AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i5-12600K

Processor comparisons   28-09-2022
   Let's say there are difficulties with the choice of a CPU, you will solve them by reading the detailed tests AMD Ryzen 9 7950X vs Intel Core i5-12600K and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, streaming, video editing, machine learning, rendering. Here is useful information from different benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests such as PassMark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, SuperPi, PCMark 10, 3DMark, Prime95, Blender, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Furmark, MATLAB, VeraCrypt, Handbrake, RealBench, GeekBench 6, 5.2, 7zip, WPrime, UserBenchmark, AIDA64, Gears 5.
   Gaming performance of CPUs in:

Halo Infinite
Fortnite
Red Dead Redemption 2
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Borderlands 3
Watch Dogs Legion
Last Man Standing
DOOM: Eternal
Valorant
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Death Stranding
Apex Legends
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Overwatch
Cyberpunk 2077
Valheim
Rainbow Six Siege
Grand Theft Auto V
Fallout 76

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you already be able to know which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-12600K or AMD Ryzen 9 7950X.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Ryzen 9 7950X

69%

Core i5-12600K

60%

This parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Ryzen 9 7950X is 13% better than Core i5-12600K. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Ryzen 9 7950X

65%

Core i5-12600K

57%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And it is clear that this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because the cost of this processor reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a small game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: League of Legends (LOL), Control, Metro Exodus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Half-Life: Alyx, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, NBA 2K20, Forza Horizon 4, Ghostrunner, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Microsoft Flight Simulator, Monster Hunter World, Battlefield V, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	114.7	101.8
Valorant	130.3	115.7
Cyberpunk 2077	73.0	64.8
Apex Legends	122.5	108.7
Call of Duty Warzone	97.8	86.8
Overwatch	105.6	93.7
Red Dead Redemption 2	89.9	79.8
DOOM Eternal	65.2	57.8
Warzone	101.7	90.2
Assassin's Creed	109.5	97.2
Valheim	108.2	96.0

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. To be sure exactly how much performance the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Ryzen 9 7950X

45%

Core i5-12600K

53%

To make a final resolution on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i5-12600K is more energy efficient than the Ryzen 9 7950X since it has less power consumption: 170W vs. 125W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you want to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, machine learning, streaming, video rendering or video editing, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor includes all cores and threads that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that can use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X	Intel Core i5-12600K
Cinbench 15 Single-core	373	466
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	6089	3407
Cinbench 20 Single-core	895	1116
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	14547	7736
Cinbench 23 Single-core	2277	2611
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	39973	25497

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X	Intel Core i5-12600K
Single-Core	4815	6117
Multi-Core	64460	35696

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X	Intel Core i5-12600K
Single-Core	2324	2009
Multi-Core	26184	13528

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X	Intel Core i5-12600K
Announcement date	September 27, 2022	January 07, 2022
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Socket	AM5	FCLGA1700
Core name	Raphael	Alder Lake
Architecture	Zen 4	x86
Generation	5	12
Turbo Frequency	5.7 MHz	4.9 MHz
Frequency	4.5 MHz	3.6 MHz
Cores	16	10
Threads	32	16
Bus rate		8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count	12600 millions	10200 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	170 W	125 W
Memory type	DDR4	Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory		128 Gb
Memory Frequency	3200
Memory bandwidth		76.8 GB/s
L1 cache	1MB
L2 cache	16MB	9.5 MB
L3 cache	64MB	20 MB
Overclocking	Yes	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number	100-000000514 100-100000514WOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen 9 7950X is 19% better than Core i5-12600K in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Ryzen 9 7950X has 6 more core than Core i5-12600K. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is better: 28
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-12600K is better: 10
However, it should be realized that all the figures in the article above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of real owners of AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel Core i5-12600K before deciding which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• AMD Ryzen 9 7950X specs and review.

Intel Core i5-12600K - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Intel Core i5-12600K specs and review.