Intel Core i7-2600 vs Intel Core i7-6700K

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a choice by looking at the Intel Core i7-2600 vs Intel Core i7-6700K tests and decide which is better for games or normal use for streaming, programming, rendering, machine learning, video editing. Here you can find useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests such as Furmark, RealBench, Blender, WPrime, 7zip, Dolphin Emulator, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Gears 5, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Handbrake, VeraCrypt, PassMark, AIDA64, UserBenchmark, SuperPi, Blender, Prime95, PCMark 10, 3DMark, GeekBench 6, 5.2, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, MATLAB.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Watch Dogs Legion
Cyberpunk 2077
Red Dead Redemption 2
Borderlands 3
Grand Theft Auto V
Fortnite
Rainbow Six Siege
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Overwatch
Halo Infinite
Last Man Standing
Fallout 76
DOOM: Eternal
Valheim
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Apex Legends
Death Stranding
Valorant

After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processor is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-6700K or Intel Core i7-2600.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Core i7-2600

51%

Core i7-6700K

52%

This shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i7-6700K is 1% better than Core i7-2600. The data source is several popular tests. Detailed information can be found below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-2600

51%

Core i7-6700K

53%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Metro Exodus, DOTA 2A, Hitman 3, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Control, Battlefield V, Half-Life: Alyx, Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.3	93.6
Valorant	103.7	106.4
Cyberpunk 2077	58.1	59.6
Apex Legends	97.5	100.0
Call of Duty Warzone	77.8	79.8
Overwatch	84.0	86.2
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.6	73.4
DOOM Eternal	51.9	53.2
Warzone	80.9	83.0
Assassin's Creed	87.1	89.4
Valheim	86.1	88.3

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 4K, 2K or FullHD. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i7-2600

29%

Core i7-6700K

45%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i7-6700K is more energy efficient than the Core i7-2600 as it consumes less power: 95W vs. 95W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, you must know its TDP. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

For example you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum performance, the CPU includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	124	180
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	568	888
Cinbench 20 Single-core	257	421
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1824	2059
Cinbench 23 Single-core	759	1124
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3647	5640

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700K
Single-Core	1751	2556
Multi-Core	5341	8984

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700K
Single-Core	844	1308
Multi-Core	3227	5516

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The newer the processor, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700K
Announcement date	October 01, 2010	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	LGA1155	LGA1151
Core name	Sandy Bridge	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation		6
Turbo Frequency	3.8 MHz	4.2 MHz
Frequency	3.4 MHz	4 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	8
Bus rate	5 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	32 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1750 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	95 W	95 W
Memory type	DDR3 1066/1333	DDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35V
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	8 MB	8 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-6700K is 15% better than Core i7-2600 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-2600 is better: 1
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-6700K is better: 29
However, it should be understood that all the figures that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Core i7-2600 and Intel Core i7-6700K before making a decision which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i7-2600 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-6700K specs and review.

