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Intel Core i7-9700T

Intel Core i7-9700T: Overview and Assembly Recommendations for 2025

Architecture, Performance, and Use Cases for an Energy-Efficient Processor

1. Key Features: Coffee Lake in Miniature

The Intel Core i7-9700T processor, released in 2019, remains relevant in the niche of energy-efficient solutions. Its key parameters include:

- Architecture: Coffee Lake (14 nm).

- Cores and Threads: 8 cores / 8 threads.

- Base Frequency: 2.0 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 4.3 GHz.

- Cache: 12 MB L3.

- TDP: 35 W.

- Integrated Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 (base frequency 350 MHz, dynamic up to 1.2 GHz).

- Benchmarks: Geekbench 6 — 1386 (Single-Core), 5184 (Multi-Core).

Key Features:

- Energy Efficiency: Low thermal output allows for use in compact systems without noisy coolers.

- Turbo Boost 2.0: Automatic overclocking to 4.3 GHz under load.

- Optimization for Multitasking: 8 physical cores handle parallel tasks effectively, despite the lack of Hyper-Threading.

Practical Example: In office PCs, the i7-9700T demonstrates stability even when working with dozens of browser tabs and background applications. However, it lags behind modern CPUs with SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) in video rendering.

2. Compatible Motherboards: Choose Wisely

Socket: LGA 1151v2 (supports only 300 series chipsets).

Recommended Chipsets:

- Z390: For enthusiasts — unlocked multiplier (although the i7-9700T does not support overclocking), PCIe 3.0 x16, USB 3.1 Gen 2. Example: ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E (price: ~$150-180).

- B365/B360: Budget option — suitable for office builds. For example, MSI B365M Pro-VDH (~$80-100).

- H310: Ultra-budget boards, but with limitations on PCIe lanes and ports.

Important:

- BIOS updates may be required when using early batch 300-series boards.

- To activate all features (e.g., Intel Optane Memory), choose chipsets that support Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

3. Memory: DDR4 and Optimization

- Type: Only DDR4 (DDR5 not supported).

- Frequencies: Officially up to 2666 MHz (depends on the chipset: Z390 allows overclocking RAM).

- Recommendations:

- Minimum: 16 GB (2x8 GB) for multitasking.

- For 4K editing or virtualization: 32 GB (2x16 GB).

- Dual-Channel mode is essential to unlock the potential of integrated graphics.

Example: In tests with DDR4-3200 (on Z390), the performance of UHD 630 in games increased by 15-20% due to improved bandwidth.

4. Power Supply: Minimum Watts — Maximum Reliability

With a TDP of 35 W, the i7-9700T is one of the most "economic" in the Core i7 lineup. However, the choice of PSU depends on other components:

- Build without a discrete graphics card: A PSU of 300-400 W is sufficient (e.g., be quiet! Pure Power 11 400W, ~$60).

- With mid-range GPU (NVIDIA RTX 3050/AMD RX 6600): Recommended 500-600 W (Corsair CX550M, ~$70).

- Certification: 80 Plus Bronze or higher for stability.

Tip: In compact cases (Mini-ITX), use modular PSUs for improved airflow.

5. Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Energy Efficiency: Ideal for quiet and compact systems.

- High Single-Core Performance: Better than Ryzen 7 2700X in Geekbench 6 Single-Core.

- Reliable Integrated Graphics: Suitable for office tasks and streaming.

Cons:

- No Hyper-Threading: In multi-threaded tasks (rendering, encoding), it lags behind Ryzen 5 5600G.

- Outdated 14 nm process: Higher thermal output per watt compared to AMD’s 7 nm.

- Limited Upgrade Path: LGA 1151v2 socket does not support CPUs newer than the 9th generation.

6. Use Cases

- Office and Multimedia: Streaming video, document handling, video conferencing — UHD 630 handles 4K monitors.

- Gaming: On integrated graphics — only light projects (CS:GO, Dota 2 on low settings, 30-60 FPS). With discrete GPU (e.g., GTX 1660 Super) — Full HD in AAA titles at medium settings.

- Home Server/NAS: Low power consumption and virtualization support (VT-x, VT-d).

Real Experience: In a build with RTX 3060 and 32 GB DDR4, the i7-9700T shows 60-70 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, medium settings), but experiences drops in Ray Tracing mode due to CPU limitations.

7. Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (8C/16T, 65 W): About 30% faster in multi-threading, but more expensive (~$250). A clear favorite for professional tasks.

- Intel Core i5-12400T (12th generation, 35 W): Higher IPC, supports DDR5, but costs ~$300. The best choice for new builds.

- Apple M1 (in mini-PCs): More energy-efficient, but limited compatibility with Windows.

Conclusion: In 2025, consider the i7-9700T only if your budget is under $200 (for new units) or on the secondary market (~$100-150).

