Intel Core i7 4770K (Haswell 4th Gen) CPU and Z87 Express Chipset Review

Introduction

As silly as it sounds, right now is the first time we can officially say words like "Haswell" and "Z87". Due to the general way an Intel NDA works, our ability to release specific names when it comes to upcoming platforms is rather limited. While anyone who pays just the slightest attention to computers would know that "Intel 4th Generation Core processors" indeed referred to "Haswell", till now, we couldn't officially write that in coverage.

You're going to see an absolute ton of coverage to the new platform as it brings with it so many new products. Unlike the last Intel CPU we looked at, the Intel Core i7 3970X Extreme Edition, the Core i7 4770K brings with it a new chipset in the form of the Z87 Express. The products that surround a new chipset are what are going to keep us extremely busy for the coming weeks and months.

It of course starts with new motherboards from the huge amount of vendors that exist. It's not just a matter of receiving a single motherboard from each vendor, we have up to nine motherboards from a single vendor at the moment. Weeks before launch the amount of motherboards we had already sat in double digits, and as the days go on the amount of boards we have to test is climbing at a rapid rate.

It's not just motherboards, though, a new platform often brings with it new memory. We saw the last generation Ivy Bridge platform bring with it a chance to achieve memory speeds much higher than we had seen before. The latest Haswell platform is said to take that a step further and that of course means that Corsair, G.Skill and others are jumping on the high speed memory bandwagon as quickly as they can.

We've then of course got multiple CPU models coming out for the desktop platform along with mobile versions of everything. Combining all this together means that we've then got a bunch of new systems coming from PC builders and of course laptops and ultrabooks coming from manufacturers.

Today, though, is all about two things. The new CPU's that we'll be seeing alongside the performance of the top dog Core i7 4770K. The second is the new Intel Z87 chipset. The particular Z87 motherboard that we'll be using today comes from ASUS in the form of the Z87-Expert.