i7-12700K vs i3-9100F

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i3-9100F
2019
4 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
4.24
Core i7-12700K
2021
12 cores / 20 threads, 125 Watt
21.78
+414%

Core i7-12700K outperforms Core i3-9100F by a whopping 414% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking1384244
Place by popularity3773
Cost-effectiveness evaluation10.2541.85
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i3Intel Core i7
Power efficiency6.1716.49
Architecture codenameCoffee Lake-R (2018−2019)Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)
Release date23 April 2019 (5 years ago)27 October 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$122$409

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-12700K has 308% better value for money than i3-9100F.

Detailed specifications

Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads420
Base clock speed3.6 GHz3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed4.2 GHz5 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0DMI 4.0
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/s8 × 16 GT/s
Multiplier3636
L1 cache256 KB384 KB
L2 cache1 MB2 MB
L3 cache6 MB (shared)1 MB
Chip lithography14 nm10 nm
Die size126 mm2215.25 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C72 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketFCLGA1151FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX++
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data+
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-+
EDB++
Secure Key++
MPX+-
Identity Protection+-
SGXYes with Intel® MEno data
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size64 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth38.397 GB/s76.805 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card-Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HD-+
Graphics max frequency-1.5 GHz
Execution Units-32

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported-4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4-4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP-5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort-7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX-12
OpenGL-4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K.

PCIe version3.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes1620

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

i3-9100F 4.24
i7-12700K 21.78
+414%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

i3-9100F 6735
i7-12700K 34598
+414%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

i3-9100F 1398
i7-12700K 2555
+82.8%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

i3-9100F 3736
i7-12700K 13786
+269%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i3-9100F 6509
i7-12700K 9305
+43%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i3-9100F 18118
i7-12700K 63484
+250%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i3-9100F 11.81
i7-12700K 2.66
+344%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i3-9100F 5
i7-12700K 38
+613%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i3-9100F 634
i7-12700K 3325
+424%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i3-9100F 171
i7-12700K 272
+59.1%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i3-9100F 1.95
i7-12700K 3.29
+68.7%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i3-9100F 3
i7-12700K 15.7
+423%

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i3-9100F 4052
i7-12700K 10389
+156%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i3-9100F 44
i7-12700K 179
+304%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i3-9100F 218
i7-12700K 350
+60.3%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i3-9100F 4074
i7-12700K 14016
+244%

Blender(-)

i3-9100F 687
+297%
i7-12700K 173

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i3-9100F 1152
i7-12700K 1912
+65.9%

7-Zip Single

i3-9100F 4682
i7-12700K 6270
+33.9%

7-Zip

i3-9100F 17150
i7-12700K 73439
+328%

WebXPRT 3

i3-9100F 204
i7-12700K 304
+48.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 4.24 21.78
Recency 23 April 2019 27 October 2021
Physical cores 4 12
Threads 4 20
Chip lithography 14 nm 10 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 125 Watt

i3-9100F has 92.3% lower power consumption.

i7-12700K, on the other hand, has a 413.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 200% more physical cores and 400% more threads, and a 40% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i7-12700K is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i3-9100F in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-9100F and Core i7-12700K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i3-9100F
Core i3-9100F
Intel Core i7-12700K
Core i7-12700K

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Community ratings

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