Intel Core i5-12600K vs Intel Core i5-11400F
Intel Core i5-12600K
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The Intel Core i5-12600K is a mid-range CPU for desktops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was first announced in November 2021 and offers 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The performance cores (P-cores) support HyperThreading, leading to 16 Threads that can be processed at once. The performance cores can clock with up to 4.9 GHz, the efficiency cores can clock with up to 3.6 GHz. All cores can use 20 MB Smart Cache. The integrated memory controller supports up to 128 GB DDR5 with 4800 MT/s (dual channel).
Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficiency cores for the best performance.
The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and called Intel UHD Graphics 770. It clocks between 300 and 1.45 GHz.
For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost. Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC and AV1 decode in hardware.
Performance
The average 12600K in our database is way ahead of the Ryzen 9 3900 and the Core i9-10900K, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. This is a very fast CPU that should have no trouble running triple-A games for at least a couple of years.
Power consumption
This Core i5 series chip has a Base power consumption of 125 W, with its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sitting at 150 W.
The i5-12600K is built with Intel's fourth generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for lower-than-average, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.
Intel Core i5-11400F
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The Intel Core i5-11400F is a fast six-core desktop processor based on the new Rocket Lake architecture, which was introduced in March 2021. The processor clocks with a base clock of 2.6 GHz and reaches an all-core boost of 4.2 GHz under load. In single-thread applications, the Intel Core i5-11400F even reaches up to 4.4 GHz. Intel also gives the Rocket Lake processors the Hyperthreading feature, which allows the i5-11400F to process up to 12 threads simultaneously. As known, the Intel Core i5-11400F is manufactured in the 14 nm process. Nevertheless, many changes have been made with the Rocket Lake architecture, which is also reflected in the performance compared to the Comet Lake. The Intel Core i5-11400F is a non-K CPU, which means that there is no freely selectable multiplier. Thus, the scope for overclocking is relatively small.
Performance
Compared to the Intel Core i5-10400F, the Core i5-11400F offers a significantly better IPC. This can be seen clearly in the single-core benchmarks. But the multi-core performance also benefits from the better IPC compared to Comet-Lake. A performance increase of up to 20 percent can be expected. The Core i5 has to do without the TVB (Thermal Velocity Boost). However, 4.2 GHz is still possible when all cores are loaded. Due to the very high single-thread performance, the Intel Core i5-11400F is best suited for video games.
Graphics
The processors marked with "F" in the nomenclature don't offer an integrated graphics unit. All other non-F processors can fall back on the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and also allow operation without a dedicated graphics card.
Power consumption
The TDP turns out relatively low with 65 watts. This is the PL1 value. For Turbo, the Intel Core i5-11400F offers a higher TDP of up to 154 watts with PL2. However, this may only be applied for a maximum of 28 seconds (dew). A good air cooler should be able to handle the resulting waste heat, so no AiO is necessary for this processor.
Model | Intel Core i5-12600K | Intel Core i5-11400F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Alder Lake | Rocket Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Intel Alder Lake-S | Intel Rocket Lake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Rocket Lake Rocket Lake |
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Clock | 2800 - 4900 MHz | 2600 - 4400 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 9.5 MB | 3 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 20 MB | 12 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 10 / 16 | 6 / 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 125 Watt | 65 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 10 nm | 14 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 100 °C | 100 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | LGA1700 | LGA1200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | DDR4-3200/DDR5-4800 RAM, PCIe 5, Thr. Dir., DL Boost, GNA, vPro Enterp., MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | DDR4-3200 RAM, PCIe 4, 8 GT/s bus, DL Boost, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX-512, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Intel UHD Graphics 770 (300 - 1450 MHz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$289 U.S. | $157 U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | ark.intel.com | ark.intel.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 480 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Die Size | 276 mm2 |
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-12600K → 100% n=47
Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-11400F → 75% n=47

* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation