Intel’s latest 10-core i5-12600K Alder Lake desktop processor offers an impressive 50% 64-core performance improvement over it's predecessor. The 12600K combines six hyper-threaded Golden Cove P-cores with clock speeds up to 4.9 GHz and four energy efficient Gracemont E-cores for a total of 16 threads. Alder Lake CPUs have a new LGA 1700 socket which requires new cooler brackets and a new Z690 motherboard. Z690 brings several new features including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. Most Z690 boards will ship in both DDR4 and DDR5 variants. DDR4 is likely the better option, at least until DDR5 prices settle. With an MRSP of just $290 USD, the 12600K is both cheaper and faster than the competition in both single and, notably, multi-core performance. As a result, even AMD's prolific marketing infrastructure (youtube, reddit, forums etc.) will struggle to drive sales, at least until Zen 4 launches (est. late 2022). In the meantime, Intel's i5-12600K is the obvious choice for consumers that do not wish to pay over the odds for almost unparalleled performance in the majority of workloads including gaming. That said, gamers that already own a K series CPU from the 8th gen. or higher will see limited gains in the majority of titles when paired with a 3060 (or lower) tier GPU. In some cases (e.g. PUBG or Overwatch) gamers will see fewer frame drops by disabling the E-Cores all together. If recent history is a guide, stock levels at MSRP are likely to deplete rapidly. [Nov '21CPUPro]
Small, low power chip with four threads designed for everyday computing like word processing and web browsing. Limited in design by its slow front side bus speed of 667MHz single-channel RAM with a max capacity of 2GB, it will work best with lightweight systems like Ubuntu / Linux and Windows 7. Despite its age and low power design those two hyperthreaded cores are more than capable of seamless tasking, just don't try too much at once. Youtube in 480p is just fine, and given the tiny 10" screen most of these CPU's are bundled in you won't need much more than that anyway. Gaming? Not much is going to happen here, given the integrated GMA 3150 chip. Updates for these things stopped long ago so unless you want to get funky with some hacked drivers you won't get much action there. Still, older titles from the late 90's should be playable with low resolutions and settings. Think Halflife, Max Payne, Age of Empires, Starcraft and Diablo 2 and you'll have realistic expectations. Overall, a good (if limited) budget CPU for basic everyday use. [May '20boingk]
We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.