i5-1230U vs i5-6600K

Aggregate performance score

Core i5-6600K
2015
4 cores / 4 threads, 91 Watt
4.06
Core i5-1230U
2022
10 cores / 12 threads, 9 Watt
7.04
+73.4%

Core i5-1230U outperforms Core i5-6600K by an impressive 73% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking14171007
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.72no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i5 (Desktop)Intel Alder Lake-M
Power efficiency4.1472.65
Architecture codenameSkylake (2015−2016)Alder Lake-U (2022)
Release date5 August 2015 (9 years ago)23 February 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$242no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads412
Base clock speed3.5 GHz1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz4.4 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0no data
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/sno data
Multiplier35no data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache6 MB (shared)12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size122 mm2no data
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)64 °Cno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketFCLGA1151FCBGA1781
Power consumption (TDP)91 Watt9 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U. 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++
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-
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3, DDR4DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size64 GB64 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth34.134 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 530Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics eligible
Max video memory64 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.15 GHz850 MHz
Execution Unitsno data80
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported34
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
DVI+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096x2304@24Hz4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP4096x2304@60Hz4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096x2304@60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over VGAN/Ano data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212.1
OpenGL4.54.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U.

PCIe version3.04.0
PCI Express lanes1614

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.

i5-6600K 4.06
i5-1230U 7.04
+73.4%

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.

i5-6600K 6324
i5-1230U 10977
+73.6%

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.

i5-6600K 1432
i5-1230U 1599
+11.7%

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.

i5-6600K 4044
i5-1230U 5500
+36%

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.

i5-6600K 6188
i5-1230U 7290
+17.8%

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.

i5-6600K 21324
+23.7%
i5-1230U 17243

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.

i5-6600K 7413
+11.6%
i5-1230U 6641

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i5-6600K 602
+17%
i5-1230U 514

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.

i5-6600K 166
i5-1230U 187
+12.5%

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.  

i5-6600K 40
i5-1230U 42
+4.2%

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.  

i5-6600K 196
+28.6%
i5-1230U 153

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.

i5-6600K 3643
i5-1230U 4985
+36.8%

Geekbench 3 32-bit multi-core

i5-6600K 12270
i5-1230U 21447
+74.8%

Geekbench 3 32-bit single-core

i5-6600K 4080
i5-1230U 5120
+25.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 4.06 7.04
Recency 5 August 2015 23 February 2022
Physical cores 4 10
Threads 4 12
Power consumption (TDP) 91 Watt 9 Watt

i5-1230U has a 73.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, 150% more physical cores and 200% more threads, and 911.1% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-1230U is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-6600K in performance tests.

Note that Core i5-6600K is a desktop processor while Core i5-1230U is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-6600K and Core i5-1230U, 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 i5-6600K
Core i5-6600K
Intel Core i5-1230U
Core i5-1230U

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.


3.6 1133 votes

Rate Core i5-6600K on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.3 35 votes

Rate Core i5-1230U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i5-6600K or Core i5-1230U, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.