Ryzen 9 7950X vs Core i5-12600K

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Aggregate performance score

Core i5-12600K
2021
10 cores / 16 threads, 125 Watt
17.93
Ryzen 9 7950X
2022
16 cores / 32 threads, 170 Watt
40.67
+127%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by a whopping 127% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking30656
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation56.2055.61
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5no data
Architecture codenameAlder Lake-S (2022)Raphael (Zen 4)
Release date4 November 2021 (2 years ago)27 September 2022 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$289no data
Current price$268 (0.9x MSRP)$821

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-12600K has 1% better value for money than Ryzen 9 7950X.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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)
Threads1632
Base clock speed3.7 GHz4.5 GHz
Boost clock speed4.9 GHz5.7 GHz
L1 cache80K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache1.25 MB (per core)1 MB (per core)
L3 cache20 MB (shared)64 MB (shared)
Chip lithographyIntel 7 nm5 nm
Die size215.25 mm220.5 mm × 10.5 mmCCD = 2x 70 sq. mm, I/O = 122 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C95 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C47 °C
Number of transistorsno data13140 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplierYesYes

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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
SocketFCLGA1700AM5
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt170 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2CCD = 5 nm, I/O = 6 nm, 0.650 - 1.475 V
AES-NI++
FMA+no data
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Speed Shift+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+no data
SIPP+no data
Turbo Boost Max 3.0-no data
StatusLaunchedno data

Security technologies

Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X are enumerated here.

AMD-Vno data+
VT-d+no data
VT-x+no data
EPT+no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR5DDR5-5200
Maximum memory size128 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth76.8 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel UHD Graphics 770AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000)
Quick Sync Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.45 GHzno data
Execution Units32no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported4no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2160 @ 60Hzno data
Max resolution over eDP5120 x 3200 @ 120Hzno data
Max resolution over DisplayPort7680 x 4320 @ 60Hzno data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX12no data
OpenGL4.5no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 9 7950X.

PCIe version5.0 and 4.05.0
PCI Express lanes2024

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 17.93
Ryzen 9 7950X 40.67
+127%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 127% 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 27735
Ryzen 9 7950X 62905
+127%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 127% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 2939
+20%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 20% 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 11781
Ryzen 9 7950X 19300
+63.8%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 64% 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
+10.3%
Ryzen 9 7950X 8508

Core i5-12600K outperforms Ryzen 9 7950X by 10% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 72480
+30.7%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 31% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 21065
+34%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 34% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 1.67
+183%

Core i5-12600K outperforms Ryzen 9 7950X by 183% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 69
+129%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 129% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 6095
+139%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 139% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 316
+14.9%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 15% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 3.7
+11.8%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 12% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 32.5
+154%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 154% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 15779
+153%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 153% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 383
+14.8%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 15% 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
Ryzen 9 7950X 274
+85.1%

Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Core i5-12600K by 85% in x264 encoding pass 2.

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.93 40.67
Integrated graphics card 6.13 4.33
Recency 4 November 2021 27 September 2022
Physical cores 10 16
Threads 16 32
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 170 Watt

The Ryzen 9 7950X 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 Ryzen 9 7950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-12600K
Core i5-12600K
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Ryzen 9 7950X

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