Intel Core i7-4790 Processor - BX80646I74790

Bought one of these used for about $180 to upgrade from the Intel Core i5-4430 that came with my HP Envy 700-074. Not the best value on the market compared to the Ryzen 5 2400G or 3400G, but offers similar performance to those CPU's. At the time of this review, those are much better values for building new PC's and include an upgrade path to CPU's with more cores, something that isn't doable with older Intel consumer platforms.The additional clock speed and hyperthreading definitely allow for snappier and smoother performance. Gaming performance is improved massively compared to the i5-4430 when it comes to the latest AAA games, with a 15-30 percent improvement in performance in older games that have little use for more than four threads.Installing it was easy. All it involved was swapping out the i5-4430 and inserting this CPU in its place along with a fresh application of thermal paste and reusing the original OEM HP cooler. It runs slightly hotter than the i5, but temps stayed below 70c even under intensive testing. Overall, I am very pleased with this processor.The i7-4790k was still over $200 at the time I did the upgrade, and that would have been the CPU I would have gone for had it been closer to the non-K version in price due to its additional performance.September 2020 Update: The PC this went in has been retired as of June 2020, but I enjoyed the short time I had it with this processor. My only regret is that I purchased the processor near the tail end of the HP Envy 700-074's useful life. I have since replaced it with a Ryzen 5 3600-based iBUYPOWER prebuilt, and I'm enjoying it as much as I enjoyed the Envy 700-074 in its early days of use in the fall of 2013.

Intel Core i7 processors can be quite pricey; at least I consider processors within the $300 price range to be pricey. But if you're looking to build a computer that will operate in the long run (and use up less Wattage), Intel would be your best bet. I'm using this processor for a gaming computer, but I anticipate doing video editing (some time in the future...I think).But even if I weren't doing video editing (I keep reading that Intel processors are recommend for that), I also intended my computer to be a reliable workstation, in addition to playing games. This processor is so friggin' fast.I'll grant that even for basic work, it's over-powered, but I'd rather have that than under-powered. Hopefully, this processor will last in the long run.Be aware, though, that this processor is not accompanied with a "K" (an indicator that it is unlocked for overclocking). Nevertheless, I didn't see any need to overclock, even for playing computation-intensive games like Crysis. (The Graphics Card would be the determinant factor...I think.)P. S.: The Intel Stock Cooling Fan that came with the processor is quite reliable...and...I think quiet. (It's brand new.) I could tell because I was using silent Enermax fans. So far, it has had no problems since three weeks go when it was installed into my system. Unless you're into overclocking, this cooling fan should be adequate...maybe a little more than adequate for the job. It's quite easy to install because it's got it's own thermal paste installed on the heatsink base; if you're not sure how to install it, do a dry run because if you installed it wrong, you have to clean off the paste and re-apply it again. Do a dry-run installation to avoid the hassle; but if there's a plastic covering, be sure to remove it before installation.

What an upgrade! When I build my new machine in July 2014, I did lots of research on boards and chips, looking at power, performance and cost. This chip is an excellent upgrade for people replacing systems that are a few years old. I upgraded from an AMD based platform and needed some serious speed gain for my editing needs, as the software has become heavier and heavier.I landed on the i7-4790. Didnt spend the extra money for the K version, because I am using this for real world apps, and dont play games at all (dont have the spare time).I ditched the factory Intel CPU cooler and went with a CoolerMaster EVO 212, after reading several other reviews on it, where in their tests it was keeping the chip cooler than water cooled setups.All in all, I am in love with this new setup.BUILD Sheet:Case: Corsair Carbide 300R Black - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006I2H0YSCPU: Intel i7-4790 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J56YSLMCPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212 EVO - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXIMotherBoard: ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mk II - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K2R6E10Additional Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP6QLY62x of Memory: Corsair Vengance DDR3 1600 (CMZGX3M2A1600C10R) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E3M4QSVideo: EVGA GeForce GTX760 ACX (02G-P4-2765-KR) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E0N49C8WiFi NIC: Rosewill RNWD-N9003PCe - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009VKON0SPower Supply (PSU): Corsair CX750 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RJZQSWBoot Drive (SSD for OS and Apps): Samsung EVO840 250GB http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LMXBOP44x of Hard Drives (2 were re-used): WD Green 3TB http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RORMF6CD/DVD/BluRay Drive (reused): Pioneer BCD-207DBK http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I47O7AKAdditional Items:WiFi Router: TP-Link Archer C9 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PDLRHFWColor Correction Tool: ColorMunki Display - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055MBQOMMonitors (re-used): 2x Acer 23" 16:9 (next thing to be updated)

installed it and worked great, thank you.