Intel Core i5-12600K
VS
Intel Core i5-12500
Intel Core i5-12600K
VS
Intel Core i5-12500

Which to select

It is time to pick the winner. What is the difference between Intel Core i5-12600K vs Intel Core i5-12500? What CPU is more powerful? It is quite easy to determine – look at comparison table. The processor with more cores/ threads and also with higher frequency is the absolute winner!

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Who will win between Intel Core i5-12600K vs  Intel Core i5-12500. The general performance of a CPU can easily be determined based on the number of its cores and the thread count, as well as the base frequency and Turbo frequency. The more GHz and cores a CPU has, the better. Please note that high technical specs require using a powerful cooling system.

3.40 GHz
Frequency
3.00 GHz
10
CPU Cores
6
4.90 GHz
Turbo (1 Core)
4.60 GHz
Yes
Hyperthreading
Yes
Yes
Overclocking
No
Turbo (6 Cores)
4.00 GHz
4.50 GHz
Turbo (10 Cores)
no data
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
normal
6x Golden Cove
A core
6x Golden Cove
4x Gracemont
B core
--
--
C core
--

CPU generation and family

Intel Core i5-12600K
Name
Intel Core i5-12500
Desktop / Server
Segment
Desktop / Server
Intel Core i 12000
CPU group
Intel Core i 12000
Intel Core i5
Family
Intel Core i5
12
Generation
12
Intel Core i5-11600K
Predecessor
Intel Core i5-11500
--
Successor
--

Internal Graphics

Some manufacturers complement their CPUs with graphic chips, such a solution being especially popular in laptops. The higher the clock frequency of a GPU is and the bigger its memory, the better. Find a winner - Intel Core i5-12600K vs Intel Core i5-12500. 

Intel Iris Xe Graphics 32 (Alder Lake S)
GPU name
Intel UHD Graphics 770
0.40 GHz
GPU frequency
0.30 GHz
1.45 GHz
GPU (Turbo)
1.45 GHz
12
Generation
11
12
DirectX Version
12
32
Execution units
32
256
Shader
256
3
Max. displays
3
10 nm
Technology
10 nm
Q4/2021
Release date
Q4/2021
16 GB
Max. GPU Memory
--

Hardware codec support

Here we deal with specs that are used by some CPU manufacturers. These numbers are mainly technical and can be neglected for the purpose of the comparison analysis.

Decode / Encode
h264
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
JPEG
Decode / Encode
Decode
VP8
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
VP9
Decode / Encode
Decode
VC-1
Decode
Decode / Encode
AVC
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode
AV1
Decode

Memory & PCIe

These are memory standards supported by CPUs. The higher such standards, the better a CPU’s performance is.

DDR4-3200DDR5-4800
Memory type
no data
256 GB
Max. Memory
no data
2
Memory channels
no data
No
ECC
no data
5.0
PCIe version
no data
20
PCIe lanes
no data

Encryption

Data encryption support

Yes
AES-NI
Yes

Memory & AMP; PCIe

Memory type
DDR4-3200 DDR5-4800
Max. Memory
128 GB
ECC
No
Memory channels
2
PCIe version
5.0
PCIe lanes
20

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP), sometimes called thermal design point, is the maximum amount of heat generated by a computer chip or component (often a CPU, GPU or system on a chip) that the cooling system in a computer is designed to dissipate under any workload.

100 °C
Tjunction max.
100 °C
--
TDP up
--
--
TDP down
--
125 W
TDP (PL1)
65 W
228 W / 56 s
TDP (PL2)
117 W

Technical details

16
CPU Threads
12
20.00 MB
L3-Cache
18.00 MB
10 nm
Technology
10 nm
Alder Lake S
Architecture
Alder Lake S
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
Virtualization
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
LGA 1700
Socket
LGA 1700
Q4/2021
Release date
Q1/2022
x86-64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
x86-64 (64 bit)
--
L2-Cache
7.50 MB
--
Part Number
--
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
ISA extensions
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+

Devices using this processor

You probably know already what devices use CPUs. These can be a desktop or a laptop.

Unknown
Used in
Unknown

Compatibility

Technologies and extensions

Virtualization technologies

Memory specs

Peripherals

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is based on Cinema 4 Suite. It is the software used to create 3D forms. The benchmark runs for single-core test procedure without counting of hyperthreading ability.

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

It is the new version of the benchmark which is developed on the basis of Cinebench R15 (both versions are operated on the basis of Cinema 4 - the most popular 3D modeling software). Cinebench R20 is used for multi-core processor performance benchmark tests and hyperthreading ability.