Core i7-9700E vs Core i7-8700

The Core i7-9700E packs 8 cores / 8 threads, while the Core i7-8700 offers 6 cores / 12 threads — the Core i7-9700E has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.4 GHz on the Core i7-9700E versus 4.6 GHz on the Core i7-8700 — a 4.4% clock advantage for the Core i7-8700 (base: 2.6 GHz vs 3.2 GHz). The Core i7-9700E uses the Coffee Lake (2017−2019) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i7-8700 uses Coffee Lake-S (2017−2018) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-9700E scores 12,575 against the Core i7-8700's 12,747 — a 1.4% lead for the Core i7-8700. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 6,800 vs 7,969 (15.8% advantage for the Core i7-8700). Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 1,172 vs 1,535, a 26.8% lead for the Core i7-8700 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 6,802 vs 6,200 (9.3% advantage for the Core i7-9700E). L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Core i7-9700E vs 12288 kB on the Core i7-8700.

Both processors use the LGA1151 socket with PCIe 3.0. Both support up to DDR4-2666 memory speed. Both support up to 128 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: H310,B360,H370,Q370,Z370,Z390 (Core i7-9700E) and 300-series (Core i7-8700).

Virtualization support: Yes (Core i7-9700E) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-8700). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 630 (Core i7-9700E) and UHD Graphics 630 (Core i7-8700) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i7-8700 targets Gaming. Direct competitor: Core i7-8700 rivals Ryzen 5 2600.

The Core i7-9700E launched at $259 MSRP, while the Core i7-8700 debuted at $303. At current prices ($180 vs $110), the Core i7-8700 is $70 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i7-9700E delivers 69.9 pts/$ vs 115.9 pts/$ for the Core i7-8700 — making the Core i7-8700 the 49.6% better value option.