Intel Core i9-12900K vs Intel Core i7-12700K

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Intel

Intel Core i9-12900K

Overall performance index

70,1

Rank 16 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$648

Intel

Intel Core i7-12700K

Overall performance index

66,1

Rank 19 of 27 CPUs tested

MSRP US$450

Intel Core i9-12900K is 5,9% faster on average

Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i7-12700K

Individual tests: Intel Core i9-12900K wins 25, Intel Core i7-12700K wins 3 (28 shared tests)

Performance by discipline

Gaming (720p) +1,9 % 292,8fps 287,3fps Multi-thread +12,8 % 102,4points 90,8points Single-thread +3,5 % 126,6points 122,4points

Benchmarks

Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i7-12700K 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 i9-12900K +1,9 %

Individual results (10 tests)

VR Mark Orange Room 18.147 points 17.381 points +4,4 %

VR Mark Blue Room 6.363 points 6.341 points +0,3 %

Unigine Superposition 1.1 720p Low Punkte 45.316 points 41.225 points +9,9 %

Unigine Superposition720p, Low,FPS 338,9 fps 308,4 fps +9,9 %

Shadow of the Tomb RaiderLite, 720p 233,0 fps 237,0 fps +1,7 %

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark720p, Low 23.095 points 22.633 points +2,0 %

Resident Evil VILLAGE720p, Lite, DX12 343,9 fps 273,5 fps +25,7 %

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition720p, Low, Moscow 255,2 fps 330,2 fps +29,4 %

Fortnite720p, Low 508,2 fps 332,0 fps +53,1 %

Counter-Strike 2 372,9 fps 386,3 fps +3,6 %

Multi-thread – all CPUs tested

Intel Core i9-12900K +12,8 %

Individual results (15 tests)

7-ZipMIPS) 32 MB 122.953 MIPS 105.623 MIPS +16,4 %

Corona 1.3lower is better 55,0 s 67,0 s +21,8 %

HandBrake4GB Video-> HQ1080P30fpslower is better 815,0 s 904,0 s +10,9 %

WinRAR 6.0164-Bit-Version 34.523 KB/s 29.768 KB/s +16,0 %

Cinebench R15 Multi-Core 4.051 points 3.248 points +24,7 %

Cinebench R20 Multi-Core 10.540 points 8.355 points +26,2 %

3D Mark Time Spy ExtremeCPU 9.159 points 7.752 points +18,2 %

3D Mark Time SpyCPU 18.464 points 17.034 points +8,4 %

3DMark CPU BenchmarkMax Threads 11.769 points 10.129 points +16,2 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark16 Threads 10.311 points 9.532 points +8,2 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark8 Threads 7.731 points 7.482 points +3,3 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark4 Threads 4.139 points 4.021 points +2,9 %

3DMark CPU Benchmark2 Threads 2.111 points 2.054 points +2,8 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUMulti-Thread 18.143 points 15.537 points +16,8 %

POV-Ray v3.7Multi-Thread 9.045 px/s 7.446 px/s +21,5 %

Single-thread – all CPUs tested

Intel Core i9-12900K +3,5 %

Individual results (3 tests)

3DMark CPU Benchmark1 Thread 1.063 points 1.046 points +1,6 %

Geekbench 5.5.1 CPUSingle-Thread 2.000 points 1.923 points +4,0 %

POV-Ray v3.7Single-Thread 736,0 px/s 703,0 px/s +4,7 %

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	Intel Core i7-12700K
Codename	Alder Lake	Alder Lake
Series	Core 12000	Core 12000
Release	Q4 2021	Q4 2021
Launch MSRP	US$648	US$450
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	Yes

Cores, clocks and cache

	Intel Core i9-12900K	Intel Core i7-12700K
Cores / threads	16	12
Threads	24	20
Performance cores	8	8
Efficient cores	8	4
Base clock	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz
Max boost clock	5.2 GHz	5 GHz
L2 cache	14 MB	12 MB
L3 cache	30 MB	25 MB

Power and manufacturing

	Intel Core i9-12900K	Intel Core i7-12700K
TDP / base power	125 W	125 W
Max turbo power	241 W	190 W
Process	Intel 7	Intel 7
Max temperature (Tjmax)	100 °C	100 °C

Platform and connectivity

	Intel Core i9-12900K	Intel Core i7-12700K
Socket	LGA1700	LGA1700
Memory	Up to DDR5 4800 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 i9-12900K	Intel Core i7-12700K
System power idle	101 W	82 W
System power load	351 W	136 W
CPU package idle	18 W	9 W
CPU package load	212 W	50 W
Temperature idle	29 °C	31 °C
Temperature load	86 °C	58 °C
Highest measured clock	5000 MHz	5000 MHz / 3800 MHz (E)
Avg clock in games	n/a	4700 MHz / 3800 MHz (E)

Test system

	Intel Core i9-12900K	Intel Core i7-12700K
Operating system	Windows 11 21H2	Windows 11 21H2
Settings	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5200

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