i9-12900K vs i5-12600K

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i5-12600K
2021
10 cores / 16 threads, 125 Watt
17.43
Core i9-12900K
2021
16 cores / 24 threads, 125 Watt
26.11
+49.8%

Core i9-12900K outperforms Core i5-12600K by an impressive 50% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking356185
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation42.0635.70
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5Intel Core i9
Power efficiency13.2019.77
Architecture codenameAlder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)
Release date4 November 2021 (3 years ago)4 November 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$289$589

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-12600K has 18% better value for money than i9-12900K.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K 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)16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads1624
Base clock speed3.7 GHz3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed4.9 GHz5.2 GHz
Bus typeDMI 4.0DMI 4.0
Bus rate8 × 16 GT/s8 × 16 GT/s
Multiplier3732
L1 cache80K (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache1.25 MB (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache20 MB (shared)30 MB (shared)
Chip lithographyIntel 7 nm10 nm
Die size215.25 mm2215.25 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 i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K 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 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K. 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++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP++
Turbo Boost Max 3.0-+
Deep Learning Boost++

Security technologies

Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K 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 i9-12900K 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 i9-12900K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR5DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth76.805 GB/s76.805 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 GHz1.55 GHz
Execution Units3232

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported44

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K 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 i9-12900K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212
OpenGL4.54.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-12900K.

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 17.43
i9-12900K 26.11
+49.8%

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.

i5-12600K 27693
i9-12900K 41470
+49.7%

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.

i5-12600K 2474
i9-12900K 2652
+7.2%

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.

i5-12600K 11842
i9-12900K 15580
+31.6%

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.

i5-12600K 9381
i9-12900K 9859
+5.1%

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.

i5-12600K 55462
i9-12900K 71819
+29.5%

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.

i5-12600K 15722
i9-12900K 18753
+19.3%

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.

i5-12600K 4.73
i9-12900K 3.66
+29.2%

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.

i5-12600K 30
i9-12900K 46
+52%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i5-12600K 2555
i9-12900K 4057
+58.8%

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.

i5-12600K 275
i9-12900K 289
+5.1%

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.

i5-12600K 3.31
i9-12900K 3.5
+5.7%

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.

i5-12600K 12.8
i9-12900K 19.3
+50.4%

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.  

i5-12600K 148
i9-12900K 201
+35.8%

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.  

i5-12600K 334
i9-12900K 367
+10%

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.

i5-12600K 6239
i9-12900K 11834
+89.7%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i5-12600K 12797
i9-12900K 17776
+38.9%

Blender(-)

i5-12600K 190
+52%
i9-12900K 125

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i5-12600K 1904
i9-12900K 2006
+5.3%

7-Zip Single

i5-12600K 5944
i9-12900K 6576
+10.6%

7-Zip

i5-12600K 64260
i9-12900K 97316
+51.4%

WebXPRT 3

i5-12600K 293
i9-12900K 325
+10.9%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.43 26.11
Physical cores 10 16
Threads 16 24

i9-12900K has a 49.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 60% more physical cores and 50% more threads.

The Core i9-12900K 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 i9-12900K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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


Intel Core i5-12600K
Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i9-12900K
Core i9-12900K

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.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4 2681 vote

Rate Core i5-12600K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.9 1601 vote

Rate Core i9-12900K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i5-12600K or Core i9-12900K, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.