Since Intel announced and launched its 12th Gen Core series of CPUs in to the market, we've reviewed both the flagship Core i9-12900K, as well as the entry-level (but still very capable) Core i3-12300 processors. Today, we're looking at the middle of the stack, with the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K both taking center stage.

Ever since AMD launched its Zen 3 architecture and its Ryzen 5000 series for desktop, Intel has been playing catch up in both performance and pricing. Intel's hybrid Alder Lake design is its second attempt (Rocket Lake) to dethrone Ryzen 5000 as the go-to processor for consumers building a high-end desktop system for gaming, content creation, and everything in between. It's time to see if the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K can finally level the playing field, if not outright give Intel an advantage in the always popular mid-range and enthusiast markets.

Below is a list of our detailed Intel Alder Lake and Z690 coverage:

• The Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900K Review: Hybrid Performance Brings Hybrid Complexity
• The Intel Core i3-12300 Review: Quad-Core Alder Lake Shines
• Intel Architecture Day 2021: Alder Lake, Golden Cove, and Gracemont Detailed
• Intel Announces 12th Gen Core Alder Lake: 22 New Desktop-S CPUs, 8 New Laptop-H CPUs
• The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR5): Over 50+ New Models
• The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models

As a quick recap, we've covered Alder Lake's dual architectural hybrid design in our Core i9-12900K review, including the differences between the P (performance) and E (efficiency cores). The P-cores are based on Intel's high-performing Golden Cove architecture, which provides solid single-threaded performance. Meanwhile, the Gracemont-based E-cores, although lower-performing on their own, are smaller and draw much less power, allowing Intel to pack them in to benefit multi-threaded workloads without blowing the chips' power and thermal budgets.

Intel 12th Gen Core i7 and Core i5 Series: For The Mid-Range & Enthusiasts

At the beginning of 2022, Intel unveiled 22 new Alder Lake Desktop-S processors to the market, with the K-series processors such as the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i5-12600K having been made available back in November 2021. Looking at Intel's 12th Gen Core i7 lineup, there are five SKUs in total, all of which are variants of the 12700 offering the same 8 P-cores and 4 E-cores at different clockspeeds and TDPs. Leading the group are the Core i7-12700K and i7-12700KF, which come with an unlocked multiplier and can be overclocked when used with a Z690 motherboard.

The Core i7-12700 is a base model with no overclocking support, while the Core i7-12700F is the same as the base model without the integrated Xe Iris graphics. The last of the Core i7 models is the i7-12700T, which has a lower base TDP of 35 W, with a turbo TDP of 180 W and a P-Core turbo of 4.7 GHz primarily designed for low powered systems.

Intel 12th Gen Core, Alder Lake
AnandTech	Cores P+E	E-Core Base	E-Core Turbo	P-Core Base	P-Core Turbo	L3 MB	iGPU	Base W	Turbo W	Price $1ku
Core i7
i7-12700K	8+4	2700	3800	3600	5000	25	770	125	190	$409
i7-12700KF	8+4	2700	3800	3600	5000	25	-	125	190	$384
i7-12700	8+4	1600	3600	2100	4900	25	770	65	180	$339
i7-12700F	8+4	1600	3600	2100	4900	25	-	65	180	$314
i7-12700T	8+4	1000	3400	1400	4700	25	770	35	99	$339
Core i5
i5-12600K	6+4	2800	3600	3700	4900	20	770	125	150	$289
i5-12600KF	6+4	2800	3600	3700	4900	20	-	125	150	$264
i5-12600	6+0	-	-	3300	4800	18	770	65	117	$223
i5-12600T	6+0	-	-	2100	4600	18	770	35	74	$223
i5-12500	6+0	-	-	3000	4600	18	770	65	117	$202
i5-12500T	6+0	-	-	2000	4400	18	770	35	74	$202
i5-12400	6+0	-	-	2500	4400	18	730	65	117	$192
i5-12400F	6+0	-	-	2500	4400	18	-	65	117	$167
i5-12400T	6+0	-	-	1800	4200	18	730	35	74	$192

Moving onto the 12th gen Core i5 series, there's a total of nine SKUs, which is a large stack for the mid-range market. Prices range from $289 for the top SKU, the Core i5-12600K with an unlocked multiplier and full overclocking support, and the Core i5-12600KF ($264), which is the exact specification minus Intel's Xe integrated graphics.

