Intel Limited Edition i7 8086K Review

The limited-edition Intel i7-8086K is a rather controversial model and certainly will not be right for everyone. In fact, a very good argument can be made that it is not even an optimal choice for most buyers. Firstly, is the price. With an asking price $40 more than the already pricey i7-8700K this is not an inexpensive mainstream processor. For a hundred and ten dollars less buyers can get an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X… that offers eight cores and comes with a pretty darn good cooling solution (another $30+ savings).

Next is the performance it offers. Yes, it is the fastest 6-core mainstream processor Intel has ever released, but what it actually offers is not that much better than non-Limited Edition Coffee Lake i7 8700K processor it is selected from. Only in single active core and power/TDP limited scenarios is their any differences between the i7-8086 (4/5Ghz) and the i7-8700K (3.7/4.7Ghz). Even then the only real-world difference mainly came from our motherboard being more aggressive with the stock cache frequencies than any CPU core clock difference. This also quickly frog marches value out the nearest airlock as single core scenarios are rather rare these days, and those that will max out their CPU long enough to notice the 300Mhz boost will most likely be looking at HEDT and not ‘mainstream’ options. The same holds true for PC gaming, as the differences are miniscule to say the least.

From an overclocking perspective the i7-8086K also cannot do much better than what can be accomplished using a cheaper i7-8700K. Even a modern (post-binning) i7-8700K can do 5.0 to 5.1Ghz, whereas the i7-8086K can do 5.1 to 5.2Ghz. That works out to about 20-40 cents extra per Mhz improvement. Lastly, this is a limited edition processor and Intel is about to release an eight-core mainstream CPU that will be better for multiple active core scenarios… and rumored to come with a little lower MSRP. Furthermore, from a ‘getting things done’ perspective it still is only a six-core processor. For less money right now you can get an AMD Ryzen 2700X, or the Intel HEDT 8-core processor like the thirty dollars cheaper Intel i7-7820X. So ‘time saved from compiling or transcoding’ is not much of a justification.

Honestly, if you are the average buyer who wants to justify purchasing this particular CPU to your significant other (or even just your wallet) using ‘value’ or ‘performance’ or even ‘it is better honey… trust me’ are not going to be winning arguments.

Then who should be interested in the i7-8086K? That is where it gets interesting as this is easily the most laser focused CPU model Intel has released in many, many years. This is a CPU that really caters to the overclocking crowd. Oh sure Intel pays lip-service to the overclocking enthusiast with their typical ‘K’ models, but this is the first CPU model that Intel has actually done factory testing to ensure that you are getting a ‘golden(ish) chip’.

Only the top fifteen percent of all i7-8700K processors pass this additional scrutiny and this extra time and expense does go a nice way to justifying the $40 price-premium. The down side to this of course is Intel has made it a lot harder to actually get a good overclocking i7-8700K. At best you can now only expect to get a mediocre (top 16%) chip.

What all this means is that people who want an Intel mainstream CPU based system right now and want to get the most from their expensive new purchase should be interested in the limited edition i7-8086K. Its stock frequencies are a mere suggestion and hitting 5Ghz on all cores is child’s play. The other group of people who should seriously consider this processor are those who don’t want to mess around with their CPU. They simply want to ‘set it and forget it’. This actually is a noticeable portion of the buying public, and with the fastest stock frequencies available the i7-8086K may indeed be worth the extra $40. Mix in the fact that most good motherboards come with ‘auto’ overclocking and the chances of getting a powerhouse CPU with basically one mouse click’s worth of effort may indeed justify the asking price.

It really will come down to what you are willing to spend in order to get that additional 100-200Mhz of performance. Only you can decide if your needs fit inside this narrow window. If they do, and you have your heart set on an 8th gen mainstream Intel processor, then yes the limited edition i7-8086K may actually be a decent choice. Its lack of value will never make it a great choice, but it is not a terrible idea like the older ‘X’ models were either. For everyone else, the Intel i7-8700K is the more sensible choice.