You won’t regret upgrading to the latest generation of Intel 12th generation CPU – because it just can’t get any better! The power you’ll feel when you utilize this cutting-edge technology is second-to-none. You’ll love every minute spent playing your favorite games with the most recent generations of chips – and without spending too much money! Our comparison today will show you just how good these newest parts are in relation to what was released before them.
We’ll cover all of these specs in detail. From what they are to how much they cost, you’ll know it all before it’s time for you to decide which one is right for you.
General Specifications
Let’s take a quick look at what sets the 12th Generation apart from its predecessor before getting down to brass tacks
| 12th Generation | 11th Generation | |
| Socket | LGA 1700 | LGA 1200 |
| Codename | Alder Lake | Rocket Lake |
| Architecture | Cyprus Cove | HybridArchitecture |
| Max No. of Cores | Up to 8 Performanceand Efficiency Coreseach | Up to 8 Cores |
| L1 Cache | 80 KB per P core,96 KB per E core | 80 KB per core |
| L2 Cache | 1.25 MB per P core2 MB per E core | 512 KB per core |
| L3 Cache | Up to 30 MB, shared | Up to 16 MB, shared |
| Integrated GPU | UHD 770,UHD 730UHD 710 | UHD 750,UHD 730 |
| DMI Version | 4.0 (up to x8) | 3.0 (x8) |
| DMI Speed | 16 GT/s | 8 GT/s |
| PCI Express | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Memory Support | DDR5, DDR4 | DDR4 |
| Thunderbolt | 4.0 Supported | 4.0 Supported |
| Max No. of SATA6 GBPs Ports | 8 | 6 |
| Max No. of Displays | 4 | 3 |
| Wi-Fi Support | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6/Wi-Fi 6E |
| Launch Date | 16th March, 2021 | 4th November,2021 |
Intel’s processors are available in four form factors: SFF, DT (Dual-Core), QD (Quad-Core) and HQ (6-core).
First off, the 12th generation Intel Core processors involve both P and E cores; an improvement over previous generations of processor architecture. Not only does this include a more advanced 10nm manufacturing process known as Intel 7, but it also comes with improved performance when compared to 11th Gen CPUs. This includes support for DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6E.
Alder Lake
Intel recently released Alder Lake – its latest generation of CPU architecture. These CPUs were launched on 4th November 2021 at Intel Architecture Day 2022.
It comes with many improvements such as high-performance architecture from Intel and the latest upgrades to hardware. These are some of the changes we’re going to talk about.
Intel unleashed its latest range of Alder Lake Xeon CPUs at Computex this year and we were lucky enough to catch a sneak peek.
See this table? It covers all you need to know about our latest chip model- the Alder Lake 12th Generation chips. Along with their specs like maximum memory support, we’ve also listed which chipset they’ll work best with so you can make sure your motherboard has compatibility with these new high-tech CPU models.
Intel 600 Series Chipset
Same as the launch of Rocket Lake last year, Intel introduced four new chipsets for their new Alder Lake CPUs which come in various price points. They are Z690, H670, B660, and H670.
The difference between these two boards lies in the fact that CPU overclocking is only supported on Z690, but not H610. Memory channels are different too; H610 only has one, but Z690 and H670 have 2. And finally, there’s DMI 4.0 – 8 lanes for Z690 or the other boards which offer half this amount of bandwidth at 4 lanes each.
Hybrid Core Architecture
While the Lakefield CPUs may not have been able to compete with AMD processors, Alder Lake brings a whole new level of innovation for power efficiency. The K and KF series SKUs incorporate the company’s newest Hybrid Core Architecture, which separates processing tasks between two different types of cores; one made for more performance-intensive tasks and another reserved strictly for less intensive ones.
In the name of saving money and space, Intel fitted two different cores on a single CPU die – one for performance purposes, and another for efficiency purposes.
So far Intel has announced a 50% increase in multithreaded performance for the 12900K processor at an equal power level as the i9-11900K. They also claim a 16% increase in single-threaded performance for their Alder Lake P cores when compared to Rocket Lake cores, but only if you’re running them at the same frequency.
Though it was at first uncertain if it would provide enough competition against AMD’s newest chips, Intel eventually proved its worth by bringing forth the world’s first Hybrid CPU architecture. While they started off slow with just 1266MHz base clock speeds, they progressively improved until they were able to match or exceed even the most powerful of processors released by rivals.
Performance Cores
The performance cores are built on Intel’s new Golden Cove microarchitecture. It has a boost of 19% in IPC over its predecessor Cypress Cove and features the biggest improvement in 10 years.
