-19-38) GEAR 1;

• Core i5-12400F@2500-4400 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3200 MHz (motherboard auto: 18-19-19-39) GEAR 1;

• Core i5-12400F@2500-4400 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3600 MHz (16-19-19-38) GEAR 1;

• Xeon E5-2630 v3@3200 MHz (Unlock Turbo Boost on UTB charts), vCore -60mV, UnCore -50mV, SA -50mV, Quad-Channel DDR4@1866 MHz (10-10-10-24);

• Xeon E5-2670 v3@3100 MHz (Unlock Turbo Boost on UTB charts), vCore -50mV, UnCore -50mV, SA -50mV, Quad-Channel DDR4@2133 MHz (12-12-12-35).

AMD Processors: Ryzen 5 1600X@3600-4000 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@2667 MHz (motherboard auto: 18-18-18-44);

Ryzen 5 1600X@4000 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3600 MHz (16-19-16-38), vCore voltage – 1.42v, SOC voltage — 1.075v, cLDO VDDP voltage – 0.975v, DDR4 voltage — 1.350v;

Ryzen 7 1800X@3600-4000 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@2667 MHz (automatically by motherboard: 18-18-18-44);

Ryzen 7 1800X@3900 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3600 MHz (16-19-16-38), vCore voltage – 1.4v, SOC voltage — 1.1v, cLDO VDDP voltage – 1.025v, DDR4 voltage — 1.350v;

Ryzen 5 3600@3600-4200 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3200 MHz (automatically by motherboard: 22-22-22-53) Infinity Fabric@1600 MHz (1:1);

Ryzen 5 3600@4325 MHz, Dual Channel DDR4@3733 MHz (16-19-16-38) Infinity Fabric@ 1866 MHz (1:1), vCore voltage – 1.39v, SOC voltage — 1.125v, cLDO VDDP voltage – 1.075v, VDDG CCD voltage – 1.025v, VDDG IOD voltage – 1.025v, DDR4 voltage — 1.380v;

You can learn more about almost all the tested components in our full reviews, or by checking out the blogs section for smaller notes.

As a reminder, here's our processor testing methodology: each benchmark, application, and game was run five times. We then calculated the average score from those five runs, which was recorded as the final result. Crucially, all games and applications were installed on an SSD.

Test results

Data archiving

7-Zip

7-Zip, the most popular free file archiver, supports various compression algorithms and numerous data formats, including its proprietary 7z format with the highly efficient LZMA compression algorithm. This archiver can utilize a massive number of CPU threads and responds well to increased RAM frequencies.

File compression

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When archiving files with the popular free 7-Zip program, the stock i7-11700K delivers slightly better performance than the i5-12400F running in a similar configuration. Overclocking lets the 8-core Rocket Lake surpass the boosted 6-core Alder Lake, but it still can't quite match the 12-core E5-2670 v3.

File decompression

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The 11700K handles file decompression significantly better. In this test, it outperformed all other tested processors by a huge margin. The stock Rocket Lake is 16% faster than the overclocked 12400F, and after overclocking, that figure jumps to an impressive 24%.

3D rendering

Blender

Blender is a versatile, free, and open-source software package for creating 3D images. It supports the entire 3D modeling pipeline, from rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, all the way to video editing and game creation.

We conduct a CPU rendering speed test using Blender's built-in Cycles engine and the BMW scene.

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The 11700K chip also performs very strongly in final rendering tasks within Blender. It maintains a 20% lead over its closest competitor at stock speeds, which increases to 24% after overclocking. The 8 cores of the previous generation easily outmatch the 6 cores of Intel's current architecture.

Corona 10 Benchmark

The Corona 10 Benchmark is based on the Corona 10 render engine, a popular choice among professionals. This engine is available for scene visualization in 3ds Max and Cinema 4D. The benchmark evaluates rendering speed on CPUs using its proprietary technologies.