Out of all of Intel's 12th Gen Core i5 series parts, the Core i5-12600K and i5-12600KF are the only two chips to include both P-Core (Golden Cove) E-Core (Gracemont) hybrid cores. They both feature six P-cores four E-cores, for a total of 16-threads. The rest of the Core i5 stack for Alder Lake includes only six P-cores based on Intel's Golden Cove architecture, foregoing the E-cores entirely.

There are three 'base' models of the Core i5, including the i5-12600, i5-12500, and i5-12400, with differences only in base frequency and turbo frequencies (and price), with just $31 separating them in 1K unit pricing. Intel also has three T series variants, including the Core i5-12600T, the i5-12500T, and i5-12400T, all with a base TDP of 35 W and a turbo TDP of 117 W. There's also an odd one out, the Core i5-12400F, which is the same specifications as the Core i5-12400 base model, but without integrated graphics.

Intel Laminar RM1 Stock CPU Cooler for non-K Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 processors

As we highlighted in our Core i3-12300 review, Intel has also refreshed its 'stock' coolers for the first time in what feels like an age. Accompanying all of Intel's 12th Gen Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 processors (not the K/KF SKUs) is the Intel Laminar RM1 stock CPU cooler, which has a revamped design over previous iterations of its stock cooler. The Laminar RM1 is constructed of a copper base with aluminum fins and is designed to support up to and including 65 W TDP processors.

The Intel Core i7-12700K & Core i5-12600K: Market Positioning and the Competition

For the first time since AMD released its Zen 3 based Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors, Intel has undoubtedly been playing catch up. Its 11th Gen Core (Rocket Lake) architecture bridged the gap somewhat, but as seen in our initial review of Alder Lake via our Core i9-12900K review, only with their latest generation of chips has Intel been able to leap-frog ahead of AMD at the top of the desktop CPU market. 

Looking at where the 12th Gen Core i7-12700K slots in, it has 8+4 (12) cores for 20 threads, and as such, it competes against the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, which has 12-Zen 3 cores and 24 threads. Especially following some very recent tightening of the market for AMD chips, the Core i7-12700K has become a much better deal on paper with a current selling price at Amazon of $400 versus the $480 that the Ryzen 9 5900X currently costs.

Intel Core i5-12600K (left) and Core i7-12700K (right) CPU-Z screenshots

The Core i5-12600K is slightly different, as it has two main rivals on the market, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with 8 cores and 16 threads for $390, and the Ryzen 5 5600X, which can be purchased at Amazon for $229 at present. In contrast, the Core i5-12600K has a hybrid 8+4 (12) core design for 16 threads, and it fits in between both of these in the market with a current selling price at Amazon of $279.

Despite many design differences between the aforementioned chips, including core count, thread count, architecture, and core structure, the only differences many are likely to care about are the performance and the price. Earlier this month AMD cut pricing on virtually all of its Ryzen 5000 line-up, which made things much more competitive when comparing Intel's 12th Gen Core MSRP versus AMD's Ryzen 5000's initial launch MSRP. However a very recent bounce in AMD chip prices has started to undo this.

Another variable to consider in this market segment is AMD's new Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with 3D V-Cache, which targets gamers, 8-cores, 16-threads, but it isn't overclockable. AMD intends to launch it on April 20th, and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D will launch with an MSRP of $449. This roughly coincides in terms of pricing with its Ryzen 9 5900X, and is $50 more expensive than the Core i7-12700K, which benefits from more cores and faster cores...and it's overclockable.