A single P core is nearly four times the size of an efficiency core. A single P Core can support hyperthreading and has two threads. These high-powered processors are best suited for heavy workloads such as gaming and rendering; they will also draw more energy while they’re running because they are meant to handle these types of demanding tasks.
So, Intel states that they have made significant improvements to their performance cores through design innovation. They claim the new design allows for wider, deeper, and smarter processing of information than ever before.
Wider is defined as the number of decoders increased from four to six, but also an increase in micro-operations per cycle (μop/cycle).
Deeper refers to an increase in the micro-operations cache from 2.25K to 4K, which provides higher performance with less time spent accessing memory.
Numbers don’t back up Intel’s Smarter claim; however, Intel did point out Improved branch prediction accuracy and A smarter code prefetch mechanism when describing how it is so ‘smarter.’
Efficiency Cores
Do you want more efficiency from your computer? The efficiency cores will provide you with just that! Efficiency Cores (E cores) are based on Intel’s Gracemont microarchitecture. A single Gracemont core outperforms a single Skylake core by 40% at the same power level. Alternatively, a single Gracemont core can deliver the same performance as a Skylake core at 40% less power.
Efficiency scores are put together in groups of four, with one thread for each core. These cores are best for handling the lighter jobs and running the small background processes because they’re made for multitasking. While Efficiency Cores are great at handling these smaller jobs, P Cores take care of everything else.
Intel’s E cores are made for power efficiency and high-throughput performance with an expansive front end, a wide back end, and a semiconductor design that has been designed for the latest transistor technologies.
In this table, we see the difference between single-core and multi-core CPUs.
| Performance Core | Efficiency Core |
| Based on Golden Cove microarchitecture | Based on Gracemont microarchitecture |
| Physically Larger | Physically Smaller |
| High-Performance Core with Higher Power Consumption | Less performance delivered at lower power |
| Supports Multithreading | No Multithreading |
| Optimized for Single-Threaded Performance | Optimized for Multi-Threaded Performance |
| Up to 80 KB L1 Cache | Up to 96 KB L1 Cache |
| Up to 1.25 MB L2 Cache | Up to 2 MB L2 Cache |
Which type of core do you need?
These cores will be managed by Intel’s Thread Director Technology, and cooperate with Microsoft for a Task Scheduler in Windows 11. This technology allows these cores to be managed efficiently; for instance, the performance cores stay idle when light tasks such as browsing or 1080P streaming are running – but enable themselves when it comes time to really get things done.
New i3, Celeron, and Pentium Chips
Unlike Rocket Lake, which did not feature any new i3, Celeron or Pentium chips; Alder Lake introduces us to two new i3 chips, and one Pentium and Celeron chip each. All these CPUs have different variants – differentiated by an F or K suffix – with all the specific details of each detailed below.
Alder Lake Xeon CPUs
Recent leaks of the block diagram for Intel’s W690 chipset show that it supports Intel’s Alder Lake Xeon CPUs. Those Alder Lake Xeon CPUs are codenamed Sapphire Rapids.
The W680 chipset will support Intel’s new Xeon w33000 series as well as the rest of the new lineup – running on both LGA 1707 and 1700 sockets. This chipset has been featured in some online European retailers since it was announced early this year.
So far, we know very little about what these new Xeon processors will entail other than the vague release date.
Integrated Graphics
The latest Intel graphics for your computer! Featuring the innovative Xe-LP microarchitecture, Alder Lake GT1 Integrated Graphics will transform your experience! You’ll be able to see games in their full glory and play them without lag or interruption. If you’re looking for some extra power while playing in Full HD (1080p), UHD 770 provides a performance difference of up to 8%.
Integrated graphics or iGPUs are never found on K and KF CPUs; they are instead found on the lower-end processors like the Core i3 and Core M lines. The much higher-end processor models such as the Core m7, m8, and m9 all feature Graphics cards while they vary in features from each other. When comparing integrated graphics across generations, Intel has always shown an improvement in computer speed but some critics say this improvement isn’t enough.
Multicore Enhancement
With the new Multicore Enhancement feature enabled on the K series of Intel chips, you are able to achieve much greater speeds than when it was first advertised. Keep in mind that this is only available for those who invest in a high-quality CPU cooling system. As you may know, this feature isn’t available for Intel’s past generations – making it a huge game-changer in comparison to their performance when measured against one another.
DDR5 Support
Intel has released its latest chip, the Alder Lake processors, which are powered by DDR5 memory. This will be supported on every motherboard chipset.
