i5-12600K vs i7-6700K

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-6700K
2015
4 cores / 8 threads, 91 Watt
5.62
Core i5-12600K
2021
10 cores / 16 threads, 125 Watt
17.43
+210%

Core i5-12600K outperforms Core i7-6700K by a whopping 210% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking1149364
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.1943.97
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)Intel Core i5
Power efficiency5.8413.19
Architecture codenameSkylake (2015−2016)Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)
Release date5 August 2015 (9 years ago)4 November 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$339$289

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i5-12600K has 3595% better value for money than i7-6700K.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K 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)10 (Deca-Core)
Threads816
Base clock speed4 GHz3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed4.2 GHz4.9 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0DMI 4.0
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/s8 × 16 GT/s
Multiplier4037
L1 cache64 KB (per core)80K (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)20 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size122 mm2215.25 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)64 °C72 °C
Number of transistors1750 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-+
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K 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)91 Watt125 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K. 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++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
SIPP-+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0no data-
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K 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 i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3, DDR4DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size64 GB128 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth34.134 GB/s76.805 GB/s
ECC memory support-+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 530Intel UHD Graphics 770
Max video memory64 GBno data
Quick Sync Video++
Clear Video+no data
Clear Video HD++
Graphics max frequency1.15 GHz1.45 GHz
Execution Unitsno data32
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported34
eDP+no data
DisplayPort+-
HDMI+-
DVI+no data

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support+no data
Max resolution over HDMI 1.44096x2304@24Hz4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP4096x2304@60Hz5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort4096x2304@60Hz7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over VGAN/Ano data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX1212
OpenGL4.54.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K.

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.

i7-6700K 5.62
i5-12600K 17.43
+210%

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.

i7-6700K 8934
i5-12600K 27683
+210%

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.

i7-6700K 1506
i5-12600K 2483
+64.9%

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.

i7-6700K 4941
i5-12600K 11860
+140%

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.

i7-6700K 6531
i5-12600K 9381
+43.6%

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.

i7-6700K 25817
i5-12600K 55462
+115%

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.

i7-6700K 9037
i5-12600K 15722
+74%

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.

i7-6700K 6.66
i5-12600K 4.73
+40.8%

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.

i7-6700K 10
i5-12600K 30
+211%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-6700K 880
i5-12600K 2555
+190%

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.

i7-6700K 178
i5-12600K 275
+54.9%

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.

i7-6700K 1.97
i5-12600K 3.31
+68%

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.

i7-6700K 4.4
i5-12600K 12.8
+194%

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.

i7-6700K 5877
i5-12600K 6239
+6.2%

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.  

i7-6700K 55
i5-12600K 148
+171%

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.  

i7-6700K 205
i5-12600K 334
+62.8%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.62 17.43
Integrated graphics card 2.60 6.16
Recency 5 August 2015 4 November 2021
Physical cores 4 10
Threads 8 16
Power consumption (TDP) 91 Watt 125 Watt

i7-6700K has 37.4% lower power consumption.

i5-12600K, on the other hand, has a 210.1% higher aggregate performance score, 136.9% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 6 years, and 150% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

The Core i5-12600K is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-6700K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-6700K and Core i5-12600K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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