Intel Core i5-14600K vs Intel Core i9-12900K

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Intel

Intel Core i5-14600K

Overall performance index

74,3

Rank 12 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$319

Intel

Intel Core i9-12900K

Overall performance index

70,1

Rank 16 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$648

Intel Core i5-14600K is 6,0% faster on average

Intel Core i5-14600K Intel Core i9-12900K

Individual tests: Intel Core i5-14600K wins 17, Intel Core i9-12900K wins 11 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +12,3 % 328,8fps 292,8fps Multi-thread +2,1 % 104,5points 102,4points Single-thread +4,0 % 131,7points 126,6points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i5-14600K Intel Core i9-12900K Other tested CPUs Click a row to open the chart with every CPU tested; hover shows the gap in %.

Gaming (720p) – all CPUs tested

Intel Core i5-14600K +12,3 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 19.988 points 18.147 points +10,1 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.429 points 6.363 points +1,0 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 48.038 points 45.316 points +6,0 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 359,3 fps 338,9 fps +6,0 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 288,0 fps 233,0 fps +23,6 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 23.788 points 23.095 points +3,0 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 368,3 fps 343,9 fps +7,1 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 299,7 fps 255,2 fps +17,4 %

Fortnite720p, Low 441,0 fps 508,2 fps +15,2 %

Counter-Strike 2 359,5 fps 372,9 fps +3,7 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

Intel Core i5-14600K +2,1 %

Individual results (15 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 127.706 MIPS 122.953 MIPS +3,9 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 60,0 s 55,0 s +9,1 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 867,0 s 815,0 s +6,4 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 37.414 KB/s 34.523 KB/s +8,4 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 3.633 points 4.051 points +11,5 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 9.348 points 10.540 points +12,8 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 10.006 points 9.159 points +9,2 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 19.653 points 18.464 points +6,4 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 10.704 points 11.769 points +9,9 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 9.921 points 10.311 points +3,9 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 7.498 points 7.731 points +3,1 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 4.520 points 4.139 points +9,2 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 2.277 points 2.111 points +7,9 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 18.005 points 18.143 points +0,8 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 7.946 px/s 9.045 px/s +13,8 %

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

Intel Core i5-14600K +4,0 %

Individual results (3 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 1.134 points 1.063 points +6,7 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 2.041 points 2.000 points +2,0 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 776,0 px/s 736,0 px/s +5,4 %

Price / performance

Each dot is a CPU we tested – the further top-left, the more performance per euro.

Specifications

Key details

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
Codename	Raptor Lake	Alder Lake
Series	Core 14000	Core 12000
Release	Q4 2023	Q4 2021
Launch MSRP	US$319	US$648
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
Cores / threads	14	16
Threads	20	24
Performance cores	6	8
Efficient cores	8	8
Base clock	3.5 GHz	3.2 GHz
Max boost clock	5.3 GHz	5.2 GHz
L2 cache	20 MB	14 MB
L3 cache	24 MB	30 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
TDP / base power	125 W	125 W
Max turbo power	181 W	241 W
Process	Intel 7	Intel 7
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	100 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
Socket	LGA1700	LGA1700
Memory	Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s, Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s, Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Memory channels	2	2
PCI Express	PCIe 5.0 and 4.0	PCIe 5.0 and 4.0
PCIe lanes	20	20
Integrated graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 770	Intel UHD Graphics 770

Our measurements

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
System power idle	95 W	101 W
System power load	332 W	351 W
CPU package idle	13.6 W	18 W
CPU package load	193 W	212 W
Temperature idle	31 °C	29 °C
Temperature load	87 °C	86 °C
Highest measured clock	5301 MHz (P) / 4000 MHz (E)	5000 MHz
Avg clock in games	4000 E Kerne / 5300 P Kerne	n/a

Test system

	Intel Core i5-14600K	Intel Core i9-12900K
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming Wifi	n/a
Memory	Lexar ARES RGB Black DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR5-6400	n/a
CPU cooler	DeepCool LT720	n/a
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 21H2
Settings	DDR5-6400	DDR5-5200

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