Intel Core i7-6700K vs Intel Core i9-12900K. Specifications, performance, tests

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

• Segment
  Desktop / Server Desktop / Server
• Family
  Intel Core i7 Intel Core i9
• Generation
  6 12
• CPU group
  Intel Core i 6000 Intel Core i 12000
• Predecessor
  -- Intel Core i9-11900K
• Successor
  Intel Core i7-7700K Intel Core i9-13900K

Basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base and turbo frequency, and cache size. These parameters indirectly tell about the speed of the processor, the higher they are the better.

• Frequency
  4.00 GHz 3.70 GHz
• CPU Cores
  4 16
• Turbo (1 Core)
  4.20 GHz 5.30 GHz
• CPU Threads
  8 24
• Hyperthreading
  Yes Yes
• Overclocking
  Yes Yes
• Core architecture
  normal hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A core
  -- 8x Golden Cove
• B core
  -- 8x Gracemont

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

• GPU name
  Intel HD Graphics 530 Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S)
• GPU frequency
  0.35 GHz 0.40 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  1.15 GHz 1.45 GHz
• Execution units
  24 32
• Shader
  192 256
• Max. GPU Memory
  64 GB 16 GB
• Max. displays
  3 4
• Generation
  9 12
• DirectX Version
  12 12
• Technology
  14 nm 10 nm
• Release date
  Q3/2015 Q4/2021

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  Decode Decode / Encode
• h264
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  Decode Decode / Encode
• VP8
  Decode / Encode Decode
• AV1
  No Decode
• AVC
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode / Encode Decode / Encode

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i9-12900K and Intel Core i7-6700K. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

• Memory type
  DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
• Max. Memory
  64 GB 256 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 2
• PCIe version
  3.0 5.0
• PCIe lanes
  16 20

• AES-NI
  Yes Yes

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i7-6700K and Intel Core i9-12900K to select a cooling system. Note, the TDP value refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  91 W 125 W
• TDP (PL2)
  -- 228 W / 56 s
• Tjunction max.
  -- 100 °C

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i7-6700K and Intel Core i7-6700K, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
• ISA extensions
  SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
• L2-Cache
  -- 3.75 MB
• L3-Cache
  8.00 MB 30.00 MB
• Architecture
  Skylake S Alder Lake S
• Technology
  14 nm 10 nm
• Socket
  LGA 1151 LGA 1700
• Release date
  Q3/2015 Q4/2021
• Part Number
  -- BX8071512900K