Intel Core i9-12900K(F), Core i7-12700K and Core i5-12600K Review – Gaming in really fast and really frugal | Part 1

1 - Introduction, preface and test systems 2 - 720p - Gaming performance 3 - 720p - Power consumption and efficiency 4 - 1080p - Gaming performance 5 - 1080p - Power consumption and efficiency 6 - 1440p - Gaming performance 7 - 1440p - Power consumption and efficiency 8 - Overall evaluation of gaming performance 9 - Overall evaluation of power consumption and efficiency 10 - Summary and conclusion for gaming

Conclusion and conclusion

Even though today’s part 1 was all about gaming for now, this trend visible here (I may spoil that already) will more than continue tomorrow in part 2 with the real applications. Then we will also learn two more things. First, we’ll understand much better why Intel introduced this juggling act with the inflated PL1 and the lack of fallback to lower values in the first place, and second, we’ll be able to see performance differences of over 40% in some places in applications when it comes to mixed workloads, which games just can’t represent. To reduce Alder Lake purely to gaming would be really criminal.

But for now, let’s stay in the here and now and make peace with Intel’s new gaming cosmos. What I personally found so disturbing about Rocket Lake, turns into the opposite with Alder Lake S. That’s a feat in itself. Now, if you ask me about the most important things I can take away from today’s test, there are exactly two things. First of all, there is the really extremely reduced power consumption, which, together with the increased performance, represents a new level of CPU efficiency on the desktop. For that, first of all, chapeau.

The second highlight isn’t the increase in average FPS, which could have been much higher for other games in the selection, but something you can’t immediately see in every bar. Because even the FPS values alone are of no use if the percentiles are not correct. With up to a 10% lead in the average min FPS, Intel has once again raised the bar for a more balanced frame progression. This is also expressed in the significantly lower variances. You don’t have to be that much faster if everything runs much smoother and less stuttery in return. I really liked that.

The new, more stable and above all very flat heatspreader, which hardly bulges even after burn-in, is a real improvement and deserves all my respect. You even need up to 30% less thermal paste, which could probably cloud many a business model from the cooling pharmacy. But you can’t have everything, except cool of course. This even works with air again. There are also no hotspots like with the Ryzen CPUs. So this aspect is really oldschool again.

I don’t want to pre-empt tomorrow’s article, even though its conclusion will be very similar. Intel really deserves an award for these three CPUs, so personal sensitivities have no place in the conclusion. I’ll be sure to sort that out some other way. Still, I’ve refrained from giving it a buy tip because neither post-launch availability nor possibly hyperventilating prices are a calculable factor for me. But they deserve the Editor’s Choice, because it expresses my personal feeling best. I was practically forced to buy it in advance. Lucky for you.

Three CPUs, each actually occupying a different position. No matter if it’s the top model in the form of the Core i9-12900K(F), or “only” the Core i7-12700K, they will certainly make their target group happy. Even the “smaller” Core i5-12600K is anything but a cheapskate, but it not only competes with the Ryzen 7 5800X in gaming and not the Ryzen 5 5600X. That alone says a lot. So let’s be surprised tomorrow what else there is to report from the deep blue Alder Lake, I’ll cast my fishing rod already.

So what are all the upgraders and retrofitters doing? Those who own a Ryzen 9 don’t need the Core i9-12900K(F) as a pure side-grade, especially since the platform including the DDR5 memory, which is still difficult and expensive to procure, will rather be more expensive than planned and leaves many questions unanswered. The other two Alder-Lake CPUs are interesting for upgraders and newcomers who don’t have to save much. Only those who already own a Ryzen 7 5800X will also find it hardly worth it, unless they want to treat themselves to something big. However, a change would also not make sense for games above Full HD.

Intel will probably not take any existing customers from AMD in gaming, as long as they have CPUs from Zen2+. However, the tide will probably turn quickly for new customers if availability and prices for Alder Lake including the substructure are right and DDR4 motherboards also appear on the market at acceptable prices. It’s best to let it get to us and then judge.

The test samples are retail CPUs and were not provided by Intel. A voluntary signing of the NDA for the CPUs was not accepted by Intel due to lack of relevance, so I am purely voluntarily adhering to the CPU embargo periods (keyword collegiality). Motherboard and memory come from the respective manufacturers and were only provided on the condition that the embargo periods for these products were adhered to.