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Intel BX8071512600K

Core i5-12600K

Average Bench: 109% (61st of 1407)

Based on 101,563 user benchmarks.  Device: BFEBFBFF00090672 Model: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-12600K

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]

Poor: 100%Average: 109% Great: 117%
Gaming
Gaming 109%
UFO
Desktop
Desktop 110%
UFO
Workstation
Workstation 111%
UFO

Popular builds with this CPU

Outstanding average bench

The Intel Core i5-12600K averaged 8.7% higher than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This is an excellent result which ranks the Intel Core i5-12600K near the top of the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. Quad Core Speed 736Pts
Avg. Single Core Speed 194Pts

Very good consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Intel Core i5-12600K is just 17.5%. This is a relatively narrow range which indicates that the Intel Core i5-12600K performs reasonably consistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Memory Latency 80Pts
Avg. Octa Core Speed 1,223Pts

Average Bench

(Based on 101,563 samples)
Rank 61109%
Min Avg Max
69.7 Memory 80 91.1
180 1-Core 194 207
358 2-Core 382 416
114% 219 Pts
Min Avg Max
672 4-Core 736 813
1,095 8-Core 1,223 1,367
119% 979 Pts
Min Avg Max
1,607 64-Core 1,743 1,926
108% 1,743 Pts
User Benchmarks BenchNormalHeavyServer
The fastest CPU (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
LGA1700, 1 CPU, 10 cores, 16 threads
Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.4 GHz (avg)
114% Outstanding
Memory 89
1-Core 186
2-Core 384
116% 220 Pts
4-Core 743
8-Core 1,237
121% 990 Pts
64-Core 1,774
110% 1,774 Pts
CPUSocket, 1 CPU, 10 cores, 16 threads
Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.2 GHz (avg)
114% Outstanding
Memory 86.1
1-Core 200
2-Core 400
119% 229 Pts
4-Core 755
8-Core 1,285
124% 1,020 Pts
64-Core 1,800
111% 1,800 Pts
U3E1, 1 CPU, 10 cores, 16 threads
Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.4 GHz (avg)
112% Outstanding
Memory 92.6
1-Core 196
2-Core 386
119% 225 Pts
4-Core 700
8-Core 1,236
117% 968 Pts
64-Core 1,808
112% 1,808 Pts
U3E1, 1 CPU, 10 cores, 16 threads
Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.25 GHz (avg)
108% Outstanding
Memory 76.1
1-Core 189
2-Core 377
111% 214 Pts
4-Core 748
8-Core 1,284
123% 1,016 Pts
64-Core 1,789
111% 1,789 Pts
U3E1, 1 CPU, 10 cores, 16 threads
Base clock 3.7 GHz, turbo 4.4 GHz (avg)
108% Outstanding
Memory 75.3
1-Core 192
2-Core 386
112% 218 Pts
4-Core 747
8-Core 1,286
123% 1,017 Pts
64-Core 1,819
113% 1,819 Pts
101,563 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 70,572,307 CPUs tested

 Prices

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MSRP ≈ $290 @ launch in Oct '21
EbayDE €1784 mins
AmazonDE €1956 months
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Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Typical Core i5-12600K Builds (Compare 21,918 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings
Gaming
Gaming 90%
Nuclear submarine
Desktop
Desktop 111%
UFO
Workstation
Workstation 92%
Nuclear submarine

Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 - €157

CPU
Core i5-12600KIntel  €178Bench 109%, 101,563 samples6,497x
GPU
RTX 3080Nvidia  €833Bench 79%, 577,680 samples2,296x
RTX 3070Nvidia  €585Bench 62%, 963,187 samples2,183x
RTX 3070-TiNvidia  €449Bench 66%, 332,087 samples1,838x
SSD
980 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung  €172Bench 345%, 452,996 samples1,675x
970 Evo Plus NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung  €107Bench 287%, 869,653 samples1,401x
980 NVMe PCIe M.2 1TBSamsung  €87Bench 229%, 329,695 samples1,271x
RAM
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3600 C18 2x16GBCorsairBench 90%, 101,975 samples886x
Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x16GBCorsair  €68Bench 85%, 86,372 samples831x
CMW32GX4M2D3600C18 2x16GBCorsairBench 89%, 95,273 samples746x
EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 43% - Average Total price: €1,340

Popular Core i5-12600K compatible motherboards:

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Processor Rankings (Price vs Performance) June 2025 CPU Rankings

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]

Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
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  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

CPUPro
Avatar level
2,119

Official site ark.intel.com/...

