Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i7-12700KF
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Intel Core i9-12900K vs Intel Core i7-12700KF. Specifications, performance, tests

User rating
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Released
Q4/2021
Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i9-12900K
Released
Q4/2021
User rating
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Intel Core i7-12700KF
Intel Core i7-12700KF

What's the best choice Intel Core i9-12900K or Intel Core i7-12700KF? Which processor is faster?

Compare the available specifications of these models.

Intel Core i9-12900K has a base frequency of 3.70 GHz. 16 / 24 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 125 W. Released in Q4/2021.

Intel Core i7-12700KF has a base frequency of 3.60 GHz. 12 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 125 W. Released in Q4/2021.

Differences

  • Higher clock speed

    Around 3% better clock speed

    3.70 GHz left arrow 3.60 GHz
  • More number of cores

    4 more cores

    16 left arrow 12
  • Higher turbo clock speed

    Around 4% higher specified turbo frequency

    5.20 GHz left arrow 5.00 GHz

Specifications

Technical data
Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i9-12900K
Intel Core i7-12700KF Intel Core i7-12700KF
CPU family and group

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

  • CPU group
    Intel Core i 12000 left arrow Intel Core i 12000
  • Family
    12th Generation Intel Core i9 Processors left arrow Intel Core i7
  • Generation
    12 left arrow 12
  • Predecessor
    Intel Core i9-11900K left arrow Intel Core i7-11700KF
  • Processor Number
    i9-12900K left arrow -
  • Segment
    Desktop left arrow Desktop / Server
  • Successor
    Intel Core i9-13900K left arrow -
CPU Technical specs

Core counts, threads, cache and clock modes describe the CPU configuration. Performance depends on the workload and comparable measured results.

  • A-Core
    8x Golden Cove left arrow 8x Golden Cove
  • B-Core
    8x Gracemont left arrow 4x Gracemont
  • Base Frequency
    3.7 GHz left arrow 3.6 GHz
  • Core architecture
    hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow hybrid (big.LITTLE)
  • CPU Cores
    16 left arrow 12
  • CPU Threads
    24 left arrow 20
  • E-core Base Clock
    2.4 GHz left arrow -
  • E-core Max Turbo
    3.9 GHz left arrow -
  • Efficient Cores
    8 left arrow -
  • Hyperthreading / SMT
    Yes left arrow Yes
  • Max. Boost Clock
    5.2 GHz left arrow -
  • Overclocking
    Yes left arrow Yes
  • P-core Base Clock
    3.2 GHz left arrow -
  • P-core Max Turbo
    5.1 GHz left arrow -
  • Performance Cores
    8 left arrow -
  • Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
    5.3 GHz left arrow 5 GHz
  • Turbo Frequency (16 Cores)
    5 GHz left arrow -
  • Turbo Frequency (12 Cores)
    - left arrow 4.7 GHz
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.

  • DirectX Version
    12 left arrow -
  • Execution units
    32 left arrow -
  • Generation
    12 left arrow -
  • GPU Frequency
    400 MHz left arrow -
  • GPU name
    Intel UHD Graphics 770 left arrow None
  • GPU Turbo
    1550 MHz left arrow -
  • Graphics Base Frequency
    300 MHz left arrow -
  • Graphics Output
    eDP 1.4b, DP 1.4a, HDMI 2.1 left arrow -
  • Max. displays
    4 left arrow -
  • Max. GPU Memory
    16 GB left arrow -
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow -
  • Shader
    256 left arrow -
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow -
Hardware codec support

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

  • AV1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • H.264 / AVC
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • JPEG
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VC-1
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • VP8
    Decode left arrow Decode
  • VP9
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i7-12700KF and Intel Core i9-12900K. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • ECC
    Yes left arrow No
  • Max. Memory
    128 GB left arrow 256 GB
  • Memory channels
    2 left arrow 2
  • Memory type
    Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s left arrow DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
  • PCIe lanes
    20 left arrow 20
  • PCIe version
    5.0 and 4.0 left arrow 5.0
Encryption
  • AES-NI
    Yes left arrow Yes
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core i9-12900K and Intel Core i7-12700KF Power specifications describe different manufacturer limits. TDP, base power and maximum turbo power are separate values; they do not establish measured system consumption.

