Intel Core i9 12900K review: the performance of the Alder Lake flagship

For a long time nothing passed the Ryzen CPUs from AMD. Intel is now striking back with its twelfth generation of processors. The test reveals how strong.

Life is not about how much you give out, but about how much you can take and still carry on, the great Rocky Balboa already knew how to report. Hardly any other chip manufacturer has had to put in as much as Intel in recent years. On the one hand, the main competitor AMD wrestled the traditional forge from Santa Clara from heaps of market share because the price-performance structure of the Ryzen CPUs surpassed the Intel processors. On the other hand, Apple, one of the largest buyers of Intel chips, decided from now on to rely on its own processors. Intel seems to have overcome both setbacks with the twelfth generation of its core processors – and that required a lot of innovation.

Intel Core i9 12900K: The technical details

This is primarily reflected in the architecture and manufacturing method of the Alder Lake processors. The twelfth generation of desktop CPUs is finally being produced using the 10 nanometer process, which means that Intel can accommodate more power in less space without the processors getting too hot and having to throttle their performance.

The architecture of the new Intel processors is much more interesting, because it is so groundbreaking for desktop CPUs that other chip manufacturers are likely to orientate themselves on it. For the first time, Intel has given its chips different computing cores, which are called performance and efficiency cores, or E and P cores for short.

Instead of accommodating as many “full-fledged” computing cores as possible on the chip, which only require a fraction of their full power in everyday work, simple tasks are now taken over by the efficient cores. Users are already familiar with this structure from ARM processors that work in smartphones or the new computers from Apple.

Hyperthreading? Not with all cores

the Intel Core i9 12900 K has a total of 16 computing cores, eight of which are performance cores and eight are efficiency cores. Logical: The performance cores clock higher than those trimmed for efficiency. Another distinguishing feature is that only the performance cores process two threads at the same time, i.e. have hyperthreading. This is how the somewhat crooked relationship between cores and threads comes about in the Intel Core i9 12900K, which has 16 cores but “only” 24 threads. The question now, of course, is how does this new architecture affect performance?

However, performance always results from the interaction of hardware and software. And here it applies to the Alder Lake processors Please note that only Windows 11 is able to tease out the full performance from the processors. This is due to the process planner of the operating system: Windows 10 simply does not know for which program it should use the efficient and which the high-performance cores. And Intel has another innovation up its sleeve: Alder Lake processors support both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. You can only get the most out of your performance with DDR5 memory. However, it is questionable whether the hefty surcharge to DDR4 is really worth it.

Test system and test procedure

Enough about the theory: the test system is a XMG Sector Intel,in cooperation with Intel from bestware.com was made available for test purposes. The Intel Core i9-12900K processor is supported by 32 gigabytes of DDR5 RAM from Corsair and an RTX 3080 from Nvidia. The Asus ROG Strix Z690-F, on which a 1 terabyte NVMe SSD from Samsung is located, serves as the motherboard. Because the new Intel processors work particularly well with Windows 11 harmonize, Microsoft’s latest operating system does its job on the high-end computer.

The Intel Core i9 12900K in the test system.

Lights up green, works quickly: the Intel Core i9 12900K in the test.

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  • Mainboard: Asus ROG Strix Z690-F
  • Random access memory: 32 gigabytes Corsair Dominator Platiunum 52000 MH DDR5
  • Graphic card: ASUS TUF RTX 3080 10 G Gaming V2 10 GB
  • Storage: 1 TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe
  • Processor cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite
  • Operating system: Windows 11

The had to prove his computing power Intel Core i9 12900K with “Counter Strike – Global Offensive” and “Dota 2” in two e-sports titles. There are also benchmarks from the triple AAA games “Borderlands 3” and “Total War: Warhammer 2”. In order to avoid the graphics card “slowing down” the processor, all games ran on the lowest possible graphics settings and that in Full HD resolution. As synthetic benchmarks, the Intel Core i9 12900K put up with Cinebench R23, Blender (BMW) and 7zip.

Intel Core i9 12900K: The test results

In order to present the most balanced performance report possible, the processor went through three runs for each game and benchmark. If a game did not have a benchmark integrated, as is the case with “Dota 2”, for example, that meant three offline test games with bots. The program “Frame View” recorded the average images per second and the mean value was calculated from the results of the three runs.

Inte Core i9 12900K: performance in esports titles

  • Dota 2“: 239 frames per second
  • Counter Strike – Global Offensive“: 681 frames per second (DX9 bench)

Both “Dota 2” and “Counter Strike – Global Offensive” are games that use the processor rather than the graphics card. The Intel Core i9 12900K is quite oversized for both titles. With “Dota 2” the maximum number of images per second is limited to 240. Noticeable frame drops were not noticeable at any time. Even when the game was heated up, the processor kept the 239 frames per second constant. The same applies in the game test of “Counter Strike – Global Offensive”. The Intel Core i9 12900K got an average of 681 frames per second in the benchmark. A gamer really couldn’t ask for more.

