Intel Core i5-4670K vs Intel Core i7-980 Comparison

The recorded data delivers an unusually one-sided verdict: the Intel Core i7-980 beats the Intel Core i5-4670K in every single head-to-head benchmark the database contains, sweeping all six Cinebench comparisons with a consistent margin of roughly 23 percent. That uniformity is remarkable. Whether the workload stresses one core or twelve threads, the older six-core Gulftown part finishes ahead of the newer Haswell quad-core by almost exactly the same relative distance, a pattern that says something distinctive about how these two processors are built and what they reward. Both chips sit at the 40th percentile versus all CPUs in the database, with average benchmark scores of 1693 for the i7-980 and 1656 for the i5-4670K, a narrow gap in aggregate that conceals the clean sweep in direct comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Start with the headline numbers. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the Core i7-980 scores 5853 against 4751 for the Core i5-4670K, a 23.2 percent win for the Gulftown chip. The same story repeats in Cinebench R20 multi-core: 2458 versus 1995, again a 23.2 percent advantage. Cinebench R15 multi-core lands at 589 versus 478, a 23.2 percent margin. Across three generations of the same rendering benchmark, the multi-core delta never moves by more than a rounding step.

The surprise is single-core. A reader might expect the Haswell part, with its newer architecture and higher clocks, to reclaim ground in lightly threaded tests. It does not. The i7-980 posts 826 in Cinebench R23 single-core against 670 for the i5-4670K, a 23.3 percent lead. R20 single-core reads 346 versus 281, a 23.1 percent gap, and R15 single-core reads 83 versus 67, a 23.9 percent gap. The database records the i7-980 winning all six comparisons, with delta percentages clustered between 23.1 and 23.9.

That clustering is analytically interesting. When a chip wins multi-core by threading width, single-core margins usually shrink dramatically. Here they do not, which tells us the recorded configuration of the i7-980 is simply delivering more throughput per thread and in aggregate than the i5-4670K across the board. The i5-4670K does hold supplementary Geekbench results the database does not record for the i7-980, 3700 multi-core and 1302 single-core, but these cannot be compared head-to-head since the older chip lacks matching entries.

Context from the rivals list reinforces how evenly matched these two are against the wider field. The i7-980 sits within 0.5 percent of the AMD Ryzen 7 3750H (average score 1690, delta 0.2 percent), the Intel Core i7-3770K (1688, 0.3 percent), the Intel Core i7-5850HQ (1688, 0.3 percent), and the AMD Athlon Gold 3150G (1701, -0.5 percent). The i5-4670K's nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon E-2124 (1658, -0.1 percent), the AMD Ryzen 5 3550H (1653, 0.2 percent), the Intel Core i7-4770HQ (1660, -0.2 percent), and the Intel Core i7-4810MQ (1651, 0.3 percent). Both chips effectively occupy the same performance neighborhood overall, yet in direct measurement the i7-980 dominates.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU is faster overall in the recorded benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-980. It wins all six head-to-head Cinebench tests against the Core i5-4670K, by margins of 23.1 to 23.9 percent, including every single-core comparison.

Q: Does the Core i5-4670K win any benchmark in the database?

A: No. The head-to-head record shows 6 wins for the i7-980 and 0 for the i5-4670K. The Haswell chip's best result is a narrower 23.1 percent deficit in Cinebench R20 single-core.

Q: Which chip has more cores and threads?

A: The Core i7-980 has 6 cores and 12 threads. The Core i5-4670K has 4 cores and 4 threads, with no hyper-threading recorded.

Q: Which CPU is more power efficient?

A: The Core i5-4670K, on paper. Its TDP is rated at 84 watts against 130 watts for the Core i7-980, a significant gap in thermal envelope despite the i7-980's performance lead.

Q: Can either CPU be overclocked?

A: The Core i5-4670K has an unlocked multiplier. The Core i7-980 does not, according to the database, limiting headroom on the Gulftown part.

Q: Which platforms differ between them?

A: The i7-980 uses Intel Socket 1366 with triple-channel DDR3 and PCIe Gen 2. The i5-4670K uses Intel Socket 1150 with dual-channel DDR3 and PCIe Gen 3.