  • Maximum Operating Temperature
    100 °C left arrow 100 °C
  • Maximum Turbo Power
    241 W left arrow -
  • Processor Base Power (PBP)
    125 W left arrow -
  • TDP (PL1, legacy label)
    125 W left arrow 125 W
  • TDP (PL2)
    228 W / 56 s left arrow 228 W / 56 s
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core i9-12900K and Intel Core i7-12700KF, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Architecture
    Alder Lake S left arrow Alder Lake S
  • Cache (manufacturer label)
    30 MB Intel Smart Cache left arrow -
  • Codename
    Products formerly Alder Lake left arrow -
  • Instruction set (ISA)
    x86-64 (64 bit) left arrow x86-64 (64 bit)
  • ISA extensions
    SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ left arrow SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
  • L2-Cache
    Conflicting source values: 14 MB (Total cache capacity) | 3.75 MB left arrow 2.5 MB
  • L3-Cache
    30 MB left arrow 25 MB
  • Marketing Status (manufacturer label)
    Launched left arrow -
  • Part Number
    BX8071512900K left arrow BX8071512700K
  • Release date
    Q4/2021 left arrow Q4/2021
  • Socket
    FCLGA1700 left arrow LGA 1700
  • Technology
    Intel 7 (Manufacturer process designation) left arrow 10 nm
  • Use Conditions
    PC/Client/Tablet, Workstation left arrow -
  • Virtualization
    VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d left arrow VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

Shared tests with results for both models: 11

Blender Cycles

Each row uses one Blender version, operating system and compute backend.

Test and settingsIntel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i7-12700KFResult difference¹
Blender 5.2.0 / CPU / Windows 330.848277 samples/min Submissions: 9 299.652343 samples/min Submissions: 10 -9.4 %
Blender 5.1.1 / CPU / Windows 371.614153 samples/min Submissions: 10 261.198774 samples/min Submissions: 10 -29.7 %
Blender 5.1.0 / CPU / Windows 364.623081 samples/min Submissions: 5 283.116113 samples/min Submissions: 6 -22.4 %
Blender 4.5.0 / CPU / Linux 405.81974 samples/min Submissions: 17 349.422858 samples/min Submissions: 6 -13.9 %
Blender 4.5.0 / CPU / Windows 347.867139 samples/min Submissions: 51 289.770122 samples/min Submissions: 95 -16.7 %
Blender 4.4.0 / CPU / Windows 334.608444 samples/min Submissions: 40 274.137726 samples/min Submissions: 32 -18.1 %
Blender 4.3.0 / CPU / Windows 331.433386 samples/min Submissions: 51 276.449649 samples/min Submissions: 55 -16.6 %
Blender 4.2.0 / CPU / Windows 348.527563 samples/min Submissions: 101 273.398609 samples/min Submissions: 43 -21.6 %
Blender 4.1.0 / CPU / Windows 341.86517 samples/min Submissions: 51 289.715603 samples/min Submissions: 24 -15.3 %
Blender 4.0.0 / CPU / Linux 387.437158 samples/min Submissions: 8 347.011907 samples/min Submissions: 6 -10.4 %
Blender 4.0.0 / CPU / Windows 342.220842 samples/min Submissions: 83 278.887706 samples/min Submissions: 43 -18.5 %

¹ Difference of the second result relative to the first in that row. No percentage is calculated for different upscaling algorithms. This compares published results, not a universal performance index.

Individual model tests

These results have no shared test of both models with the same version and settings. They are shown separately without a percentage difference.

Intel Core i9-12900K

Intel Core i7-12700KF

Individual system tests

Results were obtained on the reported systems. Test versions and settings remain separate; incomplete conditions do not support calculated model performance differences.

Cinebench 2024 / multiple threads

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i9-12900K 1387 points System: Core i9-12900K, 16 GB
CPU / power label: Core i9-12900K, 16 GB
Source minimum runtime: 0 minutes.
Exact test build and complete conditions are unreported; no ranking position.

Cinebench 2024 / single thread

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i9-12900K 120 points System: Core i9-12900K, 16 GB
CPU / power label: Core i9-12900K, 16 GB
Source minimum runtime: 0 minutes.
Exact test build and complete conditions are unreported; no ranking position.

RandomX / XMRig 6.26.0 / 1M / 22 threads / windows

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i9-12900K 9357.425585 H/s RandomX / XMRig 6.26.0 / 1M / 22 threads / windows
System RAM: 64 GB
OS: Windows NT 10.0
Motherboard: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. / PRO Z690-A WIFI (MS-7D25)
Duration: 106.867 s
User-submitted run; tuning and power settings are incomplete.

RandomX / XMRig 6.24.0 / 1M / 12 threads / windows

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i7-12700KF 7153.689873 H/s RandomX / XMRig 6.24.0 / 1M / 12 threads / windows
System RAM: 64 GB
OS: Windows NT 10.0
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. / B760 GAMING X DDR4
Duration: 139.788 s
User-submitted run; tuning and power settings are incomplete.

Cinebench R23 / multiple threads

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i9-12900K 27485 points System: CB: Core i9-12900K @ Stock
CPU / power label: CB: Core i9-12900K @ Stock
Exact test build and complete conditions are unreported; no ranking position.

Cinebench R23 / single thread

Model ResultReported conditions
Intel Core i9-12900K 2032 points System: CB: Core i9-12900K @ Stock
CPU / power label: CB: Core i9-12900K @ Stock
Exact test build and complete conditions are unreported; no ranking position.

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