When comparing Intel i5-4460 vs Intel i7-4790K, the Slant community recommends Intel i7-4790K for most people. In the question“What are the best CPUs for desktop gaming?” Intel i7-4790K is ranked 3rd while Intel i5-4460 is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Intel i7-4790K is:
Being a quad-core CPU means that hyperthreading is available, more so than an i5 thanks to the higher clock speeds and available cache. This means that games that take advantage of hyperthreading will perform better than with a CPU that does not have many cores or is just at a lower clock speed and has less cache available. While the jump in performance is not much for games that can only utilize a single core of the CPU, it still is a jump of about 2-3 frames over an i5 of the same generation.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy to find cheap components
Being that this is a Haswell chip that uses the LGA 1150 socket, it is quite easy to find cheap motherboards and cheap RAM (DDR3) to use in those motherboards. This makes a good option as it is still a powerful chip comparable to even newer ones but allows for a wide selection of compatible parts. It also is a good choice for those that are already using a LGA 1150 compatible motherboard and would just like to upgrade from a less powerful CPU.
Pro Efficient power use
When comparing to CPUs in a similar price range such as the AMD 8350, this Intel chip is more efficient for power use. That means less heat and a lower power bill. While newer generation Intel chips may have a slight advantage here, they will be more expensive as well, so this makes a good choice if heat, power and efficiency are a concern in this price range.
Pro Good choice for budget builds
At under $200 the 4460 makes a for a good mid range build. It will handle any casual game or even most AAA games without issue, though some that are really CPU intensive (such as Civ 5) may see some bottleneck.
Pro Good performance and hyperthreading
Being a quad-core CPU means that hyperthreading is available, more so than an i5 thanks to the higher clock speeds and available cache. This means that games that take advantage of hyperthreading will perform better than with a CPU that does not have many cores or is just at a lower clock speed and has less cache available. While the jump in performance is not much for games that can only utilize a single core of the CPU, it still is a jump of about 2-3 frames over an i5 of the same generation.
Pro Easy to find cheap components
Being that this is a Haswell chip that uses the LGA 1150 socket, it is quite easy to find cheap motherboards and cheap RAM (DDR3) to use in those motherboards. This makes a good option as it is still a powerful chip comparable to even newer ones but allows for a wide selection of compatible parts. It also is a good choice for those that are already using a LGA 1150 compatible motherboard and would just like to upgrade from a less powerful CPU.
Cons
Con No hyperthreading
Even though this is a quad-core device, there is no hypethreading built into the chip meaning any apps or games that can take advantage of the multiple cores through hyperthreading will be unable to see that performance using this chip.
Con Can not overclock
For those that would like to squeeze a little more power out of their CPU by overclocking, that is not an option with this CPU.
Con Becoming increasingly more difficult to find
More and more stores are not carrying this chip as newer generation chips are seeing their prices drop. This means it can be difficult to obtain, though there are a few places that it can still be picked up easily.
Con Somewhat dated
Based on the fourth generation of Intel's core architecture (Haswell) there are newer chips out there two generations ahead (6th gen Skylake). While comparing one to the next there are only slight improvements in the newer generations, but improvements all the same for close to the same price.