8. Practical Assembly Tips

- Cooling: The stock cooler is sufficient, but for mini-PCs, choose a low-profile model (Noctua NH-L9i).

- Case: Mini-ITX (Fractal Design Node 202) or micro-ATX.

- Storage: An SSD NVMe is essential (e.g., Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500 GB, ~$60) to eliminate bottlenecks.

- OS: Windows 10/11 or Linux (drivers for UHD 630 are stable).

9. Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the i7-9700T?

This processor is suitable for:

1. Office PCs — silence and minimal energy consumption.

2. Media Centers — 4K streaming and compact form factor.

3. Budget Gaming Systems — paired with a GPU like RTX 3050.

4. Upgrade Enthusiasts — replacing older CPUs in existing LGA 1151v2 builds.

Why in 2025? Despite its age, the i7-9700T remains a cost-effective option for the secondary market and niche tasks. However, for new systems, it’s better to consider more modern models — such as the Intel 12th generation or AMD Ryzen 7000.

Prices are current as of April 2025. The provided examples are based on actual tests and user reviews.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

April 2019

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i7-9700T

Code Name

Coffee Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

2.00 GHz

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

4.30 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency

4.30 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

L3 Cache

12 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1151

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

14 nm

TDP

35 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

3.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16 | 2x8 | 1x8+2x4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

41.6 GB/s

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

GPU Specifications

Integrated Graphics Model

An integrated GPU refers to the graphics core that is integrated into the CPU processor. Leveraging the processor's powerful computational capabilities and intelligent power efficiency management, it delivers outstanding graphics performance and a smooth application experience at a lower power consumption.

Intel® UHD Graphics 630

Graphics Base Frequency

Graphics Base frequency refers to the rated/guaranteed graphics render clock frequency in MHz.

350 MHz

Graphics Frequency

Graphics max dynamic frequency refers to the maximum opportunistic graphics render clock frequency (in MHz) that can be supported using Intel® HD Graphics with Dynamic Frequency feature.

1.20 GHz

Graphics Video Max Memory

64 GB

4K Support

Yes | at 60Hz

DirectX Support

DirectX* Support indicates support for a specific version of Microsoft’s collection of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for handling multimedia compute tasks.

Max Resolution (HDMI)

Max Resolution (HDMI) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the HDMI interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@24Hz

Max Resolution (DP)

Max Resolution (DP) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor via the DP interface (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your system.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)

Max Resolution (Integrated Flat Panel) is the maximum resolution supported by the processor for a device with an integrated flat panel (24bits per pixel & 60Hz). System or device display resolution is dependent on multiple system design factors; actual resolution may be lower on your device.

4096 x 2304@60Hz

Number of Displays Supported

Miscellaneous

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

12 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel Clear Video HD Technology

Intel® Clear Video HD Technology, like its predecessor, Intel® Clear Video Technology, is a suite of image decode and processing technologies built into the integrated processor graphics that improve video playback, delivering cleaner, sharper images, more natural, accurate, and vivid colors, and a clear and stable video picture. Intel® Clear Video HD Technology adds video quality enhancements for richer color and more realistic skin tones.

Yes

Intel Clear Video Technology

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel InTru 3D Technology

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

OpenGL Support

OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, multi-platform API (Application Programming Interface) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

4.5

Intel Quick Sync Video

Intel® Quick Sync Video delivers fast conversion of video for portable media players, online sharing, and video editing and authoring.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1386

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

5184

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1089

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

5178

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2424

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

10736

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 5 4600GE

1486 +7.2%

Core i7-10870H

1434 +3.5%

Core i7-9700T

1386

Core i5-10600T

1352 -2.5%

Core i7-8850H

1308 -5.6%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Ryzen 7 1800X

5799 +11.9%

Core i7-11375H

5511 +6.3%

Core i7-9700T

5184

Core i5-1155G7

4873 -6%

Xeon Silver 4208

4603 -11.2%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon W-10855M

1128 +3.6%

Xeon E3-1275 v5

1112 +2.1%

Core i7-9700T

1089

Xeon Max 9480

1068 -1.9%

Core i5-9400F

1044 -4.1%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Core i3-12100

5773 +11.5%

Ryzen 5 PRO 5675U

5449 +5.2%

Core i7-9700T

5178

Core i7-7740X X-series

4927 -4.8%

Xeon E-2176M

4685 -9.5%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i9-7960X

2498 +3.1%

Xeon Gold 6354

2450 +1.1%

Core i7-9700T

2424

Ryzen 5 2600

2387 -1.5%

Xeon E3-1285L v4

2350 -3.1%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i7-11375H

11874 +10.6%

Core i7-9850H

11172 +4.1%

Core i7-9700T

10736

Core i7-9700TE

10280 -4.2%

Core i5-9500T

9848 -8.3%