i3-540 vs i7-14700K - Need For Speed: Payback RTX 4070 Max-Q - Game Performance Benchmarks

Multi-Thread Performance

Single-Thread Performance

i3-540

• The i3-540 has higher Level 2 Cache. Data/instructions which have to be processed can be loaded from the fast L2 and the CPU does not have to wait for the very slow DDR RAM
• The i3-540 is more power efficient and generates less heat.

i7-14700K

• The i7-14700K has higher Level 3 Cache. This is useful when you have substantial multiprocessing workloads, many computationally intense simultaneous processes. More likely on a server, less on a personally used computer for interactive desktop workloads.
• For some games, a cpu with a higher clock speed, or in a technical name IPC (Instructions per clock), has better results than other CPU's with higher core count and lower core speed.
• The i7-14700K has a smaller process size. The faster a transistor can toggle on and off, the faster it can do work. And transistors that turn on and off with less energy are more efficient, reducing the operating power, or “dynamic power consumption,” required by a processor.