Intel Core i9-12900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Intel

Intel Core i9-12900K

Overall performance index

70,1

Rank 16 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$648

Faster

AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Overall performance index

85,4

Rank 6 of 27 CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 18,0% faster on average

Intel Core i9-12900K AMD Ryzen 9 7950X

Individual tests: Intel Core i9-12900K wins 7, AMD Ryzen 9 7950X wins 21 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +15,0 % 292,8fps 344,3fps Multi-thread +29,8 % 102,4points 145,8points Single-thread +7,5 % 126,6points 137,0points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-12900K AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 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 7950X +17,6 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 18.147 points 21.343 points +17,6 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.363 points 6.323 points +0,6 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 45.316 points 55.240 points +21,9 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 338,9 fps 413,2 fps +21,9 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 233,0 fps 295,0 fps +26,6 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 23.095 points 23.471 points +1,6 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 343,9 fps 370,8 fps +7,8 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 255,2 fps 298,3 fps +16,9 %

Fortnite720p, Low 508,2 fps 352,7 fps +44,1 %

Counter-Strike 2 372,9 fps 371,7 fps +0,3 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X +42,4 %

Individual results (15 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 122.953 MIPS 206.980 MIPS +68,3 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 55,0 s 36,0 s +52,8 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 815,0 s 679,0 s +20,0 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 34.523 KB/s 54.074 KB/s +56,6 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 4.051 points 6.287 points +55,2 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 10.540 points 14.994 points +42,3 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 9.159 points 12.684 points +38,5 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 18.464 points 15.658 points +17,9 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 11.769 points 16.621 points +41,2 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 10.311 points 9.824 points +5,0 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 7.731 points 5.573 points +38,7 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 4.139 points 3.301 points +25,4 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 2.111 points 2.162 points +2,4 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 18.143 points 23.310 points +28,5 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 9.045 px/s 12.516 px/s +38,4 %

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X +8,1 %

Individual results (3 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 1.063 points 1.130 points +6,3 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 2.000 points 2.234 points +11,7 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 736,0 px/s 745,0 px/s +1,2 %

Price / performance

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

Specifications

Key details

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Architecture	n/a	Zen 4
Codename	Alder Lake	Raphael AM5
Series	Core 12000	Ryzen 7000
Release	Q4 2021	September 27, 2022
Launch MSRP	US$648	n/a
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Cores / threads	16	16
Threads	24	32
Performance cores	8	n/a
Efficient cores	8	n/a
Base clock	3.2 GHz	4.5 GHz
Max boost clock	5.2 GHz	5.7 GHz
L2 cache	14 MB	16 MB
L3 cache	30 MB	64 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
TDP / base power	125 W	170 W
Max turbo power	241 W	n/a
Process	Intel 7	TSMC 5nm FinFET
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	95 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Socket	LGA1700	AM5
Memory	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s, Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s	DDR5, up to 5200 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 i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
System power idle	101 W	89 W
System power load	351 W	325 W
CPU package idle	18 W	35 W
CPU package load	212 W	219 W
Temperature idle	29 °C	31 °C
Temperature load	86 °C	92.8 °C
Highest measured clock	5000 MHz	5745 MHz
Avg clock in games	n/a	5620 MHz

Test system

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Motherboard	n/a	BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRE
Memory	n/a	Lexar ARES RGB Black DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR5-6400
CPU cooler	n/a	DeepCool LS720
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 21H2
Settings	DDR5-5200	DDR5-6400

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