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The Core i7-11700K takes the lead in final renders using the Corona 10 engine. At stock frequencies, it holds a 24% lead over the 12400F, which then widens to a substantial 33% after overclocking.

Cinebench R23

This benchmark is based on a recently outdated, yet still relevant, version of the highly popular Cinema 4D editor for computer 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering.

Single-core score

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Cinebench R23 allows testing of both single-core and multi-core performance. In single-core rendering, the 11700K can hit 5 GHz, while the 12400F only reaches 4.4 GHz. However, this clock speed advantage doesn't save Rocket Lake; Alder Lake holds an incredibly strong position here. Intel's engineers deserve credit for the tremendous work they've put into their new architecture.

Additionally, it's worth noting that after a fixed overclock to 4800 MHz, the 11700K actually falls behind its stock version because its automatic per-core boost can reach 5000 MHz for a single core.

This pattern will largely continue throughout the rest of this article, so we won't draw your attention to it again.

Multicore score

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In multi-core rendering, the Core i7-11700K once again stands above the other processors. Even at stock frequencies, it shows a 21% advantage over the 12400F, with overclocking allowing the 8-core chip to extend its lead to 28%.

Cinebench R24

This is the latest version of the benchmark for the highly popular 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering editor, Cinema 4D. Starting with this release, the main CPU test requires the processor to support the AVX2 instruction set.

Single-core score

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Maxon's latest benchmark places our test participants in roughly the same single-core positions as its predecessor. Once again, the 11700K lags slightly behind the 12400F.

Multicore score

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In Cinebench R24's multi-core rendering, the 11700K holds about a 17% advantage over the 12400F at stock frequencies, increasing to 25% after overclocking. It's hard not to notice that the gap between the 8-core Rocket Lake and the 6-core Alder Lake has narrowed somewhat when transitioning to a more advanced rendering engine.

V-Ray 6 Benchmark

This is the latest version of the V-Ray render engine benchmark. Various versions of this product are available for many solutions, including 3DS Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Blender, and Unreal Engine.

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V-Ray 6 wasn't particularly kind to the 11700K. The once-top-tier 8-core chip is only 13% faster than the budget Core i5-12400F at stock speeds, and 22% faster after overclocking.

xNormal – texture map baking

External texture baking programs aren't as popular as they once were, but xNormal is still used by tens of thousands of game developers. This is largely thanks to its user-friendly interface and numerous helpful features.

Normal map render

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Normal map rendering on the 11700K is only 11% faster than on the 12400F, which isn't particularly impressive.

Ambient occlusion map render

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However, the situation changes dramatically when it comes to rendering a heavy ambient occlusion map. Here, the 8-core Rocket Lake achieves a significant advantage of 20% at stock frequencies and 25% after overclocking.

Overall, our data suggests that 3D rendering is a strong suit for the Core i7-11700K chip.

Overall performance

CPU-Z benchmark

The CPU-Z benchmark, an informational utility, doesn't offer much insight into a CPU's real-world performance and is largely optional at this point. However, following a long-standing tradition, we still conduct tests in this discipline.

Single-core score

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Multicore score

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The classic CPU-Z benchmark reports that the 11700K slightly trails the 12400F in single-threaded tests but shows a significant advantage in multi-threaded workloads.

Geekbench 6

This benchmark measures a processor's single-core and multi-core performance across various tasks, from checking email to photography and music playback, or even all these simultaneously. Geekbench 6 also evaluates CPU performance in emerging applications like augmented reality and machine learning.

Single-core score

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Unlike CPU-Z, Geekbench 6 more clearly demonstrates processor performance in everyday tasks. The single-threaded data processing speeds of the 11700K and 12400F are virtually identical here.

Multi-core score

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Surprisingly, the situation doesn't change significantly when moving to multi-threaded workloads. While the Core i7-11700K still outperforms the Core i5-12400F, its advantage is underwhelming: just 4% at stock frequencies and 8% after overclocking.

Video encoding

HandBrake

HandBrake is a free, open-source program that converts video from virtually any format into several modern, widely supported codecs like AV1, H265, H264, and many others.

