Intel Core i7 8700 6-core LGA 1151

The Core i7-8700 is a six-core, twelve-thread chip that still holds up for gaming and everyday use, especially at used prices. Its single-thread performance is well above average, and the 65W TDP keeps it cool and efficient. Prices swing from USD 92 to USD 391, so shop around and don't overpay. If you have a 300-series board, this is one of the best budget upgrades you can make.

The numbers tell a solid story. PassMark puts the 8700 at 12,733 multi-thread and 2,624 single-thread. That single-thread score lands in the 74th percentile, which is well above average for desktop CPUs in our database. For gaming, that's the number that matters most, and it means the 8700 still pushes frames fine in most modern titles, especially at 1440p where the GPU does more of the heavy lifting.

The multi-thread score is a bit more middle of the pack at the 67th percentile. Six cores and twelve threads at a 4.6GHz boost is nothing to sneeze at, but it's not going to crush heavy rendering or video encoding workloads the way newer chips with more cores will. The 65W TDP is the real star here. This chip runs cool and sips power compared to the 8700K's higher draw, which makes it a great fit for small cases or systems where you don't want to fuss with beefy cooling. The stock cooler handles it fine for everyday use, though owners report it gets toasty under sustained load.

The 8700's biggest rival in its own family is the i7-8700K. The K chip unlocks overclocking and has a higher base clock, but it also costs more and runs hotter. If you're not planning to overclock, the non-K 8700 gives you nearly identical performance for less money. That's the smarter buy for most people, and the user sentiment data backs it up. Owners mention the 8700K isn't always the best value compared to this chip.

Against AMD's Ryzen lineup, the story shifts. A Ryzen 5 3600 or Ryzen 7 3700X from the same era offers similar or better multi-thread performance with a better upgrade path, since AM4 boards supported multiple generations. The 8700's platform score sits at the 69th percentile, which is solid but not spectacular. The real advantage for Intel here is single-thread speed and the fact that used 300-series boards are everywhere. If you're building from scratch, AMD might make more sense. If you already have the board, the 8700 is a no-brainer.

Here's where things get interesting. The USD price spread is massive, from USD 92 to USD 391 across ten listings. That's a USD 299 gap for the same chip. If you can find one near the bottom of that range, the 8700 is one of the best price-to-performance deals in desktop CPUs right now. At the top end, you're paying current-gen money for six-year-old silicon, and that's a hard pass.

In EUR, the spread is even wider at EUR 180 to EUR 811. That's a EUR 631 difference, which is frankly absurd for this processor. The best deals in our data come from the lower-priced listings, so patience pays off. Don't rush into the first listing you see. Set a price alert, watch for a few weeks, and grab one when it dips below the midpoint of the range. The 8700's efficiency score of 69.1 out of 100 and budget score of 69 out of 100 back up the idea that this chip makes the most sense when you're paying used-market prices, not retail.

The Core i7-8700 is one of those CPUs that quietly became a legend on the used market. Intel's Coffee Lake generation finally pushed mainstream desktop chips past four cores, and the 8700 landed with six cores and twelve threads at a time when that felt like a genuine leap. It's not the newest thing on the shelf, but it's still a very relevant chip for budget builders and people upgrading older LGA 1151 systems.

Who's this for? Mostly folks who already have a 300-series motherboard or can grab one cheap. The 8700 slots into Z370, B360, H310, and the rest of that family, which means you can build a surprisingly capable gaming or productivity rig without spending current-gen money. The catch is that compatibility. Intel locked this chip to 300-series boards, so if you're coming from an older 100 or 200-series board, you're out of luck.

What makes it interesting is the value story. With used prices ranging from USD 92 to USD 391 across ten listings, there's a huge spread depending on condition and seller. At the low end, this thing is a steal. At the high end, you're better off looking at newer silicon. The trick is knowing which end of that range you're buying from.

If you don't already own a 300-series motherboard, think twice. Building a new system around a six-year-old platform means you're locking yourself into a dead-end socket with no upgrade path. For the same money as a used 8700 plus a used Z370 board, you can often grab a newer Ryzen 5 or Intel 12th gen chip with a modern board that supports PCIe 4.0 and faster memory.

Heavy productivity users should also look elsewhere. The multi-thread performance is just average by today's standards, and if you're doing serious video editing, 3D rendering, or streaming while gaming, the 8700 will feel constrained. Look at Ryzen 7 or Intel i5-12600K and up for those workloads. And if you're seeing prices near the top of the USD 391 range, walk away. That's current-gen money for last-gen performance.

For gamers on a budget who already own a 300-series motherboard, the i7-8700 is an easy recommendation. It's got enough single-thread grunt to keep modern GPUs fed, and the 65W TDP means you won't need an expensive cooler or a beefy power supply. Grab one near the low end of the used price range and you've got a killer value build.

For productivity users doing heavy rendering, video editing, or streaming, the 8700 is more of a stopgap. The multi-thread performance is fine but not exciting, and newer chips with more cores will cut your render times noticeably. If you're building a new system from scratch, look at Ryzen 5000 series or Intel 12th gen and up. The 8700 makes the most sense as an upgrade, not a foundation for a brand new build.