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Intel Core i5-12600K vs Intel Core i5-12400F

Intel Core i5-12600K

► remove from comparison Intel i5-12600K

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 i5-12400F

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The Intel Core i5-12400F is a fast six-core processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, which was introduced in January 2022. The processor has a base clock speed of 2.5 GHz and reaches a maximum clock speed of up to 4.4 GHz under load. As with its predecessor, the Intel Core i5-11400F, Alder-Lake also supports hyperthreading, which means that up to 12 threads can be processed simultaneously. The Intel Core i5-12400F is manufactured using the 10 nm process. There are many changes to the new architecture, which is essentially based on a hybrid architecture. However, the Intel Core i5-12400F does not fully benefit from this, as only P-cores are used under the heatspreader. Only with the faster Intel Core i5-12600K can you enjoy the performance of the combination of P and E cores. The Intel Core i5-12400F is a non-K CPU, which in turn means that there is no freely selectable multiplier, which means that the CPU is not suitable for overclocking.

Performance

Compared to the Intel Core i5-11400F , the IPC of the Intel Core i5-12400F has been significantly increased again. The performance difference between the two processors is between 10 and 20 percent in most cases. Due to the good single-thread performance, the Intel Core i5-12400F is definitely a sensible CPU to use as the basis in a gaming PC.

Graphics unit

The processors marked with an "F" in the nomenclature do not offer an integrated graphics unit. All other non-F processors can rely on the Intel Iris Xe.

Power consumption

The TDP is relatively low at 65 watts. This is the PL1 value. For Turbo, the Intel Core i5-12400F with PL2 offers a higher TDP of up to 117 watts. If all restrictions are deactivated in the BIOS, there is no time limit for the PL2 value. With the maximum 117 watts, a large cooling unit is not required.

ModelIntel Core i5-12600KIntel Core i5-12400F
CodenameAlder LakeAlder Lake-S
SeriesIntel Alder Lake-S Alder Lake-S
Series: Alder Lake-S Alder Lake
Intel Core i9-12900K compare3.2 - 5.2 GHz16 / 24 cores30 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900 compare2.4 - 5.1 GHz16 / 24 cores20 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12700K compare2.7 - 5 GHz12 / 20 cores25 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12700F compare3.3 - 4.9 GHz12 / 20 cores25 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12700 compare3.3 - 4.9 GHz12 / 20 cores25 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12600K « 2.8 - 4.9 GHz10 / 16 cores20 MB L3
Clock2800 - 4900 MHz2500 - 4400 MHz
L2 Cache9.5 MB7.5 MB
L3 Cache20 MB17.9 MB
Cores / Threads10 / 166 / 12
TDP125 Watt65 Watt
Technology10 nm10 nm
max. Temp.100 °C100 °C
SocketLGA17001700
FeaturesDDR4-3200/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, SHATVB, HyperThreading, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, Quick Sync, Virtualization
iGPUIntel UHD Graphics 770 (300 - 1450 MHz)
Architecturex86x86
$289 U.S.$180 U.S.
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comwww.intel.de
L1 Cache480 KB
Die Size163 mm2

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-12600K
40 pt (67%)
Restrict / Search: Model: Max. age: years
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-12400F
36.2 pt (60%)
Restrict / Search: Model: Max. age: years
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
17491 Points (16%)
12380 Points (11%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
1907 Points (80%)
1680 Points (71%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
734 Points (80%)
653 Points (71%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
6692 Points (16%)
4740 Points (12%)
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
2555 Points (16%)
1759 Points (11%)
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
275 Points (76%)
244 Points (68%)
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
30 Points (39%)
20.4 Points (26%)
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
3.3 Points (79%)
3 Points (70%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
9381 Points (57%)
8389 Points (51%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
55462 Points (40%)
40690 Points (29%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
89478 Points (57%)
69819 Points (45%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
15180 Points (18%)
13664 Points (17%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
202.7 s (2%)
112.8 s (1%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
4.7 s (1%)
4.1 s (1%)
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
6239 Points (10%)
7816 Points (12%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multi Thread 4 runs
64260 MIPS (37%)
45043 MIPS (26%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
5944 MIPS (70%)
5476 MIPS (65%)
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
148 fps (49%)
101.4 fps (34%)
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
333.5 fps (77%)
252.5 fps (58%)
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
30.1 fps (53%)
15.2 fps (27%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
1.3 GB/s (38%)
0.9 GB/s (26%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
2.2 GB/s (38%)
1.4 GB/s (24%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
12.8 GB/s (33%)
9.3 GB/s (24%)
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
430 Seconds (5%)
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
189.5 Seconds (1%)
269 Seconds (2%)
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
0.4 sec (10%)
0.5 sec (10%)
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
15722 Points (33%)
11892 Points (25%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
7.4 s (2%)
8.3 s (2%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
16.4 s (1%)
18.5 s (1%)
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
363.2 s (2%)
438.4 s (2%)
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
85458 Points (66%)
63413 Points (49%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
25017 Points (62%)
19436 Points (48%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
78037 Points (63%)
81984 Points (67%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
79174 Points (64%)
82024 Points (67%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
77742 Points (64%)
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
20161 Points (51%)
15317 Points (39%)
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
29671 Points (53%)
24023 Points (43%)
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
13869 Points (58%)
9745 Points (41%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.5 64 Bit Single-Core
1904 Points (74%)
1742 Points (68%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.5 64 Bit Multi-Core
12797 Points (23%)
9517 Points (17%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1821 Points (8%)
1673 Points (7%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
12746 Points (40%)
9368 Points (30%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
8223 Points (82%)
7548 Points (75%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
46557 Points (46%)
35098 Points (35%)
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
511 ms (1%)
573 ms (1%)
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
235 Points (65%)
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
293 Points (53%)
272 Points (49%)
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
1637 Points (61%)
1762 Points (66%)
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
256.5 Watt (44%)
239 Watt (41%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
205.9 Watt (38%)
194.4 Watt (35%)
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
83.6 Watt (55%)
Power Consumption - Power Efficiency - Cinebench R15 Multi external Monitor
12.4 Points per Watt (9%)

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-12600K → 100% n=45

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-12400F → 85% n=45

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

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v1.33
log 11. 23:34:23

#0 ran 1s before starting gpusingle class +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 13886 +0s ... 0s

#2 checking url part for id 14994 +0s ... 0s

#3 redirected to Ajax server, took 1752269663s time from redirect:0 +0s ... 0s

#4 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 10 Jul 2025 05:20:26 +0200 +0s ... 0s

#5 composed specs +0.004s ... 0.004s

#6 did output specs +0s ... 0.004s

#7 getting avg benchmarks for device 13886 +0.004s ... 0.009s

#8 got single benchmarks 13886 +0.005s ... 0.014s

#9 getting avg benchmarks for device 14994 +0.004s ... 0.018s

#10 got single benchmarks 14994 +0.005s ... 0.023s

#11 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.023s

#12 min, max, avg, median took s +0.053s ... 0.076s

#13 return log +0.003s ... 0.079s

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)