Codec: AV1

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

When using the AV1 codec, the stock 11700K is 14% faster than the 12400F. Overclocking allows the 8-core chip to squeeze out additional power, extending its lead to 20% over the 6-core processor.

Codec: H265

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Switching to the H265 codec, the stock i7's advantage only grows to 21%, and after overclocking to 4800 MHz, it proves to be a full 24% faster.

Web browsing

JetStream 2.1

JetStream 2.1 is a suite of JavaScript and WebAssembly benchmarks targeting modern browsers and web applications. According to our observations, most subtests within the benchmark can utilize up to 4 threads, which is quite typical for web browsing.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Speedometer 2.1

Speedometer tests the responsiveness of web applications in the browser. The benchmark simulates user actions like adding, completing, and removing items in a to-do list using several TodoMVC examples. Some call the DOM API directly from ECMAScript 5 (ES5), ECMAScript 2015 (ES6), ES6 transpiled to ES5, and Elm transpiled to ES5. Others use one of eleven popular JavaScript frameworks: React, React with Redux, Ember.js, Backbone.js, AngularJS, (new) Angular, Vue.js, jQuery, Preact, Inferno, and Flight.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Kraken 1.1

Kraken is a JavaScript performance benchmark developed by Mozilla that measures the execution speed of several different test cases drawn from real-world applications and libraries. Subtests include audio processing using the DSP.js library, image filtering operations, JSON parsing, and cryptographic operations.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Overall, when working with browsers, the 11700K, 12400F, and 12100F demonstrate similar performance levels. Sometimes the high-frequency Rocket Lake (JetStream 2.1) is slightly faster, while in other cases, both Alder Lake family members (Speedometer 2.2 and Kraken 1.1) take the lead. However, the difference between them is negligible.

Nevertheless, this 'negligible difference' is more a criticism of the 11700K. Given its price and position in Intel's hierarchy, one would expect slightly higher performance. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver this, both at nominal frequencies and after overclocking.

Gaming, synthetics

3DMark Time Spy

Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark for gaming PCs running Windows 10/11. Its engine, built from the ground up, supports all new DirectX 12 API features, including asynchronous compute, AMD Crossfire, NVIDIA SLI, and multithreading.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

While the 11700K chip is the undisputed leader in the CPU test within 3DMark Time Spy, its performance dips slightly during the GPU test.

Games

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

This is the most recent major installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Built on the Ubisoft Anvil engine, the game can fully utilize up to 12 computing threads and partially engage 16-24 threads.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In Valhalla, the stock 11700K performs identically to the 12400F running at similar settings. However, after overclocking both CPUs, the 8-core Rocket Lake shows a respectable 13% lead in minimum recorded FPS.

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the best modern turn-based RPGs and was last year's top game. It's built on the Divinity 4.0 Engine, which can utilize up to 16 threads, though it performs best with 12-thread CPUs. The game's extremely high level of detail frequently accesses RAM, meaning Baldur's Gate 3 benefits from a large L3 cache and high-frequency RAM.

Our test scene is set in the city of Baldur's Gate, which is the game's third act.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Baldur's Gate 3 showed parity between the Core i7-11700K and Core i5-12400F at their base clock speeds. When overclocked, Rocket Lake pulls ahead with a 9% lead in average FPS, but the minimum and lowest recorded FPS values for both processors remain largely similar, differing by only about 1.5%.

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt RED's latest creation, Cyberpunk 2077, runs on the REDengine 4 and can utilize over 16 CPU threads. The game also responds very positively to increased RAM frequency and reduced memory latencies.

Ray Tracing – ON, Path Tracing – ON

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

With Ray Tracing enabled, the Polish studio's iconic title favors the Core i5-12400F, both at stock frequencies (4% Low, 3% Min, 9% AVG) and when overclocked (3% Low, 3% Min, 7% AVG). This marks the first time the 11700K has surrendered its lead to the 6-core Alder Lake in a gaming application.