Test Bed and Setup

Although there were some problems initially with the Intel Thread Director when using Windows 10 at the launch of Alder Lake, any core scheduling issues are entirely negated by using the latest Windows 11 operating system. The Intel Thread Director works in tandem with Alder Lake to assign the right P-cores and E-cores to different tasks based on the complexity and severity of the workload. We are also testing the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K with DDR5 memory at JEDEC specifications (DDR5-4800 CL40). We are also using Windows 11, which we are using now for CPU and motherboard reviews as we advance into the rest of 2022 and beyond.

For our testing, we are using the following:

Alder Lake Test System (DDR5)
CPU	Core i5-12600K ($289) 6+4 Cores, 16 Threads 125W Base, 150W Turbo Core i7-12700K ($409) 8+4 Cores, 20 Threads 125 W Base, 190 W Turbo
Motherboard	MSI Z690 Carbon WI-FI
Memory	SK Hynix 2x32 GB DDR5-4800 CL40
Cooling	MSI Coreliquid 360mm AIO
Storage	Crucial MX300 1TB
Power Supply	Corsair HX850
GPUs	NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti, Driver 496.49
Operating Systems	Windows 11 Up to Date

All other chips for comparison were run as tests listed in our benchmark database, Bench, on Windows 10.

CPU Benchmark Performance: Power, Office, and Science

Our previous set of ‘office’ benchmarks have often been a mix of science and synthetics, so this time we wanted to keep our office section purely on real-world performance.

For the remainder of the testing in this review of the Core i7-12700K and i5-12600K, we are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Power

Comparing power draw to other competing CPUs, both the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K are noticeably more power-efficient than previous generations including both Intel's 11th Gen and 10th Gen Core. Though at full-load with no overclocking, AMD's Ryzen 5000 and 3000 series processors remain much more power-efficient.

Office

In our office benchmarks, Intel's 12th Gen Core reigns supreme in Agisoft Photoscan due to its higher core frequency and IPC performance.

Science

In the majority of our science-based benchmarks, both the Core i7 and Core i5 did well. The only benchmarks that didn't favor the 12th Gen Core series processors were in 3DPM 2.1, but more specifically in the AVX test. 

CPU Benchmark Performance: Simulation And Rendering

Simulation and Science have a lot of overlap in the benchmarking world, however for this distinction we’re separating into two segments mostly based on the utility of the resulting data. The benchmarks that fall under Science have a distinct use for the data they output – in our Simulation section, these act more like synthetics but at some level are still trying to simulate a given environment.

We are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Simulation

When it comes to simulation, the combination of high core frequency and better IPC performance gives Intel's 12th Gen Core series the advantage here in most situations.

Rendering

Looking at performance in the rendering section of our test suite, both the Core i7 and Core i5 performed creditably. The biggest factor to consider here is a higher core and thread count plus IPC performance will equal more rendering power.

CPU Benchmark Performance: Encoding and Compression

One of the interesting elements on modern processors is encoding performance. This covers two main areas: encryption/decryption for secure data transfer, and video transcoding from one video format to another.

In the encrypt/decrypt scenario, how data is transferred and by what mechanism is pertinent to on-the-fly encryption of sensitive data - a process by which more modern devices are leaning to for software security.

Video transcoding as a tool to adjust the quality, file size and resolution of a video file has boomed in recent years, such as providing the optimum video for devices before consumption, or for game streamers who are wanting to upload the output from their video camera in real-time. As we move into live 3D video, this task will only get more strenuous, and it turns out that the performance of certain algorithms is a function of the input/output of the content.

We are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Encoding

In terms of encoding and compression, Intel's 12th Gen Core gains some wins, but AMD's Ryzen 5000 also wins. It's a very competitive segment, but in the case of the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K, both remain competitive against the competition.

