Intel Core i9-12900K vs. i9-11900K: Should you upgrade?

Next-gen operation

Intel Core i9-12900K

Last-gen woes

Intel Core i9-11900K

Information technology's incredible what Intel managed to achieve with the move between 11th and twelfth Gen processors. The newer Alder Lake CPUs are calorie-free years alee of their predecessors, including the Core i9-12900K, the company's newer flagship. It has amend efficiency, DDR5 RAM back up, and is vastly more powerful.

$620 at Newegg

Pros

Vastly more powerful
Better overall value
PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support
Hybrid cadre pattern for better efficiency

Cons

More expensive
Requires new motherboard

The Core i9-11900K wasn't particularly exciting even at launch. This was mainly released to keep Intel ticking over and then it could scroll out 12th Gen CPUs and have something to reply for AMD's Ryzen 9 serial of processors. If you don't have one yet, nosotros'd strongly urge you to buy the 12900K, simply if you lot practice we besides suggest you consider upgrading.

$490 at Newegg

Pros

Can exist found for less
Notwithstanding decent enough performance

Cons

Only supports up to PCIe four.0 and DDR4
Less efficient
Worse value overall

Intel did a fine job with Alder Lake, and the Intel Core i9-12900K is a flagship we can happily recommend for gaming, production, and enthusiast builds. If you're considering whether it's best to go with the latest or save some money and cull a 11900K, I'm here to tell y'all that an actress $100 or and then is well worth it for one of the best CPUs for your PC.

Intel Core i9-12900K vs. i9-11900K: Specs

	Intel Core i9-12900K	Intel Core i9-11900K
Cores	xvi (8P, 8E)	viii
Threads	24	16
TDP	125W	125W
Base clock	P: 3.2GHz E: 2.4GHz	iii.5GHz
Heave	P: 5.1GHz E: 3.9GHz	5.1GHz
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	5.2GHz	v.3GHz
Overclockable	Aye	Yes
L3 cache	30MB	16MB
Manufacturing node	10nm	14nm
Memory	DDR4-3200 DDR5-4800 Upward to 128GB	DDR4-3200 Upwards to 128GB
Integrated graphics	Intel UHD 770	Intel UHD 750
Socket	LGA 1700	LGA 1200

twelfth Gen Intel is a articulate winner

Intel finally managed to depart from its tried, tried, tried ... and tried and tested 14nm manufacturing process. Alder Lake, the codename for 12th Gen processors, is congenital using Intel vii (basically a fancy play on marketing jargon for a 10nm process equivalent to rival TMSC's 7nm) and information technology brings considerable improvements over 11th Gen CPUs.

But Intel didn't just stop at that place. 12th Gen Intel processors are besides the first desktop-class CPUs to sport a new hybrid cadre design. It follows the aforementioned "big.Lilliputian" hybrid design principle nosotros've seen with ARM fries similar the M1 from Apple tree. Instead of having sixteen powerful cores that all ramp upward clock speeds when nether load, Intel has used eight functioning cores with hyper-threading, equally well equally iv efficiency cores for the Core i9-12900K.

This mix of high-performance Gilded Cove and more power-efficient Gracemont cores brings together very power-efficient single-threaded cores that handle low-priority tasks with more traditional PC-grade multi-thread, high-operation cores that can handle everything else.

It's easier to think of Golden Cove cores every bit handling all the more important tasks like apps, games, and other vital processes. Gracemont cores use less energy and aren't every bit powerful, but are more than capable of taking all other non-essential processes to costless up valuable resources for Gilt Cove cores. This is why we take a core and thread configuration that seems a little out of identify in 2022 (16 cores and 24 threads).

Compared to the older Core i7-11700K processor, we're looking at a substantial viii-cadre improvement with an additional viii threads. These better performance cores, as well as the additional viii efficiency cores, allow the Cadre i9-12900K to utterly destroy the 11900K in benchmarks and other tests.

The clock speeds betwixt the two are similar, starting at 3.5GHz (and 3.2GHZ for the 12900K) and boosting to five.3GHz (5.2GHz for the 12900K) with Turbo Boost Max 3.0. The Core i9-11900K does have a slight advantage here with higher clock speeds, simply even this isn't enough to compensate for all the improvements Intel made to how everything works.

Merely then there'south too total support for DDR5 RAM (we rounded up the best RAM for 12th Gen Intel CPUs) and PCIe 5.0, both of which bring notable improvements to bandwidth and speeds. Finally, the cache has been bumped from 16MB to 30MB, and the integrated graphics have been upgraded from the UHD Graphics 750 to the newer Intel UHD Graphics 770.

The better CPU past a clear mile

The new Alder Lake processors are fantabulous. Intel finally institute its footing and managed to hitting back at AMD's Ryzen success. If you need ultimate levels of efficient performance, look no further than the Core i9-12900K. Nosotros'd fifty-fifty recommend you completely upgrade from the older Core i9-11900K with a new motherboard, it's that good.

The improve choice

Intel Core i9-12900K

The best Intel processor

This is the best desktop-form processor Intel has released in a long fourth dimension. Information technology has everything yous demand for capable gaming or product PC builds, including plenty of cores (in a hybrid design) and the ability to heave loftier for excellent performance.

11th Gen Intel CPUs should exist avoided

If you're building (or buying) a new PC, it's amend to go with twelfth Gen Intel processors. If yous already accept an 11th Gen Intel CPU, nosotros'd recommend upgrading, specially if you've noticed some sluggish functioning of your current processor. The divergence between the Cadre i9-12900K and i9-11900K is dark and mean solar day.

Consigned to history

Intel Core i9-11900K

Intel Cadre i9-11900K

Information technology wasn't that bad

Intel was in a dark place with the launch of its 11th Gen processors. They were perfectly fine for daily utilise, only compared to what AMD was pushing out its fab partner, Intel was way behind. Even the newer Core i5-12600K blows the i9-11900K out of the h2o.

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Best motherboards for Intel Core i7-12700K 2022

All-time motherboard

All-time motherboards for Intel Core i7-12700K 2022

The Cadre i7-12700K can make adept use of the best motherboards with a Z690 chipset. Connect DDR5 RAM and the latest GPUs, and you've got 1 astonishing gaming machine. Here are some of our favorite boards.