i9-14900 vs i5-12600K

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Aggregate performance score

Core i5-12600K
2021
10 cores / 16 threads, 125 Watt
17.43
Core i9-14900
2024
24 cores / 32 threads, 65 Watt
30.35
+74.1%

Core i9-14900 outperforms Core i5-12600K by an impressive 74% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking364137
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation43.9950.40
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i5no data
Power efficiency13.2044.19
Architecture codenameAlder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)Raptor Lake-R (2023−2024)
Release date27 October 2021 (3 years ago)8 January 2024 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$289$549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-14900 has 15% better value for money than i5-12600K.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 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 cores10 (Deca-Core)24 (Tetracosa-Core)
Threads1632
Base clock speed3.7 GHz2 GHz
Boost clock speed4.9 GHz5.6 GHz
Bus typeDMI 4.0no data
Bus rate8 × 16 GT/s219 MHz
Multiplier37no data
L1 cache384 KB80 KB (per core)
L2 cache2 MB2 MB (per core)
L3 cache2 MB36 MB (shared)
Chip lithographyIntel 7 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size215.25 mm2257 mm2
Maximum core temperature100 °C100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °Cno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 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 configuration11
SocketFCLGA1700FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)125 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900. 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++
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP++
Turbo Boost Max 3.0-+
Deep Learning Boost++

Security technologies

Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Key++
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR5DDR5-5600, DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size128 GB192 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth76.805 GB/s89.6 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 770Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.45 GHz1.65 GHz
Execution Units3232

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported44

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2160 @ 60Hz4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212
OpenGL4.54.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900.

PCIe version5.0 and 4.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes2016

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.

i5-12600K 17.43
i9-14900 30.35
+74.1%

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.

i5-12600K 27683
i9-14900 48205
+74.1%

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.

i5-12600K 2481
i9-14900 2874
+15.8%

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.

i5-12600K 11855
i9-14900 17436
+47.1%

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.

i5-12600K 9381
i9-14900 12284
+30.9%

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.

i5-12600K 55462
i9-14900 82492
+48.7%

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i5-12600K 15722
i9-14900 18728
+19.1%

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.

i5-12600K 4.73
i9-14900 2.41
+96.3%

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.

i5-12600K 30
i9-14900 57
+88.6%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i5-12600K 2555
i9-14900 4793
+87.6%

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.

i5-12600K 275
i9-14900 315
+14.5%

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.

i5-12600K 3.31
i9-14900 3.8
+14.8%

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.

i5-12600K 12.8
i9-14900 18.5
+44.5%

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.

i5-12600K 6239
i9-14900 12359
+98.1%

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.  

i5-12600K 148
i9-14900 222
+50%

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.  

i5-12600K 334
i9-14900 359
+7.5%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i5-12600K 12797
i9-14900 17395
+35.9%

Blender(-)

i5-12600K 190
+44.7%
i9-14900 131

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i5-12600K 1904
i9-14900 2140
+12.4%

7-Zip Single

i5-12600K 5944
i9-14900 7276
+22.4%

7-Zip

i5-12600K 64260
i9-14900 101652
+58.2%

WebXPRT 3

i5-12600K 293
i9-14900 315
+7.5%

CrossMark Overall

i5-12600K 1637
i9-14900 2133
+30.3%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.43 30.35
Recency 27 October 2021 8 January 2024
Physical cores 10 24
Threads 16 32
Power consumption (TDP) 125 Watt 65 Watt

i9-14900 has a 74.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 140% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and 92.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i9-14900 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-12600K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-12600K and Core i9-14900, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i5-12600K
Core i5-12600K
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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i5-12600K or Core i9-14900, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.