CPU Benchmark Performance: Legacy and Web

In order to gather data to compare with older benchmarks, we are still keeping a number of tests under our ‘legacy’ section. This includes all the former major versions of CineBench (R15, R11.5, R10) as well as x264 HD 3.0 and the first very naïve version of 3DPM v2.1. We won’t be transferring the data over from the old testing into Bench, otherwise, it would be populated with 200 CPUs with only one data point, so it will fill up as we test more CPUs like the others.

The other section here is our web tests.

We are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Legacy

In our legacy section of the suite, both the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K perform well in older benchmarks. It's worth pointing out that all of Intel's 12th Gen Core series processors do well here, with the combination of high core frequency, core count, and IPC performance all playing its part.

Web

Looking at performance in our web-based tests, the three premium K SKUs in Intel's Alder Lake stack once again shows its dominance over the rest of the competition.

Gaming Performance: iGPU

All of our game testing results, including other resolutions, can be found in our benchmark database: www.anandtech.com/bench. All gaming tests here were run using integrated graphics, with a variation of 720p resolutions and at minimum settings.

We are using DDR5 memory for Alder Lake at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

All of AMD's Ryzen APUs were tested with DDR4 memory at the relevant JEDEC specifications of each chip.

Final Fantasy 14

World of Tanks

Borderlands 3

Far Cry 5

Gears Tactics

Grand Theft Auto V

Strange Brigade (DirectX 12)

Performance on Intel's UHD 770 integrated graphics when compared to AMD's Ryzen APUs came solely down to the intensity of the game title. In scenarios where titles favor CPU grunt, the 12th Gen Core series processors did well, but when it came to graphical performance, UHD 770 clearly trails AMD's integrated Radeon graphics.

The consensus here is that in all scenarios, AMD's Ryzen APUs are superior to Intel for low-budget gaming systems where discrete graphics aren't used. Intel really only makes the bare minimum investment in die space for their iGPU here, and it shows: UHD 770 is good enough for the bare minimum in gaming, and that's about it.

Gaming Performance: 1080p

All of our game testing results, including other resolutions, can be found in our benchmark database: www.anandtech.com/bench. All gaming tests were with an RTX 2080 Ti.

We are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Civilization VI

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Final Fantasy 14

Final Fantasy 15

World of Tanks

Borderlands 3

Far Cry 5

Gears Tactics

Grand Theft Auto V

Red Dead Redemption 2

Strange Brigade (DirectX 12)

Strange Brigade (Vulcan)

When gaming at 1080p with our NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the Intel Core i7 and Core i5 both excel due to higher core frequency and IPC performance compared to AMD's Zen 3 core. It's worth highlighting that both architectures perform well enough to remain competitive, but Intel has the edge here.

Gaming Performance: 4K

All of our game testing results, including other resolutions, can be found in our benchmark database: www.anandtech.com/bench. All gaming tests were with an RTX 2080 Ti.

We are using DDR5 memory at the following settings:

• DDR5-4800(B) CL40

Civilization VI

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Final Fantasy 14

Final Fantasy 15

World of Tanks

Borderlands 3

Far Cry 5

Gears Tactics

Grand Theft Auto V

Strange Brigade (DirectX 12)

Strange Brigade (Vulkan)

The Core i7 and Core i5 performed well across the majority of our tests, although they ran noticeably slower in Strange Brigade. This was only the case when testing 4K, but in every other title we tested at 4K resolutions, performance was competitive.

Conclusion

As we make good headway into 2022 and beyond, the dynamic of the CPU market is constantly changing and evolving. What was once for many years a war based on core count on chips between Intel and AMD has now become a battle of whose core performs more efficiently, is faster, and offers better value. It's no surprise that both of Intel and AMD's flagship offerings (Core i9-12900K versus Ryzen 9 5950X) have been one based on everything but value; both companies have respectively changed the desktop processor market for the better.

