i5-12500 vs Ryzen 9 3900X

Aggregate performance score

Ryzen 9 3900X
2019
12 cores / 24 threads, 125 Watt
20.53
+63.8%
Core i5-12500
2022
6 cores / 12 threads, 65 Watt
12.53

Ryzen 9 3900X outperforms Core i5-12500 by an impressive 64% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking269610
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation20.86no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAMD Ryzen 9no data
Power efficiency15.5418.24
Architecture codenameMatisse (Zen 2) (2019−2020)Alder Lake-S (2022)
Release date7 July 2019 (5 years ago)4 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$499no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 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 cores12 (Dodeca-Core)6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads2412
Base clock speed3.8 GHz3 GHz
Boost clock speed4.6 GHz4.6 GHz
L1 cache96K (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache512K (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache64 MB18 MB (shared)
Chip lithography7 nm, 12 nmIntel 7 nm
Die sizeno data163 mm2
Maximum core temperature95 °C100 °C
Number of transistors19,200 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 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
SocketAM4FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX-+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Precision Boost 2+no data
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4 Dual-channelDDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth51.196 GB/s76.8 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card-Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HD-+
Graphics max frequency-1.45 GHz
Execution Units-32

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported-4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4-4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP-5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort-7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX-12
OpenGL-4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500.

PCIe versionno data5.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanesno data20

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.

Ryzen 9 3900X 20.53
+63.8%
i5-12500 12.53

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.

Ryzen 9 3900X 32618
+63.8%
i5-12500 19911

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.

Ryzen 9 3900X 1710
i5-12500 2331
+36.3%

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.

Ryzen 9 3900X 9948
+11%
i5-12500 8963

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 20.53 12.53
Recency 7 July 2019 4 January 2022
Physical cores 12 6
Threads 24 12
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 65 Watt

Ryzen 9 3900X has a 63.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

i5-12500, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and 92.3% lower power consumption.

The Ryzen 9 3900X is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-12500 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i5-12500, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Ryzen 9 3900X
Intel Core i5-12500
Core i5-12500

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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