Intel Core i9-12900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Intel

Intel Core i9-12900K

Overall performance index

70,1

Rank 16 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$648

Faster

AMD

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Overall performance index

94,2

Rank 1 of 27 CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 25,6% faster on average

Intel Core i9-12900K AMD Ryzen 9 9950X

Individual tests: Intel Core i9-12900K wins 3, AMD Ryzen 9 9950X wins 25 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +21,8 % 292,8fps 374,6fps Multi-thread +34,8 % 102,4points 157,1points Single-thread +19,2 % 126,6points 156,8points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-12900K 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 +27,9 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 18.147 points 21.219 points +16,9 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.363 points 6.332 points +0,5 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 45.316 points 57.239 points +26,3 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 338,9 fps 428,1 fps +26,3 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 233,0 fps 323,0 fps +38,6 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 23.095 points 23.660 points +2,4 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 343,9 fps 413,6 fps +20,3 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 255,2 fps 333,5 fps +30,7 %

Fortnite720p, Low 508,2 fps 385,1 fps +32,0 %

Counter-Strike 2 372,9 fps 437,8 fps +17,4 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X +53,4 %

Individual results (17 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 122.953 MIPS 230.436 MIPS +87,4 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 55,0 s 33,0 s +66,7 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 815,0 s 611,0 s +33,4 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 34.523 KB/s 53.488 KB/s +54,9 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 4.051 points 6.405 points +58,1 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 10.540 points 16.156 points +53,3 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 9.159 points 13.323 points +45,5 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 18.464 points 16.174 points +14,2 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 11.769 points 16.513 points +40,3 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 10.311 points 16.910 points +64,0 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 7.731 points 9.451 points +22,2 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 4.139 points 5.038 points +21,7 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 2.111 points 2.596 points +23,0 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 18.143 points 25.210 points +39,0 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 9.045 px/s 13.052 px/s +44,3 %

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 +23,8 %

Individual results (5 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 1.063 points 1.309 points +23,1 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 2.000 points 2.564 points +28,2 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 736,0 px/s 830,0 px/s +12,8 %

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 i9-12900K	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$648	n/a
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
Cores / threads	16	16
Threads	24	32
Performance cores	8	n/a
Efficient cores	8	n/a
Base clock	3.2 GHz	4.3 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 9950X
TDP / base power	125 W	170 W
Max turbo power	241 W	n/a
Process	Intel 7	TSMC 4nm FinFET
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	95 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i9-12900K	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 i9-12900K	AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
System power idle	101 W	153.9 W
System power load	351 W	329.9 W
CPU package idle	18 W	60 W
CPU package load	212 W	196 W
Temperature idle	29 °C	58 °C
Temperature load	86 °C	77 °C
Highest measured clock	5000 MHz	5437 MHz

Test system

	Intel Core i9-12900K	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

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