• Out with the old...

  Intel Core i7-14700K

  Brand

  Intel

  CPU Model

  i7-14700K

  Cores

  8P / 12E

  Threads

  28

  Process

  Intel 7

  Socket

  LGA 1700

  The Intel Core i7-14700K is a powerful 20-core CPU ideal for enthusiast-level PCs. It keeps thermals in check better than the bigger i9 version, although its 10nm architecture is still warmer than the competition.

  Pros & Cons

  • Fantastic multi-core performance with hyperthreading
  • DDR4 and DDR5 support
  • 8 P-Cores with 16 threads, and 12 E-Cores with 12 threads

  • Higher TDP
  • Dated architecture

  $465 at Amazon
• In with the new

  Intel Core Ultra 7 265K

  Cores

  8P / 12E

  Threads

  20

  Architecture

  Arrow Lake

  Process

  TSMC N3B

  Socket

  LGA 1851

  Base Clock Speed

  3.9 GHz / 3.3 GHz

  The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K departs from Intel's traditional architecture, removing hyperthreading in favor of faster base frequencies. This significantly reduces power draw while improving performance, although it remains to be seen how much of a difference it is over 14th-generation processors.

  Pros & Cons

  • Higher base clock speeds
  • Greatly reduced power usage
  • Upgraded connectivity

  • No hyperthreading
  • Needs new socket
  • Underpowered NPU

  $410 at Newegg

Intel's hotly awaited Arrow Lake desktop and laptop processors are now official, and they will be available to consumers later this month. This generation, it's time for a reset to chase efficiency instead of performance gains, with both Arrow Lake and AMD's Zen 5 reducing power consumption while providing modest gains over the previous chips. Intel claims up to 30% power reduction compared to 14th-gen processors, and that will be very interesting to test once the chips are in our hands shortly. Intel is often the choice of many PC builders, especially enthusiasts who want the absolute best-performing parts. Until we have some testing results to share, let's see how the Core Ultra 7 265K stacks up against the Core i7-14700K that it's replacing in the lineup.

Core Ultra 7 265K vs Core i7-14700K: Price, availability, and specs

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K was announced on October 10, 2024, and will be available for retail on October 24. The flagship CPU has a $410 price tag at a few retailers like Newegg and B&H that already have product pages, but that might change when the release date arrives. The Newegg page used to say $420, and leaked pricing said $394, so we're confident the current $410 pricing is in the correct ballpark. The KF version without an iGPU is slightly less, possibly $15 cheaper, but that remains to be seen as the retail listings don't appear to be finalized.

The Intel Core i7-14700K arrived on shelves in October 2023, almost exactly a year ago, with a $409 MSRP. It's often discounted by up to $50, so if you look around, you can find a bargain. Availability of the 14th-gen chip is fairly good, while we can only estimate if Intel has made enough of the Core Ultra 7 265K for the expected demand. Both processors are available from major retailers, including Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy, and from the usual mix of system integrators and custom builders.

• 	Intel Core i7-14700K	Intel Core Ultra 7 265K
  Socket	LGA 1700	LGA 1851
  Cores	8P / 12E	8P / 12E
  Threads	28	20
  Base Clock Speed	2.5GHz / 3.4GHz	3.9 GHz / 3.3 GHz
  Boost Clock Speed	4.3GHz / 5.6GHz	5.4 GHz / 4.6 GHz
  PCIe	5.0	5.0
  Cache	33MB L3 + 28MB L2	30MB L3 + 36MB L2
  Process	Intel 7	TSMC N3B
  TDP	253W	125 W

Core Ultra 7 265K vs Core i7-14700K: Architecture and thermals

Intel drops hyperthreading in favor of higher base clocks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K deviates from Intel's normal architecture, as it's built on TSMC's N3B process instead of Intel's own foundry processes. That might be a good thing, as TSMC's 3nm is mature and used in many devices, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 ranges, the M3 processor family, and processors from MediaTek. Some sweeping changes come with Arrow Lake, but the most notable is the lack of hyperthreading, an Intel design that allowed for two threads to use the same core. That means that the Core Ultra 7 265K has eight performance cores, twelve efficiency cores, and a total of 20 threads, because none of the new cores have hyperthreading. Perhaps to balance this out, the base clocks are increased, even if the maximum boost clocks are slightly lower than those of the i7-14700K.

Even though it has fewer threads than the Core i7-14700K's 28-thread count (8 P-Cores with hyperthreading, 12 E-Cores without), Intel says Arrow Lake can be up to 10% faster at multithreaded tasks than Raptor Lake Refresh and use up to 30% less power for the same level of performance. We found the i7-14700K could draw up to 280W under heavy loads, so we look forward to testing Intel's claims once we have our samples in hand. Until then, the 3nm process used for Core Ultra (Gen 2) is more efficient than the 10nm used in the 14th-gen i7-14700K, and we expect that to show in reduced temperatures under load and lower power draw.

Winner: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K

Core Ultra 7 265K vs Core i7-14700K: Performance and efficiency

Arrow Lake performs roughly the same but with a huge power savings

While the 20-core/28-thread Intel Core i7-14700K looks more impressive on paper, the reality is rarely so accommodating. Based on Intel's marketing slides, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K will perform around the same but at reduced system power draw and vastly improved temperatures. The small proviso here is that Intel's slides compare the i9-14900K to the Core Ultra 9 285K, so while it's likely the Core Ultra 7 265K has a similar efficiency boost due to the 3nm process, it might not be as large as on the enthusiast chips.

Still, achieving similar performance while slashing power usage is an impressive feat, and one that we also saw with AMD's Ryzen 9000 series. If the third-party benchmarks are close to the marketing ones, Arrow Lake looks to be a refreshing change from Chipzilla, who have resorted to increasing power budgets to eke out year-on-year performance gains until now.

Winner: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K

Core Ultra 7 265K vs Core i7-14700K: Which one should you buy?

While it's often the case that the newest processor will be the better choice for consumers, the choice is made even easier this year by the ongoing instability issues with Raptor Lake, which the Intel Core i7-14700K is part of. Even when it's discounted by up to $50, it's hard to recommend, so the Intel Core Ultra 265K is going to be the clear winner here. It provides a modest performance upswing while using drastically less power, which will help with the thermals and longevity of the chip. Higher base clocks, increased cache, and better connectivity all combine into a better processor overall and one that will (hopefully) last for years to come.

In light of Raptor Lake's issues and the dated architecture used in the Intel Core i7-14700K, it's a tough chip to recommend to any buyer right now. It does have higher multicore performance than the new Arrow Lake chip that's replacing it, but until we have third-party benchmarks, it's not clear by exactly how much. If you're building a new PC and want to use an Intel processor, look for the Core Ultra (2nd gen) processors like the Ultra 7 265K.