Intel Core i5-7500 Review

Introducing the Core i5-7500! This Desktop processor is a marvel in Intel's mid-range range. Debuted in 2016, it's packed with 4 cores and 4 threads. It operates at a base clock speed of 3.4GHz, can ramp up to 3.8GHz, and has a power consumption of 65W, ready to supercharge your gaming system. The Core i5-7500 is built on the Kaby Lake-S 14nm platform and belongs to the esteemed Core i5 series.

And guess what? The Core i5-7500 is the ultimate successor to Intel's previous-gen gaming champion, the Core i5-6500. The Core i5-6500 was based on the legendary Skylake-S and 14nm process, and it made its grand entrance into the gaming scene back in 2015. But now, it's time for the Core i5-7500 to take the throne and conquer the gaming world!

Heads up, with a simple overclock, the Core i5-7400 can actually perform almost as well as the Core i5-7500, even when the Core i5-7500 is overclocked too. But the Core i5-7400 is $70 cheaper! Don't get us wrong, the Core i5-7500 is still a beast and offers more overall performance than AMD's Ryzen 5 1400, but if you're on a budget, the cheaper sibling might be the better call.

We already went deep into the nitty-gritty details of the Kaby Lake-S chip design in our reviews of the Intel Core i5-7600 and Core i5-7400. If you want to learn more about the Core i5-7500's architecture (which is identical to the Core i5-7400), head over there!

The Core i5-7500 is the more expensive version of the Core i5-7400, and it shows with its higher base and boost clock speeds: 3.4 GHz and 3.8 GHz, respectively. That's a nice boost in speed, but the real game changer is the higher power delivery (PPT). This lets the motherboard pump more juice (up to 142W) to the Core i5-7500 compared to the Core i5-7400's limit of 65W. This extra power allows the Core i5-7500 to crank up the boost clocks even more aggressively, on both single and multiple cores. That means the performance gap between these two CPUs might be bigger than what the specs on paper suggest.

The Intel Core i5-7500 launched on Dec 2016 for $202, which is pretty much the same price as the last-generation Core i5-6500. At least there's no crazy price hike this generation!

The Intel Core i5-7500 is another impressive addition to Intel's 7 Gen of Core i5 processors. It boasts 4 cores and 4 threads, with a boost clock of up to 3.8 GHz. While the specs might not look super top-of-the-line on paper, the real-world performance you get for your $202 is fantastic.

Intel has been struggling lately to keep up with the new Ryzen 5 processors. This has forced them to get creative with their existing lineup. The Intel Core i5-7500 isn't exactly new - it's basically a Core i5-6500 with a higher clock speed. But there's one more twist...

Alright, buying advice time! Before this review, we recommended the Ryzen 5 1600X because it comes with a better stock cooler, can be overclocked, and the platform allows for easier future upgrades.

For gamers, both the Ryzen 5 1600X and Core i5-7500 are great choices. They're neck and neck, with a slight edge to the AMD CPU if you don't overclock it. The Core i5-7500's base performance can be achieved with cheaper RAM (around $90), whereas the Ryzen 5 1600X needs faster RAM ($110-$120) to hit the frame rates we showed. The price difference is small though, and with anything less than an RTX 2070 or Vega 64 graphics card, your GPU will bottleneck your performance anyway. BottleneckAtPlay

If you don't care too much about overclocking and max boost speeds, then the Intel Core i5-7400 is a good option for $182. It also has 4 cores and 4 threads, but with slightly lower clock speeds (3GHz base and 3.5GHz boost).

Building on the success of mainstream Core i5 CPUs, Intel is now attacking the mid-range market with the Core i5-7500 processors, available since Dec 2016.