Intel Core i9-12900K Review

Introducing the Core i9-12900K! This Desktop processor is a marvel in Intel's enthusiast range. Debuted in 2021, it's packed with 16 cores and 24 threads. It operates at a base clock speed of 3.2GHz, can ramp up to 5.2GHz, and has a power consumption of 125W, ready to supercharge your gaming system. The Core i9-12900K is built on the Alder Lake 10nm platform and belongs to the esteemed Core i9 series.

And guess what? The Core i9-12900K is the ultimate successor to Intel's previous-gen gaming champion, the Core i9-11900K. The Core i9-11900K was based on the legendary Rocket Lake and 14nm process, and it made its grand entrance into the gaming scene back in 2021. But now, it's time for the Core i9-12900K to take the throne and conquer the gaming world!

The Intel Core i9-12900K is another epic drop from Team Intel, cranking things up in the neverending Intel vs AMD CPU war. But hey, core count ain't everything, especially for playing the hottest PC games. Single-core performance gotta be on point too.

The Intel Core i9 12th Generation boasts the Alder Lake-S architecture, which brings 10nm processors to the mainstream for the first time. But there's more to this story than just a smaller size. Get ready for some serious performance upgrades!

The Intel Core i9-12900K is an absolute monster, just like its 16 cores, 24 threads, and hefty price tag suggest. This is the top dog of mainstream processors, the king you've been waiting for. Games, video editing, 3D work – the Core i9-12900K handles it all with ease. Bow down to the king!

Shrinking down to a 10nm process gives the Core i9-12900K a whopping 15% boost in IPC (instructions per clock). Basically, compared to a similar CPU from the last generation (Core i9 11 Gen) clocked at the same speed, you'll get 15% better performance. It might not be a huge difference in everyday tasks, but it's still something.

The high number of threads (over 7!) in the Intel Core i9-12900K makes it a monster for tasks that use all the cores at once (multi-threaded workloads), especially for the price. If you edit a lot of videos or work with giant spreadsheets, the Core i9-12900K will give you a noticeable performance boost.

For gamers, both the Ryzen 9 5900X and Core i9-12900K are great choices. They're neck and neck, with a slight edge to the AMD CPU if you don't overclock it. The Core i9-12900K's base performance can be achieved with cheaper RAM (around $90), whereas the Ryzen 9 5900X needs faster RAM ($110-$120) to hit the frame rates we showed. The price difference is small though, and with anything less than an RTX 2070 or Vega 64 graphics card, your GPU will bottleneck your performance anyway. BottleneckAtPlay

The gaming tests with an RTX 2080 Ti were surprising! The budget-friendly Intel Core i9-12900K (only 589.99)managedtooutperformthemoreexpensiveRyzen 9 5950X(710) in three games we tested. We know three games aren't everything, but it shows that even a 16 core CPU can still hold its own today. You can even play modern games and stream to Twitch on the Core i9-12900K (playable results, not amazing). As games get more demanding, a 16 core CPU might not be ideal, but the Core i9-12900K can hold its own for now in a pinch.

However, the Intel Core i9-12900K falls a bit behind in clock speeds. The Ryzen 9 5950X can reach 3.7GHz base clock and boost up to 4.9GHz.

Looking at the competition, AMD's current 16-core processor, the Ryzen 9 5950X, is much more expensive at $710. Even going back a generation to Matisse, the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 3950X isn't much cheaper at $710.

Can you game on Intel's Core i9 CPU? Absolutely! We got a solid 98% score in our gaming benchmarks.

The Core i9-12900K is a great choice for both gaming and content creation, thanks to its high performance (1.53%) and at least 12 threads. Live streaming, eSports, and uploading gameplay videos are becoming increasingly popular, and this CPU can handle it all.

Building on the success of mainstream Core i9 CPUs, Intel is now attacking the enthusiast market with the Core i9-12900K processors, available since Nov 4th, 2021.