Last Updated on September 4, 2020 by Ian Foster
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Whether you use your PC for gaming, graphics design and editing, or other “heavy” operations, your processor remains the most important component of your PC setup. And to keep your PC working optimally, you need to invest in the right high-performance processor.
If your PC motherboard has an LGA 1150 socket, and you’re looking for the best CPU to work with, this guide is for you. We’ll be looking at the best LGA 1150 processors in terms of performance, durability, and other important factors.
Quick Look at Our Best Lga 1150 Cpu
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 | Intel Core i7-4790 Processor - BX80646I74790 | 446 Reviews | Check Price on Amazon |
The Intel Core i7-4790 is one of the highly efficient desktop processors from the brand using the Haswell architecture.
Specifications
- Clock rate: 3600 – 4000 MHz
- Number of cores: 4 / 8
- Max power consumption: 84 watt
- Physical memory: 64 GB
- Manufacturing technology: 22 nm
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4600 (350 – 1200 MHz)
Features
The 4790 is a high-end CPU that clocks at 3.6 – 4GHz and can run 8 threads at once due to a new improvement called “Hyperthreading”.
Compared to the 4770K, it doesn’t offer better speeds or an open multiplier for overclocking; but it does come with a higher level of performance. Its Thermal Design Power is rated at 84 watts, which makes it suitable for Desktop PCs and large laptops.
As you might know, the PC world has been changing and the release of the 4790 is an attempt by Intel to meet the demands of the market for architecture on the desktop side for the fastest four-core processors.
The 4790 is similar to its predecessors already in many computers but only that it has small incremental clock frequency increases.
In its pitch, Intel listed several features that the 4790 is packed with even though they exist on other processors. Some of them are
- Intel Turbo Boost which means the chip can rise to high clocking speeds in a shorter period
- Thermal monitoring technologies which regulate the temperature of the processor
- Intel Identity Protection Technology which protects credentials of users and makes them tamper-resistant
Other notable features include Intel Virtualization Technology, Intel My WiFi Technology, Intel Stable Image Platform (Intel SIPP) and Idle States (C-states) among several others.
Coming to the graphics, the 4790 is equipped with Intel HD Graphics 4600 (350 – 1200MHz) which is higher than its predecessors, offering a faster graphics solution for mobile and tablet segment.
Like other processors in the Haswell family, the 4790 is able to handle most games out there without showing signs of being overwhelmed but the speed isn’t the fastest as it’s obvious Intel didn’t give pay attention to that focus.
Overall, the performance of the graphics solution is way better than its forebears in the Ivy Bridge categories.
Pros
- Decent core performance
- Consumes more power than its predecessor
Cons
- Maximum turbo frequency is lower
- Reduced memory bandwidth needs more power
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 | Intel Xeon E3-1230V3 Haswell, 3.3GHz, 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1150, 80W... | 24 Reviews | Check Price on Amazon |
The Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3 belongs to the Xeon range of processors and has a CPU performance that was unrivaled at the time of its launch.
Specifications
- Clock rate: 3300 – 3700 MHz
- Number of cores / thread: 4 / 8
- Max power consumption: 80 watt
- Physical memory: 64GB
- Manufacturing technology: 22 nm
- GPU: None
Features
The quad-core Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3 might be similar to the third generation desktop core chips, but there are a lot of things that will easily get the attention of people who want the most of what a CPU can offer such as ECC memory supports and four extra PCle 3.0 lanes.
Codenamed Sandy Bridge, it has a clock speed of 3.2GHz and a turbo speed of 3.6GHz. As you might know with other Xeon models of chips, they have raw CPU horsepower and blazing fast memory.
The power consumption on the Xeon E3-1230 is slightly lower than those from the Haswell generation and this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the same underlying architecture and similar TDPs.
This might make you wonder why the Xeon should be considered to be higher than the Core i7 but there are some advantages to it.
One of the advantages is that while the CPUs in the Core i7 series work well in a workstation with discrete graphics, the E3-1230 v3 is better for server setups, supporting more high-speed devices over an 8GT/s bus.
Most existing chips spend their significant part of their time at idle but the E3-1270 v3 offers a lower cost per unit that can create a desire in those who will like to conserve that last ounce of performance.
In simpler words, you can expect lower idle power consumption with this generation of E3-1230.
In all, the Xeon E3-1230 v3 was specifically built to overcome loads which are spread over the entire core count and is especially beneficial to people who want to use it for content creation as opposed to playing games.
It’s an ideal choice for multithreaded performance or reliability purposes compared to what the mainstream i7 can offer.
Pros
- Higher core counts
- Less heat
- Virtualization support
- Support for EEC memory
Cons
- Not great for playing games
- Low clock speeds
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 | Intel Core i5-4690K Processor 3.9 4 BX80646I54690K | 1,993 Reviews | Check Price on Amazon |
Codenamed the Devil’s Canyon, the Intel Core i5-4690K is a processor from the brand that improves performance and lowers temperatures by providing a better conduit between core and heat-spreader.
Specifications
- Clock rate: 3500 – 3900 MHz
- Number of cores / thread: 4 / 8
- Max power consumption: 88 watt
- Physical memory: 32GB
- Manufacturing technology: 22 nm
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4600
Features
Built on the 22nm Haswell architecture, the i5-4690K is a 4-core, 8-threaded processor that clocks at an average speed of 3.5GHz with the turbo clock going to 3.9GHz.
It also sports the same increased TDP as the new Core i7, being rated at 88W compared to 84W for its processor.
The “K” is an indication that this version of the chipset is unlocked, so you can overclock it.
