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IntelBX8071512600K
IntelBX80623I72600K
$319
▲ 996,660 ▼

10 Cores, 16 Threads @3.7GHz, Alder Lake.
Release date: Q4 2021.

VS
▲ 767,514 ▼
 $319 

4 Cores, 8 Threads @3.4GHz, Sandy Bridge.
Release date: Q1 2011.

Effective Speed 
+54%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 249,096 user samples
Benchmark your CPU here
101,563 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 117% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 5 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 100% Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 2.35 GHz (avg)
Poor: 100% Great: 117%
SPEED RANK: 58th / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 109%
UFO
Desktop
Desktop 110%
UFO
Workstation
Workstation 111%
UFO
147,533 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 83% Base clock 3.4 GHz, turbo 4.7 GHz (avg)
Worst Bench: 56% Base clock 3.4 GHz, turbo 27,195,430 GHz (avg)
Poor: 56% Great: 83%
SPEED RANK: 410th / 1468
Gaming
Gaming 71%
Battleship
Desktop
Desktop 75%
Battleship
Workstation
Workstation 55%
Gunboat
Effective Speed
Effective CPU Speed 		109 % Much faster effective speed.
+54% 		70.6 %
Average Score 
+112%
Memory
Avg. Memory Latency 		80 Pts 87 Pts Slightly lower memory latency.
+9%
1-Core
Avg. Single Core Speed 		194 Pts Hugely faster single-core speed.
+111% 		91.8 Pts
2-Core
Avg. Dual Core Speed 		382 Pts Hugely faster dual-core speed.
+121% 		173 Pts
4-Core
Avg. Quad Core Speed 		736 Pts Hugely faster quad-core speed.
+149% 		295 Pts
8-Core
Avg. Octa Core Speed 		1223 Pts Hugely faster octa-core speed.
+188% 		424 Pts
Overclocked Score 
+84%
Memory
OC Memory Latency 		91.1 Pts 96 Pts Slightly lower OC memory latency.
+5%
1-Core
OC Single Core Speed 		207 Pts Much faster OC single-core speed.
+78% 		116 Pts
2-Core
OC Dual Core Speed 		416 Pts Hugely faster OC dual-core speed.
+84% 		226 Pts
4-Core
OC Quad Core Speed 		813 Pts Hugely faster OC quad-core speed.
+112% 		384 Pts
8-Core
OC Octa Core Speed 		1367 Pts Hugely faster OC octa-core speed.
+149% 		549 Pts
Value & Sentiment 
+154%
Market Share
Based on 68,936,156 CPUs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.72 % Hugely higher market share.
+454% 		0.13 %
Value
Value For Money 		125 % Hugely better value.
+84% 		67.9 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		99 % Much more popular.
+30% 		76 %
Price
Price (score) 		$169 Much cheaper.
+47% 		$319
Nice To Haves 
+106%
Age
Newest 		36 Months Much more recent.
+78% 		166 Months
TDP
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 		125 Watts 95 Watts More energy efficient.
+24%
Cores
CPU Processing Cores 		10 cores Hugely higher core count.
+150% 		4 cores
Threads
CPU Processing Threads 		16 threads Hugely higher thread count.
+100% 		8 threads
Lithography
Manufacturing process 		10 nm Much newer manufacturing.
+69% 		32 nm
Base Clock
Base Clock Speed 		3.7 GHz Slightly faster base frequency.
+9% 		3.4 GHz
Turbo Clock
Turbo Clock Speed 		4.9 GHz Faster turbo frequency.
+29% 		3.8 GHz
64-Core
OC Multi Core Speed 		1926 Pts Hugely faster OC 64-core speed.
+245% 		558 Pts
64-Core
Avg. Multi Core Speed 		1743 Pts Hugely faster 64-core speed.
+299% 		437 Pts
Specifications 
Series
CPU Architecture 		Alder Lake Sandy Bridge
Socket
Motherboard Socket 		FCLGA1700 LGA1155
Graphics
Integrated Graphics 		UHD 770 HD 3000
Conclusion 
Average Bench 109%
Average Bench 70.6%

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 '21 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

The i7-2600K Sandy Bridge processor is two generations old and nearly three years out of date. The numerous owners of this superb processor should feel in no hurry to upgrade as it's still one of the fastest consumer processors, even by today's standards. The benchmark figures indicate that in terms of real-world performance this processor is only 5% slower than the third generation Ivy Bridge i7-3770K, not bad considering its age. That said new buyers will find both better energy efficiency and marginal performance improvements elsewhere. [Feb '12 CPUPro]

MORE DETAILS

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The Best
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-12600K $169Nvidia RTX 4060 $296WD Black SN850X M.2 2TB $135
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