INTEL - CLIENT CPU CORE I7-12700KF 3.60GHZ SKTLGA1700 25.00MB CACHE BOXED

Product Information

Now, due to the hybrid core design of Alder Lake, the 12700KF along with most of the 12th-gen processors are better of running Windows 11 and its improved thread scheduler for optimal performance. Therefore we've tested this and all other CPUs using a fresh install of Windows 11. That also includes Ryzen CPUs, especially after discovering that Ryzen gaming performance is typically a little faster using the more modern operating system. Whatever the case may be, Intel crushes AMD in this benchmark as the 12700KF was 34% faster than the 5800X. As you can see, the new Core i7 performs exceptionally well relative to the 5800X and in particular its predecessor, the 11700K. Basically we're looking at a 9% performance boost over the Ryzen 7 part and then 21% over the 11700K, so another impressive round of results for Intel. Starting with Cinebench R23, we find some brutal results for AMD, here the 12700KF is seen delivering almost 50% more performance than the 5800X and 54% more than its predecessor, the 11700K. In fact, the new 12th-gen Core i7 processor was 11% faster than the 5900X, a part that costs ~25% more.

Max Turbo Frequency refers to the maximum single-core processor frequency that can be achieved with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology. See www.intel.com/technology/turboboost/ for more information and applicability of this technology. The new Core i7 processor was outright faster in Hitman 3, though the margins aren't extreme with the 12700KF up to 4% faster than the 5800X. Once again we're finding that despite the often massive difference in core-heavy applications, gaming performance is as close as it gets. Processors that support 64-bit computing on Intel® architecture require an Intel 64 architecture-enabled BIOS. Like Cinebench R23, the Chromium Code Compile results are just brutal for AMD. Here the 12700KF delivered 44% more performance than the 5800X and even managed to edge out the more expensive 5900X as it was just 12% slower than the Core i9-12900K. It's also incredible to see a 36% generational leap from the 11700K. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is heavily GPU limited when running high-end CPUs so again, the 5800X and 12700KF delivered the same level of performance, which was also comparable to other high-end CPUs such as the 12900K.For testing 12th-gen Core series processors we've used the MSI Z690 Tomahawk Wi-Fi DDR4 motherboard. The Ryzen test system uses the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero motherboard with the latest BIOS update, and of course, all the latest Windows updates and drivers have also been installed. Finally, the last test system note worth mentioning is that all application and gaming data has been collected using the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card. Cyberpunk 2077 is extremely GPU demanding so even with the dialed down quality settings that we're using here, the 12700KF matched the majority of the high-end CPUs featured in this test.

AMD had the edge on the Rainbow Six Siege testing, beating the 12700KF by a mere 3% margin, so gaming performance between these two CPUs looks to be nearly identical so far. As expected, the single core performance is very mighty, here we're measuring P-core performance and this places the 12700KF at a 23% performance advantage when compared to the 5800X. Some of the larger margins like what was seen in Age of Empires IV will evaporate almost entirely when jumping up to 1440p. When it comes to CPUs and gaming, good enough really is enough. The 12700KF did budget ahead for the average frame rate with a 5% margin, which is still rather insignificant, and the 1% low performance was identical. So even in the relatively CPU intensive Watch Dogs Legion we're looking at comparable performance between these two processors. As we said in our 12900K review, there's no tangible difference in gaming performance between most of these high-end CPUs as you'll almost always be GPU limited in today's games, even with an RTX 3090 or 6900 XT at 1080p with dialed-down quality settings.

Intel® Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

The new Core i7 processor proves to be a beast in the Corona benchmark, delivering 30% greater performance when compared to the 5800X. In fact, it was just 9% slower than the 5900X and 17% slower than the 12900K. A very solid result overall and this puts AMD in a tough position where they might be forced to slash pricing.