This brings up against stacks of similar chips but on this wise, the processor falls disappointingly off expectations as tests have shown that its overclocking speeds are slightly lower than those of other chips on the market.
This is not common only to the i5-4690K but also the Core i7-4790K which can lead to the conclusion that the Devil’s Canyon chips are uniformly poor at overclocking.
Coming to the issue of high temperatures during use which was rife on the Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge CPUs, Intel’s solution on the i5-4690K is to improve the quality of the thermal interface material to combat the rising temperatures.
This was done in two ways on the i5-4690K: add more capacitors onto the chip for smoother power delivery and embedding “Next-Generation Polymer Thermal Interface Material” which is known to be effective amidst several existing cooling options.
The chip uses an HD 4600 engine which is generally known to be ideal for mainstream users who are looking to get a great performance.
Of course, that means it can support most of the popular games, (just not at the highest settings) as well as let you perform tasks such as video encoding.
Although the HD 4600 engine was touted to be as powerful as discrete graphics, its performance is still behind the NVIDIA. There are good sides to the engine though and one of them is that it is energy efficient.
Pros
- Scalable
- Class-leading power efficiency
- Significant IGP upgrade
Cons
- Not huge improvement over IB for enthusiasts
- No TSX or vT on K-series chips
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 | Intel Core i7-5775C 3.3 GHz LGA1150 Processor (BX80658I75775C) | 30 Reviews | Check Price on Amazon |
A member of the high-end fifth-generation Core-i processor family, the Core i7-5775C was launched in 2014 to go into laptops, motherboards and traditional sockets that desktop users want.
Specifications
- Clock rate: 3300 – 3700 MHz
- Number of cores / thread: 4 / 8
- Max power consumption: 65 watt
- Physical memory: 32GB
- Manufacturing technology: 14 nm
- GPU: Intel Iris Pro Graphics (300-1150MHz)
Features
The Intel Core i7-5775C (codenamed Broadwell) has four physical cores (extra four logical cores due to the Hyper-Threading technology) and clocks at 3.3GHz with turbo clock up to 3.7GHz.
It is different from earlier generations in two major ways. First, it has a 14nm manufacturing process which is unlike the 2nm lithography that most processors of the previous generations come with.
The second major difference is the presence of the Iris Pro 6200 GPU which supports DirectX 11.2 and has 48 execution units (against 20 present on the HD 4600 GPU in most Haswell chips).
Going further, it is important to mention that the 5775C has low clocking speed and is no match for the 4790K as the later is 18% higher than the former while the Turbo clock is also 14% higher.
Agreed that both chips are unlocked which gives room for overclocking, but the stock frequency of the 5775C is disappointing still.
In fact, no matter how much you overclock the 5775C, it still is no match for the maximum turbo frequency of the 4790K which is 4.4GHz.
Everything is not entirely gloomy with the 5775C as it shines in its 3D performance, thanks to the Iris Pro 6200 which makes it the fastest socketed processor on the market when it comes to 3D rendering.
It is the crown jewel of this chip as it is imbued with more rendering, compute and media horsepower.
More astonishing is how Intel delivered such a heft graphics boost on a processor with a 65-watt thermal design power (TDP) rating.
While the 5775C is one of the highest-end socketed processors available in the Broadwell line, there’s not so much incentive for it to serve as a replacement for other chips like the i7-4770K and i7-4740K for those who already have those.
Pros
- Improved power consumption
- Integrated Iris Pro 6200
Cons
- Limited availability
- Unimpressive performance
- Poor overclocking potential
The quad-core Intel Core i7-4790K is an upgrade to its forebear (the 4770K)) and brings a lot to the table: improved CPU and GPU performance, better power consumption and more.
Specifications
- Clock rate: 4000 – 4400 MHz
- Number of cores / threads: 4 / 8
- Max power consumption: 88 watt
- Physical memory: 32GB
- Manufacturing technology: 22 nm
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4600
Features
The Intel Core i7-4790K is one of the high-end processors under the codename ‘Haswell’ with a base clock speed of 4GHz that can turbo boost up to 4.4GHz as long provided you can keep it cool during operations.
The “K” is an indication that this version of the chipset is unlocked, so you can overclock it as you wish.
Using 22nm processes, the Core i7-4790K has better temperatures than Ivy Bridge series and also attempts to fix the limited overclocking potentials that users complained about in the original Haswell processors.
The chip runs slightly hotter as it consumes slightly more power than its predecessor, so it will need extra cooling. Going forward, the Corei7-4790K is compatible with the Socket LGA1150 motherboards.
It is specifically designed for motherboards that use the Intel Z97, and will also work happily in older Z87-based motherboards. However, you may need to update the firmware to enable it run properly.
One of the notable technologies the 4790K has is the Hyper-Threading technology which allows the four cores to split into eight logical cores.
This boosts the multitasking ability of the chipset as well as its overall performance in multi-threaded applications such as music production and video-editing software.
It also has the same 8MB of Level 3 cache as the i7-4770K which is shared equally between the processors.
As you will find out, the 4790K uses the Intel HD Graphics 4600 which isn’t any different in what you will find in its predecessor.
To be detailed, the processor is equipped with a 20 unit graphics core which is an incremental step over its predecessor.
That doesn’t mean it delivers an impeccable performance as there’s still much room for improvement in newer chipsets.
Thankfully, you can still play your favorite (but older) 3D games if you can cope with the graphics quality and resolution; otherwise, it’s best you just stick to watching videos, browsing the web and running productivity software.
Pros
- Class-leading performance
- Virtualization tech
- Faster at stock speeds than the 4770K
- First all-core 4GHz processor from Intel
Cons
- Overclocking variability
- Little improvement to graphics
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Last update on 2020-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API