Intel Core i7 6700 4-core LGA 1151

The i7-6700 is a 4-core, 8-thread Skylake chip that still handles everyday tasks with ease thanks to solid single-thread performance and a cool 65W TDP. Used prices range from $51 to $390 in the US, and the value story only works at the low end. It's a great drop-in upgrade for existing LGA 1151 systems, but not a smart choice for new builds. If you can snag one cheap, it's a quiet, dependable workhorse.

The PassMark numbers tell the story pretty clearly. We're looking at 8,032 multi-thread and 2,274 single-thread. For context, that single-thread score puts it right around the 65th percentile in our database, which means it's still competitive with a lot of newer budget chips for everyday tasks. Web browsing, office apps, light photo editing, all of that feels snappy. The multi-thread score is more middle of the pack, around the 55th percentile, which makes sense for a 4-core part in a world where 6 and 8 cores are the norm.

The boost behavior is worth understanding. You get 4.0GHz on one core, but it steps down as more cores get loaded: 3.9GHz on two, 3.8GHz on three, and 3.7GHz on all four. So in single-threaded workloads, this thing still feels quick. In heavily threaded workloads, it's going to show its age. The 65W TDP is the real star here though. That's low enough to run cool and quiet with a basic cooler, and it's a big reason why so many owners mention low fan noise and easy thermals.

The competitor list here is a bit odd, mixing modern parts with older ones. The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is in a completely different league, it's a modern 6-core Zen 4 chip that absolutely demolishes the i7-6700 in every metric. But it also costs way more and needs a new AM5 board and DDR5. If you're building fresh, the Ryzen 5 7600 is the obvious choice. The i7-6700 only makes sense if you already have an LGA 1151 board or you're buying used at a steep discount.

The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 is an interesting comparison. It's an older server chip with similar core counts but different platform requirements. The Xeon is going to be cheaper in some cases, but it needs a server board and ECC memory, which adds complexity. The i7-6700 is simpler to work with and has better single-thread performance. The be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 and Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7 CSF-AM5 are really just cooler and accessory products that got lumped in here, not direct CPU competitors. The real comparison is: if you need cheap and you already have the board, get the i7-6700. If you're starting fresh, skip it and go modern.

Here's where things get interesting. The used market for the i7-6700 is all over the place. In the US, we're seeing listings from $51 to $390, which is a wild spread. The $51 end is a genuine steal if you can find a working chip at that price. The $390 end is frankly absurd, you're paying new CPU money for a decade-old processor. If you're shopping in the US, the best deals are at the lower end of that range, and you should absolutely not pay more than maybe $80-100 for this chip.

In Canada, the spread is tighter but still notable: CAD 129 to CAD 229. The lower end of that range is reasonable for what you get. In Europe, you're looking at EUR 125 to EUR 209, and in the UK, there's a single listing at GBP 91. The takeaway is that this chip's value depends entirely on what you pay. At the right price, it's a fantastic budget option. At the wrong price, you're better off putting that money toward a modern platform.

The Core i7-6700 is one of those chips that quietly did everything right back in 2015 and somehow still keeps showing up in budget builds and office PCs nearly a decade later. It's a 4-core, 8-thread Skylake part running at 3.4GHz base with a 4.0GHz single-core boost, and it sips power at just 65W. That combination of decent speed and low heat is exactly why it's still floating around the used market at prices that make budget builders do a double take.

Who is this for in 2025? Honestly, it's for people who already have an LGA 1151 board and want to squeeze a bit more life out of it, or folks building a cheap office machine, a home server, or a light gaming rig on a tight budget. The 8MB of L3 cache and Hyper-Threading mean it handles multitasking better than the i5s from the same era, and the HD 530 integrated graphics are fine for basic display duties without a dedicated GPU.

What makes it interesting is the value story. Our database puts its affordability in the top quarter of all desktop CPUs, and user sentiment lands at a solid 82 out of 100 across 35 pieces of evidence. People genuinely like this chip. It's not exciting, but it's dependable, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

If you're building a new PC from scratch, skip this. The LGA 1151 platform is a dead end, and you'll be stuck with DDR4 and no upgrade path. For the same money as a used i7-6700 plus a used board, you can often get a modern budget CPU with better performance and a socket that'll accept future upgrades. Content creators and streamers should also look elsewhere, 4 cores just isn't enough for serious video editing or streaming while gaming.

If you need overclocking, this isn't your chip. The locked multiplier means what you see is what you get. Look at the i7-6700K if you want to stay on the same platform, or jump to a modern unlocked chip. And if you're running heavily threaded workloads like rendering or virtualization, a used Ryzen 7 or a modern 6-core part will serve you much better.

If you've got an LGA 1151 board sitting around with a Pentium or i3 in it, dropping in an i7-6700 is one of the best cheap upgrades you can make. The jump from 2 cores to 4 cores with Hyper-Threading is massive for multitasking, and the 65W TDP means you probably won't even need to upgrade your cooler. For office work, web browsing, light gaming, and general home use, this chip still gets the job done without breaking a sweat.

But if you're building a new system from scratch, I'd steer you away. The platform is dead, DDR4 is on its way out, and you can get a modern budget chip with better performance and an upgrade path for not much more money. The i7-6700 is a great upgrade for an existing system, not a foundation for a new one. Buy it used, buy it cheap, and enjoy the quiet, cool performance. Just don't overpay.