Ultra 5 115U vs i9-12900K

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Aggregate performance score

Core i9-12900K
2021, $589
16 cores / 24 threads, 125 Watt
23.35
+263%

Core i9-12900K outperforms Core Ultra 5 115U by a whopping 263% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking2741215
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation33.64no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i9no data
Power efficiency20.01no data
DesignerIntelIntel
ManufacturerIntelIntel
Architecture codenameAlder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)Meteor Lake (2023)
Release date4 November 2021 (4 years ago)14 December 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$589no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Performance to price scatter graph

Detailed specifications

Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U 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 cores16 (Hexadeca-Core)8 (Octa-Core)
Performance-cores8no data
Efficient-cores8no data
Threads2410
Base clock speed3.2 GHz1.5 GHz
Boost clock speed5.2 GHz4.2 GHz
Bus typeDMI 4.0no data
Bus rate8 × 16 GT/sno data
Multiplier32no data
L1 cache80K (per core)112 KB (per core)
L2 cache1.25 MB (per core)2 MB (per core)
L3 cache30 MB (shared)10 MB (shared)
Chip lithography10 nm7 nm
Die size215.25 mm2"no data
Maximum core temperature100 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °Cno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+no data
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U 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
SocketFCLGA1700Intel BGA 2049
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt + 10 MB

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2no data
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
TSX-+
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
SIPP+-
Turbo Boost Max 3.0+no data
Deep Learning Boost+-

Security technologies

Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB+no data
OS Guard+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR5DDR5 Depends on motherboard
Maximum memory size128 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth76.805 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 770Arc Xe-LPG 48EU
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.55 GHzno data
Execution Units32no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported4no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U 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 i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX12no data
OpenGL4.5no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-12900K and Core Ultra 5 115U.

PCIe version5.0 and 4.04.0
PCI Express lanes2020

Synthetic benchmarks

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.

i9-12900K 23.35
+263%
Ultra 5 115U 6.43

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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.

i9-12900K 41175
+263%
Samples: 9727
Ultra 5 115U 11336
Samples: 34

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.

i9-12900K 9859
+13.6%
Ultra 5 115U 8678

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.

i9-12900K 71819
+123%
Ultra 5 115U 32139

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i9-12900K 4057
+248%
Ultra 5 115U 1165

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.

i9-12900K 289
+33.2%
Ultra 5 115U 217

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.

i9-12900K 19.3
+301%
Ultra 5 115U 4.8

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.  

i9-12900K 201
+159%
Ultra 5 115U 78

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.  

i9-12900K 367
+44.6%
Ultra 5 115U 254

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i9-12900K 17776
+198%
Ultra 5 115U 5958

7-Zip Single

i9-12900K 6576
+50.6%
Ultra 5 115U 4367

7-Zip

i9-12900K 97316
+234%
Ultra 5 115U 29111

Geekbench 6.4 Multi-Core

i9-12900K 17450
+136%
Ultra 5 115U 7409

Geekbench 6.4 Single-Core

i9-12900K 2715
+29.5%
Ultra 5 115U 2096

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 23.35 6.43
Recency 4 November 2021 14 December 2023
Physical cores 16 8
Threads 24 10
Chip lithography 10 nm 7 nm

i9-12900K has a 263.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 140% more threads.

Ultra 5 115U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

The Intel Core i9-12900K is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core Ultra 5 115U in performance tests.

Note that Core i9-12900K is a desktop processor while Core Ultra 5 115U is a notebook one.

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Intel Core i9-12900K
Core i9-12900K
Intel Core Ultra 5 115U
Core Ultra 5 115U

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