Core i7-12700 vs Core i5-12600K

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Aggregated performance score

Core i5-12600K
2021
10 cores / 16 threads
17.94

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 11% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking308248
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation56.22no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5no data
Architecture codenameAlder Lake-S (2022)Alder Lake-S (2022)
Release date4 November 2021 (2 years ago)January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$289no data
Current price$268 (0.9x MSRP)$259

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 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 cores10 (Deca-Core)12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads1620
Base clock speed3.7 GHz2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed4.9 GHz4.9 GHz
L1 cache80K (per core)80 KB (per core)
L2 cache1.25 MB (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache20 MB (shared)25 MB (shared)
Chip lithographyIntel 7 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size215.25 mm220.5 mm × 10.5 mm215 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °Cno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplierYesNo

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 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
SocketFCLGA1700FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700. 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+no data
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSXno data+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP++
Turbo Boost Max 3.0-+
StatusLaunchedLaunched

Security technologies

Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Key++
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR5DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth76.8 GB/s76.8 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 770Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.45 GHz1.5 GHz
Execution Units3232

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported44

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2160 @ 60Hz4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212
OpenGL4.54.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700.

PCIe version5.0 and 4.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes2020

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.

i5-12600K 17.94
i7-12700 19.93
+11.1%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 11% based on our aggregated benchmark results.


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.

Benchmark coverage: 68%

i5-12600K 27741
i7-12700 30827
+11.1%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 11% in Passmark.

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-12600K 2449
+6.8%
i7-12700 2293

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 7% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Benchmark coverage: 42%

i5-12600K 11776
+9.2%
i7-12700 10780

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 9% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

i5-12600K 9381
+2.3%
i7-12700 9171

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 2% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i5-12600K 55462
i7-12700 60892
+9.8%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 10% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

i5-12600K 15722
+2.2%
i7-12700 15390

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 2% in 3DMark06 CPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

i5-12600K 4.73
i7-12700 2.9
+63.1%

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 63% in wPrime 32.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

i5-12600K 30
i7-12700 37
+23%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 23% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core.

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i5-12600K 2555
i7-12700 3151
+23.3%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 23% in Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 15%

i5-12600K 275
+1.1%
i7-12700 272

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 1% in Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

i5-12600K 3.31
+0.9%
i7-12700 3.28

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-12700 by 1% in Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i5-12600K 12.8
i7-12700 14.5
+13.3%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 13% in TrueCrypt AES.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i5-12600K 6239
i7-12700 9328
+49.5%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 50% in WinRAR 4.0.

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.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i5-12600K 334
i7-12700 347
+4%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 4% in x264 encoding pass 1.

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.  

Benchmark coverage: 13%

i5-12600K 148
i7-12700 172
+16.5%

Core i7-12700 outperforms Core i5-12600K by 16% in x264 encoding pass 2.

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.94 19.93
Physical cores 10 12
Threads 16 20
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 65 Watt

The Core i7-12700 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-12600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-12600K and Core i7-12700, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-12600K
Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i7-12700
Core i7-12700

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