i7-12700F vs i3-7120
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | 295 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 36.47 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i3 | no data |
| Power efficiency | no data | 28.13 |
| Architecture codename | Kaby Lake (2016−2019) | Alder Lake-S (2022) |
| Release date | 17 July 2017 (7 years ago) | 4 January 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $117 | $386 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 2 (Dual-core) | 12 (Dodeca-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 20 |
| Base clock speed | 4 GHz | 2.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4 GHz | 4.9 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 3.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 8 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 40 | no data |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 80K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 1.25 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB (shared) | 25 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 215 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 65 °C | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 1 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | 1151 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 51 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | + | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 38.397 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 630 | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 5.0 and 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 20 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 17 July 2017 | 4 January 2022 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 12 |
| Threads | 4 | 20 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 51 Watt | 65 Watt |
i3-7120 has 27.5% lower power consumption.
i7-12700F, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 years, and 500% more physical cores and 400% more threads.
We couldn't decide between Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-7120 and Core i7-12700F, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