Performance in triple AAA titles

The Intel Core i9 12900K goes through a "Total War: Warhammer 2"-Benchmark.

Overall, the Intel Core i9 12900K ran through three “Total War: Warhammer 2” benchmarks and averaged 352.78 frames per second.

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  • Borderlands 3“: 178.84 frames per second
  • Total War: Warhammer 2“: 352.78 frames per second

Yes, both titles are getting on in years, but they are still very popular. And especially “Total War: Warhammer 2” is not exactly known for being gracious with the processors of its gamers. And yet the Intel Core i9 12900K achieved a strong average of 352.87 frames per second in the game’s in-house laboratory benchmark. In “Borderlands 3” the processor got an average of 178.84 frames per second with a frame timing of 5.59 milliseconds. A game that brings the Intel Core i9 12900K to its knees has yet to be developed.

Intel Core i9 12900K in benchmarks and rendering

  • Cinebench R23 single core: 1943
  • Cinebench R23 Multi Core: 25605
  • Blender BMW demo: 1: 28.47 minutes
  • 7zip: 65.391 seconds
The Intel Core i9 12900K runs through the single-core mode of Cinebench R23.

The Intel Core i9 12900K got 1943 points in the single-core test of the Cinebench R23 benchmarks. It reached a temperature of 93 degrees in the long-term stress test of all cores.

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The Core i9 12900K also delivered impressive values ​​in the synthetic benchmarks. The processor gets a value of 25605 points in the multi-core benchmark of Cinebench R23. In the single core run even strong 1943 points – absolute top values ​​for a CPU in this price range.

Intel Core i9 12900K in the test: The finished BMW Blender benchmark.

The Intel Core i9 12900K renders the BMW in the Blender benchmark in just 1:28 minutes.

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The Intel Core i9 12900K also renders the popular BMW demo by Mike Pan in the “Blender” modeling software equally impressive. The processor only needed 1: 28.47 minutes to model the graphic model.

Intel Core i9 12900K in the 7zip benchmark.

It took the Intel Core i9 12900K 65 seconds to compress 3847 megabytes ten rounds and then decompress them again.

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And the high-end CPU also cuts a fine figure with 7Zip: It took 65.391 seconds to compress 3847 megabytes and then decompress the data in ten runs. Results in 121.315 giga instructions per second (GIPS) when compressed and 141.399 GIPS when decompressed.

Intel Core i9 12900K: power consumption and temperature

However, the processor needs excellent cooling, as it reached a temperature of 93 degrees Celsius at the top. The fact that high processors need a decent external cooler is neither new nor unusual.

They also want to have a high-performance power supply built into the computer. The Intel Core i9 12900K pulled out a full 235.79 watts under full load. If, for example, an Nvidia RTX 3080 works with the processor in the computer, a premium power supply with around 850 watts of power should supply the computer with power. If you wanted to overclock it, you probably need more power. However, it is questionable which cooler relieves an overclocked Core i9 12900K from its heat.

The processor consumes a relaxed 68.24 watts on average during normal surfing and working. Makes an average of 152.02 watts. Under real conditions, the Intel Core i9 12900K should only very rarely run under full load, because none of the games exhausted the processor to the full. It looks different, for example, if you are looking for a CPU for modeling or video editing. Accordingly, Intel itself specifies the power consumption at 125 watts.

Intel Core i9 12900K: The conclusion

Intel is back – and how. With the Core i9 12900K, the chip manufacturer has regained the performance throne of AMD’s high-end processors. In terms of price, the Intel CPU ranks for 629 euros currently around 100 euros under the Ryzen 9 5950X from AMD. Second win for team blue. At the moment, gamers can ask for nothing more than to know that this processor is in their PC, that much is certain. However, you have to accept installing Windows 11 because the processor can only reach its full potential with the new operating system from Microsoft.

The reason for this is the innovative architecture of the chips, which the competition is likely to use as a guide in the future. Pity: Unfortunately, buyers have to accept the surcharge for DDR5 RAM if they want to exploit the full performance potential of the Alder Lake processors. The same applies to a decent cooling system, because the processor swallows a lot of power under full load. Therefore, the processor heats up enormously under full load. So be it: After years of monotony on the CPU market, consumers can look forward to fierce competition between Intel and AMD, in which Intel is currently ahead of the competition.

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