Intel Core i7-2600 Processor Comparisons
• Vs Core i5-6500
• Vs FX-8350 Eight-Core
• Vs Core i5-8250U
• Vs Core i7-3770
• Vs Core i7-6700HQ
• Vs Core i5-10210U
• Vs Core i7-7700HQ
• Vs Core i7-4770
• Vs Core i7-10510U
• Vs Core i7-4790
• Vs Ryzen 5 3500U
• Vs Core i5-9300H
• Vs Core i7-6700
• Vs Core i7-4790K
• Vs Ryzen 5 2400G
• Vs Core i7-1065G7
• Vs Core i5-8400
• Vs Ryzen 5 3400G
• Vs Core i5-9400F
• Vs Core i7-7700K
• Vs Core i7-8750H
• Vs Core i7-1165G7
• Vs Core i5-3470
• Vs Core i5-4590
• Vs Core i7-8550U
• Vs Core i5-1035G1
• Vs Core i5-4570
• Vs Core i5-2400
• Vs Core i5-4460
• Vs Core i5-7200U
• Vs Core i5-10300H
• Vs Core i7-7700
• Vs Core i5-1135G7
• Vs Core i5-8265U
• Vs Core i3-10100
• Vs Ryzen 3 3200G
• Vs Core i5-6200U
• Vs Core i5-8300H
• Vs FX-6300 Six-Core
• Vs Core i5-7400
• Vs Core i7-4770K
• Vs Core i5-7300HQ
• Vs Core i5-6300U
• Vs Core i3-9100F
• Vs Core i7-7500U
• Vs Core i5-3570K
• Vs Core i5-6400
• Vs Core i7-3630QM
• Vs Core i7-8565U
• Vs Core i3-1005G1
• Vs Core i7-3770K
• Vs Ryzen 5 3550H
• Vs Celeron G5920
• Vs Pentium Gold 7505
• Vs Athlon Gold PRO 3150G
• Vs Pentium Gold G6500
• Vs Core i3-9100TE
• Vs Ryzen 5 3450U
• Vs Athlon Silver 3050e
• Vs Core i3-1115G4
• Vs Celeron G5905
• Vs Athlon Gold PRO 3150GE
• Vs Core i3-9350K
• Vs Celeron G5900
• Vs Ryzen Embedded R1305G
• Vs Core i5-9300HF
• Vs Ryzen 5 3550U
• Vs Pentium Gold G6605
• Vs Pentium Gold G6505T
• Vs Pentium Gold G6505
• Vs Pentium Gold G6405U
• Vs Pentium Gold G6405T
• Vs Pentium Gold G6405
• Vs Core i3-1110G4
• Vs Core i3-1115GRE
• Vs Core i3-1120G4
• Vs Core i3-1115G4E
• Vs Athlon Silver 3050GE
• Vs Athlon 300GE
• Vs Athlon 320GE
• Vs Ryzen 3 3250C
• Vs Ryzen 5 3500C
• Vs Ryzen 3 3350U
• Vs Athlon PRO 200U
• Vs Athlon PRO 300U
• Vs Core i5-1030NG7
• Vs Core i5-4470S
• Vs Athlon Silver PRO 3125GE
• Vs Pentium Silver J5040
• Vs Pentium Silver N6005
• Vs Pentium Silver N6000
• Vs Pentium N6415
• Vs Athlon Gold 3150U
• Vs Core i7-10610U
• Vs Pentium Gold G7400
• Vs Pentium Gold G7400E
• Vs Pentium Gold G7400TE
• Vs Pentium Gold G7400T
• Vs Core i7-10510Y
• Vs Core i5-10310U
• Vs Core i5-7442EQ
• Vs Core i7-8565UC
• Vs Core i3-8145UE
• Vs Core i3-1000NG4
• Vs Core i7-1060NG7
• Vs Core i5-10210Y
• Vs Core i5-8265UC
• Vs Core i5-8365UE
• Vs Core i3-9100T
• Vs Core i3-8300
• Vs Core i5-6442EQ
• Vs Core i7-8665U
• Vs Core i5-8365U
• Vs Core i3-9300T
• Vs Core i5-4670R
• Vs Core i3-8100T
• Vs Core i3-8300T
• Vs Core i3-8109U
• Vs Core i3-8121U
• Vs Core i3-7350K
• Vs Core i5-4690K
• Vs Core i5-7500
• Vs Core i3-8100
• Vs Core i5-6600K
• Vs Core i3-6100
• Vs Ryzen 3 5300GE