DDR5 memory comes with an extensive list of improvements when comparing it to its predecessor, DDR4 memory. These include increased capacity per module, increased base frequency, and lower power consumption. However, despite these changes in physical properties, the practicality behind this new technology falls short. The new level of data transfer speed has a minimal effect on system performance; however, it does come at a cost – costing twice as much as DDR4 memory modules do and coming outfitted in motherboards that are no cheaper than before either!
PCIe 5.0
PCIe stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, a high-speed bus connecting all of your computer’s peripherals. It can transmit data at 32 gigabytes per second!
The next-generation PCIe 5.0 is set to double the speeds of its predecessor, that being at a massive 8 GB/s per lane! This means, despite only having 8 lanes, you can achieve a maximum of 128 GB/s! And with this doubling of speed and capacity comes an increase in power efficiency so now your graphics card can run off just a single connector instead of two.
So far, there’s nothing out there that can take advantage of this latest iteration of PCIe technology. Even though you might need fewer lanes for something like the RTX 3090 – who needs a new kind of RAM when you can get double-digit speeds from something old? Samsung was the first to announce new versions of their popular SSDs which offer twice as much speed as before – without costing you an arm and a leg!
Rocket Lake
Intel’s new generation of CPUs, called Rocket Lake, was introduced in 2020. With no major jumps in computing power despite being based on the company’s newest architecture, it has been considered a disappointment for many investors.
Cypress Cove
Intel recently revealed their newest mobile architecture, which is also known as Sunny Cove. However, this device carries an original size of 10 nm whereas Sunny Cove features a new size of 8 nm. This discrepancy makes it impossible for Cypress Cove to offer anything new besides improved efficiency over previous generations. Furthermore, comparing this new product line to the AMD Ryzen 5000 series shows how Intel cannot compare when it comes to sheer power.
When Intel had to move production from 10nm processors to older node size, they were limited to only 8 cores – two less than before. However, this did not stop them from increasing the thread count across all variants and delivering some pretty powerful options.
Intel 500 Series Chipset
The Intel 500 series chipsets are here. Featuring up to 12 cores and 16 threads, these processors come in 4 different variants for you to choose from – Z590, H570, B560 and H510. These motherboards will also support Intel’s 10th Generation (Comet Lake) chips since they’re based on the same socket LGA 1200.
This chipset gives us several features we never knew we needed until now, such as support for USB 3.2 20Gbps, DMI 3.0 x8 with double the bandwidth (16 GT/s), as well as Wi-Fi 6E and Thunderbolt 4. Our motherboard manufacturers couldn’t keep up either! With so many boards out there missing these expensive additions, it’s no wonder how we got here; but let me tell you something – these are worth every penny! With an extension of memory overclocking to lower-end chipsets like H570 and B560; all of us can get in on the action without breaking the bank this time around.
Thunderbolt 4.0
Thunderbolt is a new kind of interface made to power up your laptop as well as its other components. It can also speed up the transfer rates when it comes to data transfer between different devices. Intel has recently released Thunderbolt 4.0 which allows you to connect an external display or graphics card without sacrificing portability while still ensuring high-performance levels.
Thunderbolt 4.0 offers no improvements in speed over its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3.0, but it does bring some new and beneficial features to the table. With a minimum data rate requirement of 32 GB/s instead of 16 GB/s, this advancement brings about better compatibility for different types of displays – supporting up to two 4K screens or one 8K screen at 60Hz (double the refresh rates available with Thunderbolt 3.0). Plus, there are usually more ports found on TB4 docks than those made for TB3 devices, which is an advantage when looking for external storage solutions.
Wi-Fi 6E
After years of research, we created the perfect processor for all your computing needs – at Rocket Lake! The CPU can handle every fast-paced task you throw at it without skipping a beat. Designed for maximum speed and efficiency, this powerful CPU will give you smooth performance for everyday tasks or intense gaming sessions.
Integrated Wi-Fi 6E can be found on some of the more expensive motherboards. But if you don’t want to buy a new motherboard, there are also many Wi-Fi 6E adapters you can find on the market.
Gaming and Productivity
Now let’s take a look at how these new processors stand up against the previous generation. Intel has released the i9-12900K, i7-12700K, and i5-12600K, which are all pretty much-improved versions of their predecessors – the i9-11900K, i7-11700K, and the i5-11600K respectively. But before we dive into comparing each one individually, let’s quickly discuss what sets them apart from one another.
