Intel’s 16-core flagship Alder Lake i9-12900K processor delivers a staggering performance improvement over it's predecessor (+70% 64-core). It features a new hybrid architecture which combines eight hyper-threaded performance cores with eight efficiency cores for a total of 24 threads. Alder Lake CPUs will require a new Z690 chipset which supports DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0. At an MRSP of $590 USD, the i9-12900K is aimed at power users who demand the best of the best. That said, Intel’s 10-core 12600K matches the 12900K’s performance for the majority of consumer use cases at a 50% price discount. [Nov '21CPUPro]
The 5800X3D has the same core architecture / IPC as the 5800X but it runs at lower clock speeds and has an extra 64MB of cache (96MB up from 32MB). This results in relatively low latency at 128MB because those transfers have a higher chance of remaining in cache. An unusually high proportion of early 5800X3D samples appear unable to boost above base clock, upcoming BIOS updates may fix this. Either way, for most real-world tasks performance is comparable to the significantly cheaper 5800X. Some very specific cache sensitive scenarios such as low res. canned game benchmarks with a 3090-Ti will benefit. Be wary of sponsored reviews with cherry picked games that showcase the wins and gloss over the losses. Also watch out for AMD’s army of Neanderthal social media accounts on reddit, forums and youtube, they will be singing their own praises as usual. AMD’s marketers continue to show more interest in this year’s bonuses than the longevity of the brand. Instead of focusing on real-world performance, they aim to dupe consumers with bankrolled headlines. The same tactics were used with the Radeon 5000 series GPUs. Zen 4 needs to bring substantial IPC improvements, rather than overpriced "3D" marketing gimmicks. New high end PC gaming builders have little reason to look further than the $260 12600K. Users with an existing AM4 build should wait just a few more months for better performance at lower prices with Raptor Lake or even Zen 4. The marketers selling expensive “3D” upgrades today will quickly move onto Zen 4 leaving unfortunate buyers stuck on an overpriced, 6 year old, dead-end, platform. [Mar '22CPUPro]
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 freeware 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 upgrades.