In what is possibly our final look at Intel's 12th Gen Core series processors, I feel that it has been a successful launch for one main reason. This all comes down to value, as 12th Gen Alder Lake has been one of the first Core series since AMD launched its Zen architecture back in 2017 to offer users something that feels like good value for the price, compared to what it has done in the past. Not only that, but Intel has bridged the gap between themselves and AMD with improved IPC performance, which leapfrogs AMD's Zen 3 architecture. Another element is in multi-threaded applications. The increased IPC with the Golden Cove P-Cores combined with its Gracemont E-Cores helps negate some of AMD's Ryzen 5000 series previous dominance in certain situations where higher core counts are favored.

The 12-Core to 8-Core Desktop Processor Market: Alder Lake Makes a Splash

While it has been noted by several outlets and retailers over the last month, AMD has finally cut the pricing on its Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors. This doesn't just feel like a ploy from AMD to increase competitiveness against Intel's 12th Gen Core offerings. Still, it's notable that it's taken AMD this long to catch up with demand for their chips. It underscores how everything below high-end/flagship CPUs has been rather underserved for the last year and a half, as chip shortages have sent resources elsewhere.

Turning back to now, and as it stands, Intel's Alder Lake offers more in terms of performance for the price, especially in the sub $450 processor market. 

Intel Versus AMD Mid-Range Price Comparison (as of 03/20)
Intel Core 12th Gen	Cores	Price ($)		Price ($)	Cores	AMD Ryzen 5000
Core i7-12700K	8+4 (12)	$385	vs.	$485	12C	Ryzen 9 5900X
Core i5-12600K	6+4 (10)	$279	vs.	$390	8C	Ryzen 7 5800X

As well as AMD's recent price drops on its Ryzen 5000 offerings, we've been noticing small and subtle price drops on Intel's 12th Gen Core series too. This means that despite the Ryzen 9 5900X, which is currently on sale for $485 at Amazon, is undoubtedly a better price than it was ($570), the Intel Core i7-12700K is now available at the lower cost of $385 at Amazon. Intel's offering better value and is around 20% cheaper when comparing both chips at Amazon; other retailers may vary.

Looking at the differentials in the other battle between the Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 7 5800X, the same can also be applied. The Ryzen 7 5800X, which now costs $390 at Amazon, is down from $450. In contrast, the Core i5-12600K is available for $280 at Amazon, which means Intel is around 20% cheaper on its 10-core 12th Gen series chip.

It's worth noting that due to AMD's Zen 3 chiplet design, its Core Chiplet Die (CCD) is limited to 1 x CCD of 6-cores and 8-cores at the moment, meaning an actual 10-core competitor to the Core i5-12600K isn't viable, at least from a cost and yield standpoint. AMD could release a 10-core Ryzen 5000 processor if it disabled cores on one of the CCDs, but this again wouldn't be viable from AMD's perspective.

Intel is currently winning the pricing war when it comes to the value proposition in both the respective markets (12C and 10/8C). This can and would only change if AMD decided to cut its pricing even further, though at this point the deciding factor doesn't seem to be Alder Lake's performance, but rather how much of AMD's 7nm wafer allocation is being consumed by higher margin products like EPYC chips. Make no mistake, Intel's mid-range and enthusiast class Alder Lake chips are legitimately good, but there's also an element of "winner by default" at play due to AMD's seemingly limited chip volumes in these segments.

Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K Performance Analysis:

Focusing on the performance of both the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K, both processors are competitive and have viable trade-offs against the competition. For the purposes of acknowledgment, we've included both the Core i9-12900K and Ryzen 9 5950X into our data arc for this review. This allows us to better judge the propositions of value and competition throughout Intel's Alder Lake offerings and AMD's Ryzen 5000 desktop chips. 