Intel Core i7-6700K Processor Comparisons
• Vs Core i7-8750H
• Vs Core i7-9750H
• Vs Core i7-10750H
• Vs Ryzen 5 2600
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 2600
• Vs Core i7-8700K
• Vs Ryzen 5 2600X
• Vs Ryzen 7 2700X
• Vs Ryzen 5 3600
• Vs Ryzen 5 2400G
• Vs Core i7-4790K
• Vs Core i7-7700HQ
• Vs Core i7-3770
• Vs Ryzen 5 1600
• Vs Ryzen 5 3500U
• Vs Core i5-9400F
• Vs Core i7-8700
• Vs Core i5-3470
• Vs Ryzen 5 3400G
• Vs Core i5-10400F
• Vs Core i7-4790
• Vs Core i7-7700K
• Vs Core i7-6700HQ
• Vs Ryzen 7 5800X
• Vs Core i9-10900K
• Vs Ryzen 7 3800X
• Vs Core i9-10850K
• Vs Ryzen 7 3700X
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600X
• Vs Core i7-10700K
• Vs Ryzen 7 4800H
• Vs Core i9-9900K
• Vs Ryzen 5 3600X
• Vs Core i7-10700
• Vs Core i7-1065G7
• Vs FX-8350 Eight-Core
• Vs Ryzen 5 4600H
• Vs Core i7-6700
• Vs Core i5-10400
• Vs Core i5-6500
• Vs Ryzen 5 3600XT
• Vs Core i5-8250U
• Vs Core i5-10210U
• Vs Core i5-9600K
• Vs Core i7-4770
• Vs Core i5-8400
• Vs Core i5-9300H
• Vs Core i7-1165G7
• Vs Core i7-10510U
• Vs Ryzen 7 4700U
• Vs Core i5-4590
• Vs Ryzen 5 3500X
• Vs Core i7-8550U
• Vs Core i7-9700K
• Vs Ryzen 5 4500U
• Vs Ryzen 3 3100
• Vs Core i5-1035G1
• Vs Core i5-4570
• Vs Core i5-4460
• Vs Core i5-10300H
• Vs Core i7-7700
• Vs Core i7-10875H
• Vs Core i5-1135G7
• Vs Core i5-8265U
• Vs Core i3-10100
• Vs Ryzen 3 3200G
• Vs Core i5-8300H
• Vs Ryzen 7 2700
• Vs Core i5-7400
• Vs Core i7-9700
• Vs Core i5-10600K
• Vs Core i7-4770K
• Vs Core i5-7300HQ
• Vs Ryzen 7 1700
• Vs Core i3-9100F
• Vs Core i5-6400
• Vs Core i7-10700F
• Vs Core i5-9400
• Vs Core i7-8565U
• Vs Core i7-3770K
• Vs Ryzen 5 3550H
• Vs Ryzen 3 3300X
• Vs Pentium Gold 7505
• Vs Core i5-1145G7
• Vs Ryzen 3 4300GE
• Vs Core i7-1160G7
• Vs Athlon Gold PRO 3150G
• Vs Core i3-10320
• Vs Core i7-9700E
• Vs Core i3-10100F
• Vs Ryzen 5 3350G
• Vs Ryzen 5 3450U
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4200GE
• Vs Core i5-10200H
• Vs Core i3-1115G4
• Vs Core i3-10300T
• Vs Athlon Gold PRO 3150GE
• Vs Core i3-9350K
• Vs Core i5-10500
• Vs Core i7-10700T
• Vs Core i5-9300HF
• Vs Ryzen 5 3550U
• Vs Core i5-10600T
• Vs Core i3-10325
• Vs Core i3-10305
• Vs Core i3-10305T
• Vs Core i3-10105T
• Vs Core i3-10105
• Vs Core i3-10105F
• Vs Core i5-1145GRE
• Vs Core i5-1145G7E
• Vs Core i5-1140G7
• Vs Core i5-1130G7
• Vs Core i7-1185GRE
• Vs Core i7-1185G7E
• Vs Core i7-1185G7
• Vs Core i7-11370H
• Vs Core i7-1180G7
• Vs Core i3-1120G4
• Vs Core i3-1125G4
• Vs Ryzen 7 3700C
• Vs Ryzen 3 5400U
• Vs Ryzen 3 5300U
• Vs Ryzen 3 4300G
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4350GE
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4350G
• Vs Core i3-10100T
• Vs Core i5-8260U
• Vs Core i5-10500T
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U
• Vs Core i5-10400T
• Vs Ryzen 5 3350GE
• Vs Core i3-11100B
• Vs Core i7-1068NG7
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 3350GE
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 3350G
• Vs Xeon E-2234
• Vs Ryzen 5 3400GE
• Vs Core i7-10810U
• Vs Ryzen 5 3580U
• Vs Core i3-10300
• Vs Core i5-1038NG7
• Vs Core i5-9500TE
• Vs Core i5-10400H
• Vs Core i5-9600T
• Vs Core i7-8569U
• Vs Core i7-10710U
• Vs Core i7-9850HL
• Vs Core i5-1035G7
• Vs Core i5-1035G4
• Vs Core i5-9500T
• Vs Core i7-8809G
• Vs Core i5-8500
• Vs Core i5-9500
• Vs Core i5-8600T
• Vs Core i5-9400H
• Vs Core i7-8559U
• Vs Core i5-8500B
• Vs Core i5-8600
• Vs Core i7-8706G
• Vs Core i5-8400H
• Vs Core i5-8259U
• Vs Ryzen 5 2500X
• Vs Ryzen 3 2200G
• Vs Ryzen 3 1200
• Vs Core i3-13300F
• Vs Core i5-4690K
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 5350GE
• Vs Core i5-7500
• Vs Core i3-8100
• Vs Core i5-6600K
• Vs Ryzen 5 4500
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600GE
• Vs Ryzen 3 5300GE
• Vs Ryzen 7 4700GE
• Vs Ryzen 5 4600G
• Vs Ryzen 5 4600GE
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 5645
• Vs Apple M1 Ultra
• Vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4355G
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4355GE