Intel Core i9-12900K review: specs and price
Intel Core i9-12900K
Why is Intel Core i9-12900K better than the average?
- CPU speed?
8 x 3.2 GHz & 8 x 2.4 GHzvs14.42 GHz - RAM speed (max)?
4800 MHzvs2846.95 MHz - CPU threads?
24 threadsvs8.91 threads - Semiconductor size?
10 nmvs15.71 nm - Turbo clock speed?
5.2GHzvs4GHz - PassMark result?
41412vs10597.34 - L2 cache?
14 MBvs3.12 MB - PCI Express (PCIe) version?
5vs3.18
Price comparison
Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz...Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz Unlocked LGA1700 600 Series Chipset 125W
MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 Motherboard Intel Z690 Gaming Mainboard 12900K 12700K 12600K With Intel CPU Z690 1700...MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 Motherboard Intel Z690 Gaming Mainboard 12900K 12700K 12600K With Intel CPU Z690 1700 2.5G LAN PCIe 5.0 ATX
Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800...Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800MHz DDR5 16G Memory
For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboar...For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboard support 12900K 12700K
User reviews
Overall rating
Features
Value for money
8.1/10
7 votes
Gaming
9.3/10
7 votes
Performance
9.1/10
7 votes
Reliability
8.7/10
7 votes
Energy efficiency
7.9/10
7 votes
General info
Type
Desktop
The market that the CPU is designed for.
CPU socket
LGA 1700
The CPU socket/s supported.
Chipset
Z790, H610, H670, B660, Z690
The motherboard chipset/s supported.
Has integrated graphics
✔Intel Core i9-12900K
With integrated graphics you don’t need to buy a separate graphics card.
semiconductor size
10 nm
Small semiconductors provide better performance and reduced power consumption. Chipsets with a higher number of transistors, semiconductor components of electronic devices, offer more computational power. A small form factor allows more transistors to fit on a chip, therefore increasing its performance.
The thermal design power (TDP) is the maximum amount of power the cooling system needs to dissipate. A lower TDP typically means that it consumes less power.
CPU temperature
100 °C
If the CPU exceeds the maximum operating temperature then problems such as random resets can occur.
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is a high-speed interface standard for connecting components, such as graphics cards and SSDs, to a motherboard. Newer versions can support more bandwidth and deliver better performance.
number of transistors
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
A higher transistor count generally indicates a newer, more powerful processor.
Performance
CPU speed
8 x 3.2 GHz & 8 x 2.4 GHz
The CPU speed indicates how many processing cycles per second can be executed by a CPU, considering all of its cores (processing units). It is calculated by adding the clock rates of each core or, in the case of multi-core processors employing different microarchitectures, of each group of cores.
CPU threads
24 threads
More threads result in faster performance and better multitasking.
turbo clock speed
5.2GHz
When the CPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
Has an unlocked multiplier
✔Intel Core i9-12900K
Some processors come with an unlocked multiplier which makes them easy to overclock, allowing you to gain increased performance in games and other apps.
L2 cache
14 MB
A larger L2 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L3 cache
30 MB
A larger L3 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L1 cache
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
A larger L1 cache results in faster CPU and system-wide performance.
L2 core
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
More data can be stored in the L2 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
L3 core
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
More data can be stored in the L3 cache for access by each core of the CPU.
Benchmarks
PassMark result
41412
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using multiple threads.
This benchmark measures the performance of the CPU using a single thread.
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU's multi-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Cinebench R20 is a benchmark tool that measures a CPU's single-core performance by rendering a 3D scene.
Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's multi-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's single-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 5 result (multi)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's multi-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Geekbench 5 result (single)
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
Geekbench 5 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures a processor's single-core performance. (Source: Primate Labs, 2024)
Blender (bmw27) result
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
The Blender (bmw27) benchmark measures the performance of a processor by rendering a 3D scene. More powerful processors can render the scene in less time.
Integrated graphics
GPU clock speed
300 MHz
The clock speed of the graphics processing unit (GPU).
GPU turbo
1550 MHz
When the GPU is running below its limitations, it can boost to a higher clock speed in order to give increased performance.
A graphics processing unit (GPU) with a greater number of execution units can deliver better graphics.
DirectX version
DirectX 12
DirectX is used in video games, with newer versions supporting better graphics and features. The latest version is DirectX 12 Ultimate, which includes support for ray tracing, mesh shaders, and variable rate shading (VRS).
Using multiple displays you can create a larger workspace, making it easier to work across multiple apps.
OpenGL is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
Some apps use OpenCL to apply the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) for non-graphical computing. Newer versions introduce more functionality and better performance.
TMUs take textures and map them to the geometry of a 3D scene. More TMUs will typically mean that texture information is processed faster.
The ROPs are responsible for some of the final steps of the rendering process, writing the final pixel data to memory and carrying out other tasks such as anti-aliasing to improve the look of graphics.
Memory
RAM speed (max)
4800 MHz
The maximum speed of RAM that is supported by the CPU.
maximum memory bandwidth
76.8 GB/s
This is the maximum rate that data can be read from or stored into memory.
DDR (Double Data Rate) memory is the most common type of RAM. Newer versions of DDR memory support higher maximum speeds and are more energy-efficient.
