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

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Core i9-12900 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i5-12600K

CPU comparison

Intel Core i9-12900 or Intel Core i5-12600K - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Core i9-12900 has 16 cores with 24 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 5.10 GHz. Up to 128 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i9-12900 was released in Q1/2022.

The Intel Core i5-12600K has 10 cores with 16 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.90 GHz. The CPU supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The Intel Core i5-12600K was released in Q4/2021.
Intel Core i9 (78) Family Intel Core i5 (328)
Intel Core i 12000 (34) CPU group Intel Core i 12000 (34)
12 Generation 12
Alder Lake S Architecture Alder Lake S
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Intel Core i9-11900 Predecessor Intel Core i5-11600K
Intel Core i9-13900 Successor Intel Core i5-13600K

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Core i9-12900 has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 24 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i9-12900 is 2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz) while the Intel Core i5-12600K has 10 CPU cores and 16 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Intel Core i5-12600K is at 3.70 GHz (4.90 GHz).

Intel Core i9-12900 Characteristic Intel Core i5-12600K
16 Cores 10
24 Threads 16
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.40 GHz (5.10 GHz)
8x Golden Cove
A-Core 3.70 GHz (4.90 GHz)
6x Golden Cove
1.80 GHz (3.80 GHz)
8x Gracemont
B-Core 2.80 GHz (3.60 GHz)
4x Gracemont

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Core i9-12900 Characteristic Intel Core i5-12600K
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Intel Core i9-12900 or Intel Core i5-12600K has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel UHD Graphics 770 GPU Intel UHD Graphics 770
0.30 GHz GPU frequency 0.30 GHz
1.55 GHz GPU (Turbo) 1.45 GHz
11 GPU Generation 11
10 nm Technology 10 nm
3 Max. displays 3
32 Compute units 32
256 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
64 GB Max. GPU Memory 64 GB
12 DirectX Version 12

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel UHD Graphics 770 GPU Intel UHD Graphics 770
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Core i9-12900 can use up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 76.8 GB/s. The Intel Core i5-12600K supports up to 128 GB of memory in 2 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/s.

Intel Core i9-12900 Characteristic Intel Core i5-12600K
DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 Memory DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
128 GB Max. Memory 128 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
76.8 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s
Yes ECC Yes
14.00 MB L2 Cache 9.50 MB
30.00 MB L3 Cache 20.00 MB
5.0 PCIe version 5.0
20 PCIe lanes 20
78.8 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 78.8 GB/s

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Core i9-12900 is 65 W, while the Intel Core i5-12600K has a TDP of 125 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Core i9-12900 Characteristic Intel Core i5-12600K
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 125 W
202 W TDP (PL2) 150 W
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. 100 °C

Technical details

The Intel Core i9-12900 is manufactured in 10 nm and has 44.00 MB cache. The Intel Core i5-12600K is manufactured in 10 nm and has a 29.50 MB cache.

Intel Core i9-12900 Characteristic Intel Core i5-12600K
10 nm Technology 10 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+ ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
LGA 1700 Socket LGA 1700
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q1/2022 Release date Q4/2021
489 $ Release price 289 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 5 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 6 CPU benchmarks

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
1988 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
1918 (96%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
26455 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
17660 (67%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
1968 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
1854 (94%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
15712 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
11912 (76%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
2637 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
2472 (94%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
15367 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
11991 (78%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
764 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
741 (97%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
10097 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
6702 (66%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.55 GHz
794 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
Intel UHD Graphics 770 @ 1.45 GHz
742 (93%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
36739 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
27830 (76%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
287 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
274 (95%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
3911 (100%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
2596 (66%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
105 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 5.10 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.90 GHz
909 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
249 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 4.20 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 4.50 GHz
766 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
16C 24T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
10C 16T @ 3.70 GHz
5540 (100%)

CPU performance per watt (efficiency)

Efficiency of the processor under full load in the Cinebench R23 (multi-core) benchmark. The benchmark result is divided by the average energy required (CPU package power in watts). The higher the value, the more efficient the CPU is under full load.
Intel Core i9-12900 Intel Core i9-12900
2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-12600K Intel Core i5-12600K
17,660 CB R23 MC @ 115 W
154 (100%)

Devices using this processor

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

News and articles for the Intel Core i9-12900 and the Intel Core i5-12600K


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