Ultra 7 255H vs i7-12700

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-12700
2022, $349
12 cores / 20 threads, 65 Watt
17.04
Core Ultra 7 255H
2025, $514
16 cores / 16 threads, 26 Watt
17.51
+2.8%

Core Ultra 7 255H outperforms Core i7-12700 by a minimal 3% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking434412
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation37.5730.30
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Power efficiency28.11no data
DesignerIntelIntel
ManufacturerIntelno data
Architecture codenameAlder Lake-S (2022)Arrow Lake-H (2025)
Release dateJanuary 2022 (3 years ago)1 January 2025 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$349$514

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-12700 has 24% better value for money than Ultra 7 255H.

Performance to price scatter graph

Detailed specifications

Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H 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 cores12 (Dodeca-Core)16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Performance-cores86
Efficient-cores48
Low Power Efficient-coresno data2
Threads2016
Base clock speed2.1 GHz4.4 GHz
Boost clock speed4.9 GHz5.1 GHz
L1 cache80 KB (per core)no data
L2 cache1.25 MB (per core)no data
L3 cache25 MB (shared)24 MB
Chip lithographyIntel 7 nm5 nm
Die size215 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature100 °C110 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H 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 configuration1no data
SocketFCLGA1700FCBGA2049
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt26 MB + 24 MB

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H. 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++
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
TSX+-
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP+-
Turbo Boost Max 3.0++
Deep Learning Boost++
Supported AI Software Frameworks-OpenVINO™, WindowsML, DirectML, ONNX RT, WebNN

Security technologies

Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR5-4800, DDR4-3200DDR5-6400
Maximum memory size128 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth76.8 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel UHD Graphics 770Intel® Arc™ 140T GPU
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.5 GHz2.25 GHz
Execution Units32no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported44

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096 x 2160 @ 60Hz4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz (HDMI 2.1 TMDS)7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz (HDMI 2.1 FRL)
Max resolution over eDP5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz3840 x 2400 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212.2
OpenGL4.54.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H.

PCIe version5.0 and 4.05.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes2028

Synthetic benchmarks

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.

i7-12700 17.04
Ultra 7 255H 17.51
+2.8%

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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.

i7-12700 30053
Samples: 5309
Ultra 7 255H 30873
+2.7%
Samples: 716

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.

i7-12700 2375
Ultra 7 255H 2539
+6.9%

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.

i7-12700 10985
Ultra 7 255H 13541
+23.3%

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.

i7-12700 9171
Ultra 7 255H 11500
+25.4%

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.

i7-12700 60892
Ultra 7 255H 65269
+7.2%

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.

i7-12700 2.9
+25.5%
Ultra 7 255H 3.64

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-12700 3151
+12.7%
Ultra 7 255H 2796

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.

i7-12700 272
Ultra 7 255H 309
+13.6%

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.

i7-12700 14.5
+74.7%
Ultra 7 255H 8.3

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.  

i7-12700 172
+11.4%
Ultra 7 255H 155

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.  

i7-12700 347
Ultra 7 255H 355
+2.2%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.04 17.51
Physical cores 12 16
Threads 20 16
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 26 Watt

i7-12700 has 25% more threads.

Ultra 7 255H, on the other hand, has a 2.8% higher aggregate performance score, 33.3% more physical cores, and 150% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Intel Core i7-12700 and Intel Core Ultra 7 255H.

Note that Core i7-12700 is a desktop processor while Core Ultra 7 255H is a notebook one.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i7-12700
Core i7-12700
Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
Core Ultra 7 255H

Other comparisons

We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.

Community ratings

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


4.3 1377 votes

Rate Core i7-12700 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.2 108 votes

Rate Core Ultra 7 255H on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Comments

Here you can give us your opinion about processors Core i7-12700 and Core Ultra 7 255H, agree or disagree with our ratings, or report bugs or inaccuracies on the site.