More memory channels increases the speed of data transfer between the memory and the CPU.
The maximum amount of memory (RAM) supported.
bus transfer rate
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Supports ECC memory
✔Intel Core i9-12900K
Error-correcting code memory can detect and correct data corruption. It is used when is it essential to avoid corruption, such as scientific computing or when running a server.
eMMC version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
A higher version of eMMC allows faster memory interfaces, having a positive effect on the performance of a device. For example, when transferring files from your computer to the internal storage over USB.
bus speed
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
The bus is responsible for transferring data between different components of a computer or device.
Features
instruction sets
SSE 4.2, SSE 4.1, AVX, AES, FMA3, F16C, MMX
Instruction sets are sets of codes that the CPU runs for certain functions.
uses multithreading
✔Intel Core i9-12900K
Multithreading technology (such as Intel's Hyperthreading or AMD's Simultaneous Multithreading) provides increased performance by splitting each of the processor's physical cores into virtual cores, also known as threads. This way, each core can run two instruction streams at once.
bits executed at a time
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
NEON provides acceleration for media processing, such as listening to MP3s.
Has TrustZone
✖Intel Core i9-12900K
A technology integrated into the processor to secure the device for use with features such as mobile payments and streaming video using digital rights management (DRM).
front-end width
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
The CPU can decode more instructions per clock (IPC), meaning that the CPU performs better
Has NX bit
✔Intel Core i9-12900K
NX bit helps protect the computer from malicious attacks.
VFP version
Unknown. Help us by suggesting a value.
Vector Floating-Point (VFP) is used by the processor to deliver increased performance in areas such as digital imaging.
Miscellaneous
DirectX is used in games, with newer versions supporting better graphics.
Price comparison
Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz...Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz Unlocked LGA1700 600 Series Chipset 125W
MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 Motherboard Intel Z690 Gaming Mainboard 12900K 12700K 12600K With Intel CPU Z690 1700...MSI PRO Z690-P DDR4 Motherboard Intel Z690 Gaming Mainboard 12900K 12700K 12600K With Intel CPU Z690 1700 2.5G LAN PCIe 5.0 ATX
Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800...Combo MSI MAG B660M MORTAR DDR5 LGA1700 Motherboard With Intel Core i9 12900K Processor Kit Kingston 4800MHz DDR5 16G Memory
For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboar...For intel Z690 Used ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E Socket LGA1700 DDR4 Desktop Mainboard 12th Gen Motherboard support 12900K 12700K
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Comments
Gayatri
1 year ago
10 / 10
ONE OF THE BEST CPU EVER FOR PERFORMANCE(by intel)
Gayatri
1 year ago
10 / 10
PLESE READ THIS , THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR PLANNING TO BUY A GOOD CPU ! INTEL CORE i9-12900K is only behind the new and upgraded i9-12900KS ( which is 300$ more and don't worth it that much more). To me its the best chipset for anything I wanna do because its such a all-rounder . IT IS MORE POWERFUL THAN AMD's RYZEN 9-5900X OR 5950X ! . It smartly manages work load by using its efficiency cores to do less strain full works and save power and performance cores to do high strained works , which is pretty sick if you ask me :) . And finally for those people who think that it's way too power hungry , it isn't . When we compare i9-12900K side-by-side to our AMD' 9 5900X and 9 5950X boys : At Blender-gooseberry benchmarking ---- our intel boy was drawing out ABOUT 250W OF POWER ! , while our AMD boys were at about 150 W . BUT,...... AT GAMING (F1 2021) ---- Intel BOI was WITHIN THE BASE POWER OF 125 W averaging about at 100 W . BUT ON THE OTHER HAND ,........ Our AMD Boys WERE DRAWING MORE POWER THAN INTEL BOI . Man these Efficiency cores packs a punch , turns out Gaming isn't enough to push these to their limits as it is manageable by efficiency cores while benchmarks are made to push CPU's to their absolute limits and that much performance would come at least at a cost of that power. And it definitely gets too hot when that much electricity is used up in that tiny little thing , so , do buy some serious cooling system to pair with it . OR OR OR OR Trust me your are never gonna lose if you're choosing AMD or Intel , but to choose one , here is some tip :- + Intel chips have more powerful cores + AMD have less good cores than Intel but makes it up by have having more cores # CONCLUSION : Intel have adequate number of cores most program (including serious games) can use at max but AMD has so many cores that a program rarely or doesn't use all of the cores ( unless you are doing 3D rendering and blending stuff which would benefit from more cores ) and we know that Intel has far better cores than AMD , so for me the Winner is Intel . FINALLY IF YOU'RE READY TO SPEND SOME MONEY ON A GREAT COOLING SYSTEM FOR YOUR PC THEN THIS CPU IS A BIG YES FOR ME ! ( I hope this was helpful to who ever is reading it this FAR XD , Bye )
Pros
Cons
Ishaan
2 years ago
10 / 10
Best Processor
Ishaan
2 years ago
10 / 10
Gratest Processor ever I have seen It is very fast amd doesn't lag without any graphics Card
Pros
Cons
resc@freenet.de
1 year ago
6 / 10
better than 11th gen, but still too power hungry
resc@freenet.de
1 year ago
6 / 10