Intel has quietly released two new CPU variants in its 14th generation Raptor Lake Fresh desktop CPU family, though these are destined to be available only in a single market- China. Via MEGAsizeGPU we even get a look at the alleged packaging. The Chipmaker releases the Core i7-14790F, a second variant of its series, with the first one being the Core i7-14700F released a few days ago. This CPU has an odd configuration since it has fewer cores and more cache than the Core i7-14700F, contrary to what its SKU would imply to be a higher-spec variant.
The Core i7-14790F CPU is a 16-core processor with 8 performance cores, 8 efficient cores and 24 threads. While it shares the same frequency in different modes and power consumption ratings as the Core i7-14700F, the cache, thread and core count are a step down:
Not the first Chinese-Exclusive Black Edition CPUs
These F suffix CPUs are colloquially referred to as 'Black Editions' as Intel ditches its usual signature blue color for black in its packaging. Usually, vendors would make it meaningful when new names are added over the SKU model. For example 'Extreme Editions' used by Intel and 'Black Editions' for some variants of AMD CPUs. The reason why these CPUs exist is not known at all. The black colored box is a sign to show it is exclusively made for the Chinese market as Intel released 12th-generation and 13th-generation Black Edition variants at an earlier date. None of these F series CPUs have on-chip graphics like the K series and are rated with PCG 2020C thermal profile.
These CPUs are not included in the Z series chipset's motherboard compatibility list by respective manufacturers. But these 14th generation F series CPUs are listed in H series motherboards made by Asus except the Core i7-14790F. Gigabyte has Intel Z790 and Intel B760M motherboards compatible with these exclusive variants, though it didn't mention the Core i7-14790F, yet. There's no reason why these CPUs wouldn't be compatible with many (if not all) motherboards based on the CPU compatibility list with Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs. But given the SKUs available worldwide and the warranty period it carries, one wouldn't be able to find any real reason to prefer this over globally available variants, except to own a model exclusively made for the Chinese markets.
Currently, the Core i7-14790K is priced at ￥2909 at JD which roughly translates to US$ 409.30 which is about $10 less than the Core i7-14700F. Irrespective of why Intel makes such CPUs exclusive for China, it brings nothing new to the table compared to the universally available Raptor Lake Core i7 CPU.
