intel core i9 12900k vs intel core i5 12500

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We compared two CPUs Intel Core i9 12900K (Desktop) 16-cores against Intel Core i5 12500 (Desktop) 6-cores. In this comparison page, we check which of these two processor has better performance in benchmark results, Games, architecture, price and other useful information.

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved

Key Differences

What are the key differences between Intel Core i9 12900K and Intel Core i5 12500
Advantages of Intel Core i9 12900K
  • Has 10 more physical cores
  • Has 12 MB larger L3 cache size
  • 12% higher Turbo Boost frequency (5.2 GHz vs 4.6 GHz)
  • Unlocked multiplier
Advantages of Intel Core i5 12500
  • Newer released 1 years later
  • Consumes up to 48% less energy than the Intel Core i9 12900K – 65 vs 125 Watt

Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs in benchmarks
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
2006
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
27409
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
4235
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
41524
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
1993
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
17253

Specifications

Full technical specification of core i9 12900k and core i5 12500

General

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Vendor Intel Intel
Released November 5 2021 January 4 2022
Type Desktop Desktop
instruction set x86-64 x86-64
Codename Alder Lake-S Alder Lake-S
Socket FCLGA1700 FCLGA1700
Integrated GPU Intel UHD Graphics 770 Intel UHD Graphics 770

Performance

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Cores 16 6
Threads 24 12
Base Frequency 3.2 GHz 3 GHz
Turbo Boost Frequency 5.2 GHz 4.6 GHz
L1 Cache 80K (per core) 80K (per core)
L2 Cache 1.25 MB (per core) 1.25 MB (per core)
L3 Cache 30 MB (shared) 18 MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier Yes No

Power

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Fabrication process Intel 7 nm Intel 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 125 W 65 W
Max. temperature 100°C 100°C

Memory support

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Memory types DDR5, DDR4 DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200
Memory Size 128 GB 128 GB
Max. Memory Channels 2 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s 76.8 GB/s
ECC Support Yes Yes

iGPU

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Integrated Graphics Intel UHD Graphics 770 Intel UHD Graphics 770
GPU Base Clock 300 MHz 300 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1.55 MHz 1.45 MHz
Shading Units 256 256
TMUs 16 16
ROPs 8 8
Execution Units 32 32
TGP 15 W 15 W
iGPU FLOPS
0.78 TFLOPS
0.78 TFLOPS

Misc

Intel Core i9 12900K Intel Core i5 12500
Official site Intel Core i9 12900K official page Intel Core i5 12500 official page
PCI Express Version
PCI Express Lanes 20 20

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Intel Core i5 12500 or Intel Core i9 12900K?