Ray Tracing – OFF, Path Tracing – OFF

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Without ray tracing, the picture changes somewhat. The Core i7-11700K reclaims its lead, both at stock and after overclocking. However, the performance advantage of the more expensive 8-core CPU over the relatively affordable 6-core chip isn't as significant as one might expect from a solution of its caliber.

Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 runs on the Dunia Engine v2. Throughout its long history, dating back to Far Cry 2, this engine has been notorious for its poor optimization for multi-threaded CPUs. Our observations show the game works adequately with eight threads. However, some chips featuring over 10 cores and SMT/HT (simultaneous processing of two or more threads on one core) can actually lose performance in this game. Still, this doesn't apply to all existing CPUs.

Ray Tracing – ON

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In Far Cry 6 with RT enabled at stock frequencies, the 12400F holds a slight edge over the 11700K. Overclocking shifts the balance in favor of the 11700K, but without monitoring, the difference between these CPUs is virtually imperceptible.

Ray Tracing – OFF

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

With Ray Tracing deactivated, the 11700K chip outperforms the 12400F both at stock speeds and after overclocking, though the 8-core's lead over the 6-core isn't particularly substantial.

Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, once a PlayStation console exclusive, is a relatively well-behaved PC port. Overall, Insomniac Games' proprietary engine can effectively utilize multi-core CPUs. However, the stability of games built on it still severely suffers and leaves much to be desired.

Ray Tracing – ON

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales still holds some surprises. At stock clocks, the 11700K's performance is on par with an overclocked Ryzen 5 3600, a 10400F with DDR4 overclocked to 4000 MHz, and a stock i3-12100F.

After overclocking, the 11700K slightly overtakes the stock 12400F, though it significantly lags behind the version with DDR4 overclocked to 3600 MHz.

Ray Tracing – OFF

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Disabling ray tracing positively impacts the performance of the 8-core Rocket Lake. Now, at stock frequencies, it managed to match the 12400F, and after overclocking, it even surpassed it in average FPS. However, the 6-core Alder Lake still significantly outperforms the 11700K in terms of rare event percentages.

Starfield

Starfield is the new blockbuster game from the revered guru, Todd Howard. The project is built on an updated version of the Creation Engine 2, originally used in Fallout 4. However, "updated" is the key word here. Bethesda didn't mislead in their statements. While the current Creation Engine certainly has its flaws (dreadful storage management, poor optimization for modern graphics cards, etc.), the developers genuinely put serious effort into optimizing their code for multi-threaded processors.

Our test scene is located in the center of New Atlantis. We measure FPS along a segment from the landing pad to the central plaza.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Starfield generally performs well on high-core-count chips, but even that isn't enough to help the 11700K. At stock frequencies, it significantly lags behind the 12400F in terms of lowest recorded FPS (by about 8%). Overclocking to 4800 MHz with DDR4-3600 allows the 8-core Rocket Lake to surpass the 6-core Alder Lake across all metrics (1% Lows by 1%, Min by 7%, and AVG by 8%). However, the 11700K's advantage isn't particularly substantial.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.04

The updated version of The Witcher 3 moved to an improved REDengine 3 with Ray Tracing support. However, the project wasn't quite ready for such complex changes, and as a result, the game became far more demanding than even Cyberpunk 2077.

The Next-Gen Update is extremely CPU-dependent, yet it struggles to adequately utilize powerful CPUs with eight or more cores. The Witcher 3 runs most effectively on 6-core, 12-thread chips. Additionally, REDengine 3 responds quite well to high-frequency RAM.

Our test scene is set in the city of Novigrad. We measure FPS along a segment from the city entrance to the central plaza.

Ray Tracing – ON

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In the new version of The Witcher 3 with Ray Tracing enabled, the stock 11700K's performance is on par with a Core i3-12100F using 3600 MHz RAM, and it noticeably falls short of a stock 12400F.