12900K vs 11900K
| 12900K | 11900K | |
| Cores (Threads) | 8P, 8E (24) | 8 (16) |
| Base Frequency | 3.2 GHz for P core2.4 GHz for E core | 3.50 GHz |
| Turbo Frequency | 5.2 GHz for P core3.9 GHz for E core | 5.3 GHz |
| Total Cache | 30 MB | 16 MB |
| Base Power | 125W | 125W |
| Turbo Power | 241W | NotAdvertised |
| Price Today | $610 | 388$ |
12700K vs 11700K
| 12700K | 11700K | |
| Cores (Threads) | 8P, 4E (20) | 8 (16) |
| Base Frequency | 3.6 GHz for P core2.7 GHz for E core | 3.6 GHz |
| Turbo Frequency | 4.9 GHz for P core3.8 GHz for E core | 5.0 GHz |
| Total Cache | 25 MB | 16 MB |
| Base Power | 125W | 125W |
| Turbo Power | 190W | NotAdvertised |
| Price Today | $384 | $345 |
12600K vs 11600K
| 12600K | 11600K | |
| Cores (Threads) | 6P, 4E (16) | 6(12) |
| Base Frequency | 3.7 GHz for P core2.8 GHz for E core | 3.9 GHz |
| Turbo Frequency | 4.9 GHz for P core3.6 GHz | 4.9 GHz |
| Total Cache | 20 MB | 12 MB |
| Base Power | 125W | 125W |
| Turbo Power | 150W | NotAdvertised |
| Price Today | $279 | $215 |
All these tests are carried out with DDR4 memory, and AMD’s RX 6900XT. The OS is Windows 11.
Gaming Benchmarks
Before we dive into our benchmark results, let’s take a quick look at what Intel promised in regards to performance;
So, the newest model Intel Core i9-12900K has been rated as the best when it comes to performance. In comparison with its rival AMD Ryzen 5950X, it has only lost out in one aspect – Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Now, let’s see what our benchmarks show us.
Age of Empires IV
In the 3DMark 11 Performance preset test, both processors showed gains of up to 15%. In this regard, they take top honors in comparison to Intel’s previous-generation processors. That being said, high degrees of variance still exist between the two processors – and so these numbers aren’t representative of how well one performs against another – there were some significant drops from an Intel Core i7 9700K rocket chip as opposed to its rival Alder Lake variant.
Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 chips from the 12th generation perform marginally better than those from the 11th generation but shows fewer differences in low frame rates.
Cyberpunk 2077
Our Cyberpunk benchmarks showed us remarkable similarities among its scores – if anything, there was a noticeable difference between 12600K and 11600K.
F1 2021
In F1 2021, we can see an improvement in the average frame rate, but there’s hardly any difference between %1 low and average frames per second.
Guardians of the Galaxy
When we looked at the generational differences between Xbox One and PS4 performance, it becomes clear that they’re almost identical.
Hitman 3
In Hitman 3, there was very little difference -except for the 12600K- but it showed much improved average FPS over the 11600K.
Rainbow Six Siege
In Rainbow Six Siege, the 12600K is shown to be an improvement from its predecessors with higher fps and lower frame drops.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we noticed little variation in performance between the Intel Core i7-9700K and its predecessor. This was also true for most other processors we tested (Core i9-9900K up to Core i5-9400). However, there was a significant increase in performance with the Intel Core i3-8100 vs the Intel Core i3-8350K when it came to heavy rendering tasks.
Watch Dogs: Legion
Our benchmarks show that the 12th Generation processors are much faster than their predecessors. The Intel Core i3-12600K has the biggest performance jump.
Average Across 10 Games
To summarize our benchmark testing, we will average out the Average FPS as well as the %1 Lows across 10 different games, to come up with an accurate measure of performance improvement.
Averaging the benchmarking results of the 10 games, we find that there is an FPS boost of around 15 frames per second for the i7 (8.9%) and i9 (8.1%) CPUs over the previous Generation. The i5-12600K (14.6%), on the other hand, shows a much larger leap over its predecessor, i5-11600K. Looking at every game individually, we can see that the biggest differences are recorded in Rainbow Six Siege, Age of Empires IV, and F1 2021 – all of which show massive improvements when it comes to graphical features and loading time when using this newer CPU available now from Intel!
Productivity Benchmarks
These are the benchmark results from my gaming sessions. Now, let’s see how they compare to my work performance.
Cinebench R23 Multicore
In our Cinebench R23 Multicore test, the Alder Lake CPUs were able to achieve an incredible 75% improvement over its predecessor. Out of the two variants available for purchase, the 12900K was shown to beat out its counterpart by a landslide.
Cinebench R23 Single Core
Our recent testing has shown that the latest CPU generation can outperform its predecessor significantly in single-core tasks – demonstrating this fact even further through our Cinebench R23 Single-Core benchmark.
Adobe After Effects 2022
Puget Systems benchmarked the Alder Lake chips against Rocket Lake ones, and found them to be significantly more powerful.