Taking a look at some benchmarks that reasonably conclude the landscape of the desktop market, our science-based yCruncher benchmark shows the natural levels of performance when comparing Alder Lake to Zen 3. In this test, the Alder Lake-based 12th Gen Core processors outperform each of their market rivals. The Core i5-12600K sits between both the Ryzen 9 5900X and the Ryzen 7 5800X here, which is relative to the core count and the difference in IPC performance between both architectures.

In another science-focused benchmark, both the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K perform well in respect to the competition. The NAMD ApoA1 simulation benchmark favors a mixture of core/thread count, with faster cores at equal core counts proving more effective.

The popular Cinebench R23 benchmark is used often by manufacturers and media alike to show off rendering performance across the single and multi-threaded performance. We already know that Alder Lake has an IPC advantage over Zen 3, as seen in our previous Core i9-12900K and Core i3-12300 reviews, so we're focusing on multi-threaded performance here. 

Both the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K perform well in the Cinebench R23 Multi-Thread test, and while it's notable that the flagship Core i9-12900K reigns supreme, the Core i7-12700K isn't too far behind the Ryzen 9 5950X, which is exceptional.

While it is fair to say that the use of DDR5 memory on Alder Lake is definitely a contributing factor to some of the extra performance gains, it's fair to judge performance based on the achievable performance using the best technologies available. Overall, the Core i7-12700K is perhaps the best sub $400 processor from a price to performance point of view, and this is confirmed throughout our testing. In contrast, using Windows 11 over Windows 10 yields little gain, and we also test with memory settings based on what the chip is capable of based on JEDEC settings.

The recent offerings from both Intel and AMD perform well in gaming, with much of the variation in performance surrounding what each of the game developer's titles is aligned with. This means that game titles that partner with Intel generally performs better due to code and integrated technologies. At the same time, AMD has the same thing with the developers it partners with. The overall situation in gaming performance is quite simple; all of the 8C+ processors from both team Intel (Alder Lake) and team AMD (Zen 3) all perform well, with slight nuances based on the game developer's level of its multi-threaded application being another contributing factor to performance.

Summary

Selecting a processor to build a new system or upgrade an existing one, both Intel and AMD have plenty of options for users to sink their teeth into. There's something for everyone when it comes to selecting the best processor for the task at hand, be that rendering, a workstation, a gaming system, or even just for web-browsing.

Getting straight to the point on our opinion of Intel's 12th Gen Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K processors, both perform very well and are the best all-round performers at their respective price points. When it comes to selecting a processor between $250 and $450 for a gaming system, it makes very little sense than to opt for the Core i5-12600K, as it has a good balance of cores (10C/16T) with enough performance on those cores to make it a no brainer for $279.

The Intel Core i5-12600K (left) and Core i7-12700K (right) processors.

The extra money saved opting for the Core i5-12600K over the Core i7-12700K could be put towards a better video card, which would offer a more significant jump in frame rates over opting for the more expensive processor. It's clear that the Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K are a better buy, both from a value and performance perspective over the competing AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors.

Overall, Intel's Alder Lake architecture is an important win for the company that has consistently lost desktop processor market share since Zen debuted back in 2017. Even with the launch of AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D, due on April 20th, it's more likely to be competitive with the Core i7-12700K in gaming, and if its 96 MB of 3D V-Cache is as effective in gaming as AMD suggests, it could be neck and neck there. However, the Core i7-12700K benefits from an unlocked multiplier, and system tweakers are more likely to get a better price to performance ratio with Intel.

Right now, Alder Lake has the competitive advantage over Zen 3, and that's to be expected, as this is the second attempt from Intel to close the gap between itself and AMD's Ryzen 5000 lineup. The biggest question is, what's on the horizon? We know AMD is planning to release its Zen 4 5 nm based processors sometime this year, and the generational gap between Zen 2 and Zen 3 was very impressive. It still remains to be seen how that pans out, but for now, Intel's 12th Gen Core series is certainly worthy of consideration, especially with its more aggressive pricing.