Overclocking Rocket Lake somewhat changes the situation, even allowing it to surpass the stock Alder Lake. However, it still can't quite reach the performance of the Alder Lake version with 3600 MHz DDR4.

Ray Tracing – OFF

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

In classic DX12 rendering, 4-core chips show virtually no increase in their lowest recorded FPS. As a result, the stock 11700K no longer feels threatened by the i3-12100F. Moreover, without ray tracing, the frame rate on the 8-core Rocket Lake closely approaches that of the 6-core Alder Lake.

Once again, overclocking doesn't allow the 11700K to surpass the 12400F with DDR4-3600 MHz. The i5 is faster by 3% in lowest recorded FPS, 9% in minimum FPS, and 6% in average FPS.

Watch Dogs Legion

The third installment of the Watch Dogs franchise is likely based on an improved Disrupt 2 engine. Since the release of the first game, titles in this series have performed quite well with multi-core CPUs, and Legion is no exception. The game can effortlessly utilize over 20 threads and responds positively to high-frequency memory.

Ray Tracing – ON

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

With RT enabled, Legion performs slightly better on the 12400F at nominal frequencies. The 11700K lags behind the aforementioned chip by about 3%. Overclocking both CPUs effectively equalizes their performance, with the 12400F maintaining a barely noticeable advantage.

Ray Tracing – OFF

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

With ray tracing disabled, the situation is practically identical, except the 12400F with overclocked DDR4 further outperforms the 11700K boosted to 4800 MHz.

RPCS3, Red Dead Redemption

RPCS3 is the most popular PlayStation 3 console emulator. While the software excels at parallelizing shader compilation across a huge number of threads, the quality of load distribution significantly drops when it comes to actual game emulation. Naturally, everything depends on the specific game. However, our observations show that modern 6-8 core CPUs with high clock speeds perform best.

Additionally, significant performance gains can be achieved with instruction sets like AVX-512 and TSX. However, with TSX, some projects occasionally experience unstable operation.

Emulator settings for Red Dead Redemption: SPU block size – Mega, ZCULL accuracy – Relaxed, Write color buffers – On, Sleep timers accuracy – As Host, RSX FIFO accuracy – Atomic, 1080p resolution.

⤢ ВІДКРИТИ

Just look at our RPCS3 emulator data! This is where 8 cores and AVX-512 support truly played into the Core i7-11700K's hands. The 8-core Rocket Lake demonstrates an unrivaled level of performance, outperforming the 12400F by 48% at stock frequencies and a colossal 56% after overclocking!

Conclusion

First, it's worth noting: regardless of our subsequent conclusions, this article turned out to be extremely interesting.

It's been a while since Intel showed such "performance swings" with CPUs from entirely different image and price segments. Demanding computations like 3D rendering still favor the i7-11700K, while everyday tasks and web browsing lean towards the 12400F. In gaming, it's practically a parity with a slight edge for the i5, and in game emulation, the i7 totally dominates.

It might seem obvious: in 2024, the i7 doesn't look particularly appealing. Its performance difference compared to the 12400F doesn't justify the price gap ($300 vs. $150), and in games, that difference virtually disappears. However, its hidden aces, like Rocket Lake's astonishing efficiency in RPCS3, are captivating.

If we consider the i7-11700K as a potential upgrade option from a weaker CPU on the same platform, such as an i3-10100F or i5-10400F, then the 8-core Rocket Lake looks strong.

In our humble opinion, the Core i7-11700K is simply an excellent processor. Despite its undeniably high TDP, sometimes reaching 220W, a relatively budget-friendly tower cooler can successfully manage it. Even at base frequencies with DDR4-3200, Rocket Lake's performance is still more than sufficient for most daily tasks, including content creation, web browsing, and gaming at ultra graphic settings with ray tracing enabled. Overclocking, in turn, allows squeezing an additional 5-11% performance from the 11700K in software environments and 12-18% in games. This is a welcome bonus to the already respectable speed of the reviewed CPU.