Adobe Photoshop 2021
In our Cinebench R23 Multicore test, the Alder Lake CPUs were able to achieve an incredible 75% improvement over its predecessor. Out of the two variants available for purchase, the 12900K was shown to beat out its counterpart by a landslide.
Adobe Premiere Pro 2021
According to the Adobe Premiere Pro benchmark, the Intel Core i7-8700K was able to outperform its predecessors. This was also true for the Intel Core i5-8600K when compared to other processors tested.
Blender
Performance has greatly improved for the Intel Core i7-12900K with an increase of 15% over the previous generation. The Core i7-12700K and Core i7-12600K were also able to produce much better results than before.
Corona 1.3
Finally, in our latest Corona 1.3 Benchmark, the 12900K takes the lead from its predecessor with an increase of 10%. The 12700K and 12600K follow suit taking 7% and 6% respectively to best their predecessors.
Here, we see how big of an improvement in speed there has been since the release of Intel’s i5-12600K chip compared to its predecessors.
Power Draw
Now, let’s take a look at how much total power each generation consumes in comparison to one another.
In this passage, we can see that the Alder Lake i5 and i7 show significant improvements in power efficiency as compared to their predecessors. For example, the power efficiency for the i5 system has increased by 4.3%, but for the i7 it has increased by 5.2%. However, when looking at the performance of processors such as the i9, one will notice no changes whatsoever in regards to power efficiency due to its largely ineffective design.
11th Generation vs 12th Generation Processors
On the one hand, we love how affordable these CPUs are; on the other hand, performance lags behind competing models.
12900K vs 11900K
Given the current market trend of this processor, purchasing an Intel Core i9 12900K is out of the question. Originally priced at a whopping $610, with tremendous competition from AMD Alder Lake processors, one can buy it on Amazon for less than $400 – sacrificing almost 60% off its original cost. The performance gap between these two CPUs is significant in terms of productivity usage; however, in a gaming environment, they vary little to none. This means if gamers solely want to play games, then they should go ahead and purchase AMD Alder Lake instead; even though you’re giving up some pretty significant features such as enterprise-level encryption capabilities and modern-day computing needs – AMD will save you over $200.
12700K vs 11700K
The 12700K has been proving to provide better value for the money in comparison to its predecessor, the 11700K. These differences manifest themselves most prominently during heavy workloads. Other important factors are the improved gaming performance – which is up around 9% – and an increase in power effi ciency. All this leads us to conclude that it might make sense if you were debating between these two processors, considering all this information we’ve given you about how similar they’re in terms of raw processing power but with vastly different costs when it comes down to it.
12600K vs 11600K
How much better does the 12600K sound? This new processor has improved 15% when it comes to gaming, which is substantially better than its predecessor. In productivity tasks too, this chip shined bright – increasing 4.3%. Plus, there’s a whopping $70 in savings if you choose this over its rival!
Why Consider Alder Lake?
Intel unveiled their newest line of processors which go by the name Alder Lake. The reason this lineup is so great is that it features a hybrid architecture design paired with Intel’s newest 10nm processing node – something no other company has done before in desktop CPUs. It also features great upgrades when it comes to I/O options, boasting support for DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 transfer speeds, while also sporting Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6E technologies which are becoming more mainstream these days among PC users.
Alder Lake has brought us affordable CPUs for all sorts of people. For those looking to game, they provide the newer i3 chips which are perfect if you’re on a budget but still want to play games at a decent quality. If you are looking for something more sophisticated and powerful, then try upgrading from an older Pentium or Celeron CPU to one of their newer, high-end ones.
Why Consider Rocket Lake?
When comparing Rocket Lake to its predecessor, Alder Lake, there isn’t much of a difference. It looks like this lake will follow suit in the inevitable failure that took place when Intel tried to rebound after the release of AMD’s newest line of processors called Ryzen 5000.
It might not be worth it to take this route because, despite the drastic price cuts, there are no benefits to being with Rocket Lake. The best model only cost about a hundred dollars less than the cheapest model from Alder Lake. In addition, you’ll need an expensive motherboard in order to work seamlessly with one of these processors, so in the end, it isn’t worth it when all is said and done.
Is 12th Generation Worth Upgrading From 11th Gen
Intel’s Alder Lake shakes up the game-changer, generation-leap for CPU markets everywhere! Especially when it comes to upgradability and efficiency – this processor has left me believing that AMD might just fight back from here. But at the moment, this product stands out among all others: it’s worthy of consideration if you’re building a new system! When it comes to upgrading from your current Rocket Lake processor without spending too much – it doesn’t hurt to invest in another one instead.
