Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i9-12900
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Intel Core i5-12600K vs Intel Core i9-12900. Specifications, performance, tests

Overall score
star star star star star
Released
Q4/2021
Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i5-12600K
Released
Q1/2022
Overall score
star star star star star
Intel Core i9-12900
Intel Core i9-12900

What's the best choice Intel Core i5-12600K or Intel Core i9-12900? Which processor is faster?

We have prepared a comparison to help you choose the best processor. Compare their specifications and benchmarks.

Intel Core i5-12600K has a maximum frequency of 3.70 GHz. 10 Cores. Power consumption of 125 W. Released in Q4/2021.

Intel Core i9-12900 has a maximum frequency of 2.40 GHz. 16 / 24 Cores. Power consumption of 65 W. Released in Q1/2022.

Differences

  • Place in the overall ranking

    (based on several benchmarks)

    147 left arrow score
  • Higher clock speed

    Around 35% better clock speed

    3.70 GHz left arrow 2.40 GHz

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i5-12600K CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
    33 place
  • Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
    66 place
  • Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)
    35 place
  • Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)
    437 place
  • Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)
    28 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    81 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    145 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    482 place
  • Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark
    147 place
  • CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)
    13 place
  • Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
    64 place
  • Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
    83 place
  • Place in the overall ranking

    (based on several benchmarks)

    53 left arrow score
  • More number of cores

    About 1.6 times more cores

    16 left arrow 10
  • Higher turbo clock speed

    Around 4 % better overclocked clock speed

    5.10 GHz left arrow 4.90 GHz
  • Performance per watt

    About 0.52 times less performance per watt

    65 W left arrow 125 W

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Intel Core i9-12900 CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
    22 place
  • Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
    36 place
  • Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)
    27 place
  • Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)
    23 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    41 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    83 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    418 place
  • Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark
    70 place
  • Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
    34 place

Specifications

Technical data
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
CPU family and group

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

  • Segment
    Desktop / Server left arrow Desktop / Server
  • Family
    Intel Core i5 left arrow Intel Core i9
  • Generation
    12 left arrow 12
  • CPU group
    Intel Core i 12000 left arrow Intel Core i 12000
  • Predecessor
    Intel Core i5-11600K left arrow Intel Core i9-11900
CPU Technical specs

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
    3.70 GHz left arrow 2.40 GHz
  • Turbo (1 Core)
    4.90 GHz left arrow 5.10 GHz
  • Hyperthreading
    Yes left arrow Yes
  • Overclocking
    Yes left arrow No
  • Core architecture
    hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow hybrid (big.LITTLE)
IGPU

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 Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S) left arrow Intel UHD Graphics 770
  • GPU frequency
    0.40 GHz left arrow 0.30 GHz
  • GPU (Turbo)
    1.45 GHz left arrow 1.55 GHz
  • Execution units
    32 left arrow 32
  • Shader
    256 left arrow 256
  • Max. GPU Memory
    16 GB left arrow --
  • Max. displays
    4 left arrow 3
  • Generation
    12 left arrow 11
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow 10 nm
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow Q4/2021
Hardware codec support

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

  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h264
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VP9
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VP8
    Decode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • AV1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • AVC
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VC-1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • JPEG
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i9-12900 and Intel Core i5-12600K. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • Memory type
    DDR4-3200DDR5-4800 left arrow DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
  • Max. Memory
    256 GB left arrow 128 GB
  • ECC
    No left arrow No
  • Memory channels
    2 left arrow 2
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i5-12600K and Intel Core i9-12900 to select a cooling system. Note, the TDP value refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

  • TDP (PL1)
    125 W left arrow 65 W
  • TDP (PL2)
    228 W / 56 s left arrow 202 W
  • Tjunction max.
    100 °C left arrow 100 °C
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i5-12600K and Intel Core i5-12600K, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Instruction set (ISA)
    x86-64 (64 bit) left arrow x86-64 (64 bit)
  • Virtualization
    VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d left arrow VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
  • ISA extensions
    SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ left arrow SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
  • L2-Cache
    -- left arrow 14.00 MB
  • L3-Cache
    20.00 MB left arrow 30.00 MB
  • Architecture
    Alder Lake S left arrow Alder Lake S
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow 10 nm
  • Socket
    LGA 1700 left arrow LGA 1700
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow Q1/2022
  • Part Number
    BX8071512600K left arrow --

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

Based on the results of several benchmarks, you can more accurately estimate the difference in performance between Intel Core i5-12600K and Intel Core i9-12900.

Compare the synthetic test values and choose the best processor!

Latest comparisons