i9-12900HX vs i5-10600K

Aggregate performance score

Core i5-10600K
2020
6 cores / 12 threads, 125 Watt
9.34
Core i9-12900HX
2022
16 cores / 24 threads, 55 Watt
22.19
+138%

Core i9-12900HX outperforms Core i5-10600K by a whopping 138% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking843249
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation15.40no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Power efficiency6.8136.79
Architecture codenameComet Lake (2020)Alder Lake-HX (2022)
Release date30 April 2020 (4 years ago)10 May 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$262no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX 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 cores6 (Hexa-Core)16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads1224
Base clock speed4.1 GHz2.3 GHz
Boost clock speed4.8 GHz5 GHz
Bus rate8 GT/sno data
L1 cache64K (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache12 MB (shared)30 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nmIntel 7 nm
Die sizeno data215 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C72 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX 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 configuration11
SocketFCLGA1200FCBGA1964
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt55 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
FMA++
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX-+
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Accessno data+
SIPP+-
Turbo Boost Max 3.0-+
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Key++
Identity Protection+-
SGXYes with Intel® MEno data
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth41.6 GB/s76.8 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 630Intel® UHD Graphics for 12th Gen Intel® Processors
Max video memory64 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.2 GHz1.55 GHz
Execution Unitsno data32
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported34

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2160@30Hz4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP4096 x 2304@60Hz5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096 x 2304@60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212.1
OpenGL4.54.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX.

PCIe version3.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes1620

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i5-10600K 9.34
i9-12900HX 22.19
+138%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i5-10600K 14298
i9-12900HX 33961
+138%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i5-10600K 7343
i9-12900HX 9509
+29.5%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i5-10600K 40074
i9-12900HX 64621
+61.3%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i5-10600K 4.65
+68.4%
i9-12900HX 7.83

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i5-10600K 16
i9-12900HX 42
+164%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i5-10600K 1452
i9-12900HX 3566
+146%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i5-10600K 205
i9-12900HX 278
+35.6%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i5-10600K 2.19
i9-12900HX 3.35
+53%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i5-10600K 8
i9-12900HX 17.4
+118%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i5-10600K 88
i9-12900HX 186
+110%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i5-10600K 252
i9-12900HX 314
+24.7%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i5-10600K 6536
i9-12900HX 9993
+52.9%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i5-10600K 7248
i9-12900HX 16312
+125%

Blender(-)

i5-10600K 302
+103%
i9-12900HX 149

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i5-10600K 1286
i9-12900HX 1907
+48.3%

7-Zip Single

i5-10600K 5289
i9-12900HX 6336
+19.8%

7-Zip

i5-10600K 40379
i9-12900HX 86541
+114%

WebXPRT 3

i5-10600K 239
i9-12900HX 318
+32.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 9.34 22.19
Recency 30 April 2020 10 May 2022
Physical cores 6 16
Threads 12 24
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 55 Watt

i9-12900HX has a 137.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 166.7% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and 127.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i9-12900HX is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-10600K in performance tests.

Note that Core i5-10600K is a desktop processor while Core i9-12900HX is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-10600K and Core i9-12900HX, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i5-10600K
Core i5-10600K
Intel Core i9-12900HX
Core i9-12900HX

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Community ratings

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