Intel Core i7-12700K vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Intel

Intel Core i7-12700K

Overall performance index

66,1

Rank 19 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$450

Faster

AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Overall performance index

94,2

Rank 1 of 27 CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 29,8% faster on average

Intel Core i7-12700K AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Individual tests: Intel Core i7-12700K wins 2, AMD Ryzen 9 9950X wins 26 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +23,3 % 287,3fps 374,6fps Multi-thread +42,2 % 90,8points 157,1points Single-thread +21,9 % 122,4points 156,8points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i7-12700K AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Other tested CPUs Click a row to open the chart with every CPU tested; hover shows the gap in %.

Gaming (720p) – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +30,4 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 17.381 points 21.219 points +22,1 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.341 points 6.332 points +0,1 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 41.225 points 57.239 points +38,8 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 308,4 fps 428,1 fps +38,8 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 237,0 fps 323,0 fps +36,3 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 22.633 points 23.660 points +4,5 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 273,5 fps 413,6 fps +51,2 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 330,2 fps 333,5 fps +1,0 %

Fortnite720p, Low 332,0 fps 385,1 fps +16,0 %

Counter-Strike 2 386,3 fps 437,8 fps +13,3 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +73,0 %

Individual results (17 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 105.623 MIPS 230.436 MIPS +118,2 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 67,0 s 33,0 s +103,0 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 904,0 s 611,0 s +48,0 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 29.768 KB/s 53.488 KB/s +79,7 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 3.248 points 6.405 points +97,2 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 8.355 points 16.156 points +93,4 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 7.752 points 13.323 points +71,9 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 17.034 points 16.174 points +5,3 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 10.129 points 16.513 points +63,0 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 9.532 points 16.910 points +77,4 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 7.482 points 9.451 points +26,3 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 4.021 points 5.038 points +25,3 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 2.054 points 2.596 points +26,4 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 15.537 points 25.210 points +62,3 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 7.446 px/s 13.052 px/s +75,3 %

Cinebench R23 n-CoreMulti-Thread – 41.428 points

Geekbench 6.3 CPUMulti-Thread – 21.953 points

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +28,1 %

Individual results (5 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 1.046 points 1.309 points +25,1 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 1.923 points 2.564 points +33,3 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 703,0 px/s 830,0 px/s +18,1 %

Cinebench R23 1-CoreSingle-Thread – 2.277 points

Geekbench 6.3 CPUSingle-Thread – 3.463 points

Price / performance

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

Specifications

Key details

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Architecture	n/a	Zen 5
Codename	Alder Lake	Granite Ridge AM5
Series	Core 12000	Ryzen 9000
Release	Q4 2021	August 15, 2024
Launch MSRP	US$450	n/a
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Cores / threads	12	16
Threads	20	32
Performance cores	8	n/a
Efficient cores	4	n/a
Base clock	3.6 GHz	4.3 GHz
Max boost clock	5 GHz	5.7 GHz
L2 cache	12 MB	16 MB
L3 cache	25 MB	64 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
TDP / base power	125 W	170 W
Max turbo power	190 W	n/a
Process	Intel 7	TSMC 4nm FinFET
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	95 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Socket	LGA1700	AM5
Memory	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s, Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s	DDR5, up to 5600 MT/s
Memory channels	2	2
PCI Express	PCIe 5.0 and 4.0	PCIe 5.0
PCIe lanes	20	n/a
Integrated graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 770	AMD Radeon Graphics

Our measurements

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
System power idle	82 W	153.9 W
System power load	136 W	329.9 W
CPU package idle	9 W	60 W
CPU package load	50 W	196 W
Temperature idle	31 °C	58 °C
Temperature load	58 °C	77 °C
Highest measured clock	5000 MHz / 3800 MHz (E)	5437 MHz
Avg clock in games	4700 MHz / 3800 MHz (E)	n/a

Test system

	Intel Core i7-12700K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Motherboard	n/a	BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRE
Memory	n/a	Lexar ARES RGB Black DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR5-6400
CPU cooler	n/a	DeepCool LS720
BIOS	n/a	ComboAM5 PI 1.2.0.2 ( Beta )
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 23H2
Settings	DDR5-5200	DDR5-6400,Chipset Driver 6.07.22.037

Buy