Architecture Differences

These chips come from different eras of Intel design. The Core i7-980 is a Gulftown die on the Westmere architecture, fabricated on a 32 nm process at Intel. The Core i5-4670K is a Haswell die on the architecture of the same name, built on a 22 nm process. The node shrink shows up in the physical data: the Haswell part packs 1400 million transistors into a 177 mm² die, while the Gulftown part uses 1170 million transistors across a larger 239 mm² die.

The core topology is the sharpest architectural divide. The i7-980 pairs 6 cores with 12 threads, giving it fifty percent more physical cores and three times the thread count of the i5-4670K's 4 cores and 4 threads. That threading advantage is exactly what the multi-core Cinebench results reward. Yet the single-core results show the i7-980 ahead too, which indicates the recorded per-thread throughput of the Gulftown configuration is higher across these tests despite the older microarchitecture.

Platform architecture also diverges. The i7-980's Socket 1366 platform runs a triple-channel DDR3 memory bus, feeding its six cores with more memory parallelism than the i5-4670K's dual-channel DDR3 arrangement on Socket 1150. The Haswell platform counters with newer PCIe Gen 3 connectivity versus Gen 2 on the Gulftown platform, and it integrates Intel HD 4600 graphics on-package, something the i7-980 lacks entirely; the database lists no integrated graphics for the older chip, meaning it requires a discrete GPU.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in nearly every headline specification:

• Cores/threads: i7-980 has 6 cores and 12 threads; i5-4670K has 4 cores and 4 threads.
• Clocks: i7-980 runs a 3.33 base and 3.60 boost; i5-4670K runs 3.40 base and 3.80 boost. The Haswell chip is faster on paper in both figures, yet loses every recorded benchmark.
• TDP: 130 watts for the i7-980 versus 84 watts for the i5-4670K.
• Socket: Socket 1366 versus Socket 1150, making the two physically incompatible platforms.
• Process: 32 nm Westmere versus 22 nm Haswell.
• Transistors and die: 1170 million on 239 mm² versus 1400 million on 177 mm².
• L3 cache: 12 MB shared on the i7-980 versus 6 MB shared on the i5-4670K. Per-core L1 (64 KB) and L2 (256 KB) are identical.
• Memory bus: triple-channel versus dual-channel DDR3.
• PCIe: Gen 2 versus Gen 3.
• Integrated graphics: none versus Intel HD 4600.
• Multiplier: locked on the i7-980, unlocked on the i5-4670K.
• Release timing: the i7-980 launched in June 2011; the i5-4670K launched in June 2013.
• Production status: the i7-980 is marked end-of-life; no status is recorded for the i5-4670K.

Shared traits: both are Intel desktop parts supporting DDR3, neither supports ECC memory, and both average scores land them in the 40th percentile of the database.

Where Each One Wins

The Core i7-980 wins everywhere the database measures directly. Its six cores and twelve threads translate into 23.2 percent higher multi-core scores in R15, R20, and R23, making it the clear choice for rendering, batch processing, and any workload that scales with threads. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and triple-channel memory bus reinforce that multi-threaded strength. And since it also leads every single-core test by 23.1 to 23.9 percent, the recorded data gives the i5-4670K no benchmark scenario in which it comes out ahead.

The i5-4670K's advantages are all outside the score columns. Its 84 watt TDP is far lower than the 130 watt rating of the i7-980, which matters for thermal planning. Its unlocked multiplier offers tuning flexibility the locked Gulftown part cannot match. Its PCIe Gen 3 platform and integrated HD 4600 graphics provide newer connectivity and the option to run without a discrete GPU. None of these show up as benchmark wins, but they shape the ownership experience.

The Verdict

On pure performance, this is not close: the Core i7-980 wins six out of six recorded comparisons, sweeping multi-core and single-core alike by roughly 23 percent. Buyers choosing strictly by the benchmark data should take the i7-980 for any compute task, from heavily threaded rendering (5853 versus 4751 in R23 multi-core) to lightly threaded work (826 versus 670 in R23 single-core).

The case for the Core i5-4670K rests entirely on non-score factors: a substantially lower 84 watt TDP, an unlocked multiplier, PCIe Gen 3, integrated HD 4600 graphics, and a newer Socket 1150 platform. Its average benchmark score of 1656 trails the i7-980's 1693 only slightly in aggregate terms, but the head-to-head record is a shutout. If the decision is made on measurements, the Core i7-980 is the faster processor in every test the database contains; the i5-4670K is the pick only when efficiency, overclocking headroom, or platform features outweigh raw scores.