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Intel Core i5-6600 vs Intel Core i3-12100 gaming benchmark

Intel Core i5-6600 vs Intel Core i3-12100

Processor comparisons   05-02-2023
   Perhaps you are thinking about choosing a processor, you will be able to make a decision after reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i5-6600 vs Intel Core i3-12100 and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, rendering, streaming, machine learning, video editing. Here is useful information from several benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in special testing software like Furmark, PassMark, RealBench, MATLAB, AIDA64, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Gears 5, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, UserBenchmark, Blender, PCMark 10, Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, WPrime, SuperPi, VeraCrypt, 7zip, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), Blender, Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve Studio, 3DMark.
   And how good the processors are in games:
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Watch Dogs Legion
  • Death Stranding
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
  • Valheim
  • Rainbow Six Siege
  • Borderlands 3
  • World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
  • Fortnite
  • Overwatch
  • DOOM: Eternal
  • Fallout 76
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Apex Legends
  • Assassin's Creed Valhalla
  • Valorant
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Last Man Standing
  • Halo Infinite

   After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i3-12100 or Intel Core i5-6600.


 
Intel Core i5-6600
Intel Core i3-12100

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark
Core i5-660051% Core i3-1210056%
This value shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Core i3-12100 is 8% better than Core i5-6600. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.
Core i5-660052% