Intel Core i7-12700K vs AMD Ryzen 5 7600X vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

Intel Core i7-12700K

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a high end CPU for desktops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was first announced in November 2021 and offers 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The performance cores (P-cores) support HyperThreading, leading to 20 Threads that can be processed at once. The performance cores can clock with up to 5 GHz (Turbo Boost Max 3.0), the efficiency cores can clock with up to 3.9 GHz. All cores can use 25 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 1.5 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 12700K in our database is way ahead of the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 9 3900X, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. Which is a very, very impressive result, as of late 2022.

Power consumption

This Core i7 series chip has a Base power consumption of 125 W, with its highest Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sitting at 190 W. It might be a good idea to get an AIO cooling solution for a chip this power hungry.

The i7-12700K is manufactured on Intel's fourth-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for lower-than-average, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a fast mid-range desktop processor of the Raphael series. It offers 6 cores based on the Zen 4 architecture that supports hyperthreading (12 threads). The cores clock from 4.7 (base) up to 5.7 GHz (single core boost). When all 6 cores are fully loaded, 5.3 GHz is the max. clock speed. 

The performance of the R5 7600X is clearly better than the old Ryzen 5 5600X thanks to the improved architecture and modern 5nm process. The single core performance is very good thanks to the high turbo clock speed (-400 MHz compared to the high end CPUs like the Ryzen 9 7950X). The multi-threaded performance is of course not that competitive due to only 6 cores.

The Raphael series still uses a chiplet design with two CCD-clusters (each with 8 possible cores) in 5nm and an IO-die (including the memory controller and the Radeon Graphics iGPU) in 6nm.

The R5 7600X is rated 105 Watt TDP and Raphael is rather power hungry compared to the 5000 series.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a high-end desktop processor from the Raphael series with 8 Zen 4 cores and SMT (Simultaneous Multithreading), allowing it to handle up to 16 threads simultaneously. After its announcement in January 2023 at CES in Las Vegas, it was launched in April 2023. Following the launch of the two top models, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, the third model was introduced, which offers significantly more gaming performance with the 3D V-Cache.

The CPU cores have a base clock of 4.2 GHz and can be boosted up to 5 GHz (single-core turbo). The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D features a CCD with 8 cores, which includes the fast 3D V-Cache. This differs significantly from the two Ryzen 9 models, as they have two CCDs, but only one of them can utilize the 3D V-Cache.

The performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is consistently good, although its multi-threaded performance suffers a bit due to the eight native compute cores. However, the real strength of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D lies in gaming performance, where it excels. In tests, we see consistently high gaming performance, even surpassing that of an Intel Core i9-13900K.

In terms of power consumption, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D aligns with the other two models featuring 3D V-Cache, making the 8-core processor extremely power-efficient. In numbers, this means that the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is specified with a TDP of up to 120 watts. The PPT (Package Power Tracking) is also rated up to 162 watts. For comparison, an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is specified with 170 watts (TDP) or 230 watts (PPT).