12th generation Alder Lake processor...

Added 3 years ago.
DEU-User
Avatar level
6,017

Excellent (edit your comment) Add link

3 months ago.

USA-User
Avatar level
10,270

Excellent

3 days ago.

Great CPU for mid range gaming. For the price it delivers really good performance and is a viable option for cheaper pc builds. Just pair it with a RTX 3060 TI and it works great.

Comment 

People may think i7-i9 make difference, will they are right but with a low price like this and a great performance even the performance difference is not that and the price is lower than i7-i9. Then why being a boomer? BUY i5-12600kf/k ;}—Jul '22

Comment 

This CPU is amazing. For $250 you can get a processor that performs better than the i7-11700k. the i5-12600k is even better than the i9-11900k with faster speeds (barely) and more cores. this thing is impressive. I love my 12600k—Jul '22

Comment 

Best bang for the buck CPU available, even today. Pair it with an RTX 4070 and enjoy the frames—Jul '24

CAN-User
Avatar level
5,196

Liked

1 day ago.

Comment 

Destroys the 5800X despite having only 6 performance cores while the 5800X has 8. —Nov '21

NLD-User
Avatar level
3,698

Excellent

2 months ago.

Does more than enough for gaming (up to 144hz at least) and common use. For this price an amazing buy.

Comment 

Best proc. I've ever owned. And believe me there have been a few. Good combo with a RTX 3080.—May '22

PHL-User
Avatar level
3,598

Excellent

2 months ago.

its updated unlike 4th generation because 4th cant run win 11

MYS-User
Avatar level
3,415

Excellent

9 months ago.

Good for money. Its even can beat 11900k. Very recommended for 2022

COL-User
Avatar level
3,088

Excellent

13 months ago.

using it for3D CAd Design (32Gb DDR4) works great.

BEL-User
Avatar level
2,690

Excellent

2 month ago.

Comment 

i5-12600K is an amazing value/performance build combined with MSI PRO Z690 + 32GB DDR4 3600MHZ + GTX 1070TI —Jul '22

CPUPro
Avatar level
2,119

Good

3 years ago.

CRI-User
Avatar level
1,282

Poor

23 months ago.

It's really good and helped me a lot.

QAT-User
Avatar level
982

Good

10 months ago.

Way better, its much cheaper and may be the same as the latest core i7

pcterrorizer_
Avatar level
14

Excellent

3 years ago.

its pretty good for gaming and what not.

owiehxebcnxn
Avatar level
10

Excellent

3 years ago.

best value

eliteplantation
Avatar level
8

Good

3 years ago.

Pros: Great balance of price and performance, doesn't require a ridiculous cooler to perform well Cons: DDR5 is EXPENSIVE and DDR4 options are limited, but that's pretty much it. Equals: Does what it needs to do without breaking the bank

nguyenpc
Avatar level
8

Excellent

2 years ago.

Good for gamming

59014347
Avatar level
8

Excellent

2 years ago.

Wonderful cpu! Can handle everything thrown at it.

ocelotel
Avatar level
6

Good

12 months ago.

Never saw any performance issues so i don't know how to rate it, but its good. If your gonna run a server or game this is a good CPU.

df1819
Avatar level
4

Excellent

3 years ago.

good

cophn
Avatar level
2

Good

3 years ago.

ive heard good reviews about this!

ApeSlayer
Avatar level
2

Excellent

6 months ago.

insane performance for cost. watch other people spend almost 3x more for almost the same performance.

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Speed Comparisons

vs Intel Core i5-12600K
vs Intel Core i5-14600K
vs Intel Core i5-12400F
vs Intel Core i7-14700K
vs Intel Core i5-13600K
vs AMD Ryzen 5 3600
vs AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
vs Intel Core i3-12100F
vs Intel Core i3-13100F

1407 Processors (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list

See how consistently different CPUs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Processors FAQ
AMD vs Intel: Gaming performance 2012-2021
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The Best
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-12600K €178Nvidia RTX 4060 €308WD Black SN850X M.2 2TB €153
Intel Core i5-14600K €212Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti €441WD Black SN850X M.2 1TB €107
Intel Core i5-12400F €108Nvidia RTX 4070 €568Crucial T700 M.2 4TB €432
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