Still, a $100 price difference is a significant gap. The Core i9-12900K actually sells for closer to $650, while the Ryzen 9 5950X is around $750. At the suggested price, the Core i9-12900K is $210 cheaper than the 5950X, though prices are closer at most retailers. Power draw is higher on the Core i9-12900K, but the price is lower.

The 5950X only requires a single 8-pin CPU connector, while the Core i9-12900K requires two. Still, that’s well below the Core i9-12900K. The 5950X has a rated wattage of only 105W, though it can draw closer to 200W when overclocked. For power, the Intel chip draws a lot more - up to 241 watts at max turbo. The two specs I can compare are price and power. The Core i9-12900K is technically a 16-core processor, but only eight of those cores are comparable to AMD. The P-cores handle the big, important tasks, while the E-cores clean up everything in the background. Instead of 16 big cores, it uses eight performant (P) cores and eight efficient (E) cores. That’s because the Core i9-12900K uses two types of cores. Both the Core i9-12900K and AMD’s Ryzen 9 5950X are 16-core processors, but those cores couldn’t be more different. Not only are AMD and Intel using different architectures, but AMD’s most recent chips don’t use a hybrid architecture like Intel’s do.

In terms of performance, the two chips are identical.Ĭomparing the specs to AMD does effectively nothing. The KF-series chip lacks integrated graphics, but it’s slightly cheaper, too. There are two variations available, both of which are unlocked for overclocking. The Core i9-12900K is the flagship Alder Lake chip, sitting above the Core i5 and Core i7 models. Alder Lake, however, shows that Intel is indeed back. AMD has surpassed Intel in the desktop and server market, and Apple ditched its longtime partnership with Intel to design its own chips that are faster and more efficient. It also represents a company that has rested on its laurels for long enough to lose its thunder. It represents not only a new processor generation, but also the first release under a new CEO, the first time Intel has used its 10nm manufacturing process on desktop, and the first time we’ve seen a hybrid CPU architecture in a slot-in processor. The Core i9-12900K is Intel’s flagship Alder Lake chip, and after thoroughly testing it, it has earned a spot on our list of the best processors you can buy.

Overclocking, clock speeds, and thermals.

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