Intel’s Black Edition CPUs aren’t always faster than the regular ones — Core i7-14790F performs like a Core i7-14700F in Geekbench 6 benchmark

Intel’s latest 14th Generation Raptor Lake Refresh processors have found their way into the list of best CPUs. Some China-exclusive SKUs, like the Core i7-14790F and Core i5-14490F Black Edition, have also arrived on the market, and now we have the former’s first benchmark (via Benchleaks).

The Core i7-14790F is a controversial model name since common sense suggests it’s an enhanced variant of the Core i7-14700F. However, the two processors are nothing alike, and don’t let “9” in the Core i7-14790F’s name fool you into thinking it’s faster. The Core i7-14700F has an 8+12 design, while the Core i7-14790F rocks an 8+8 layout, meaning the latter has four fewer E-cores. The clock speeds are identical between the two chips.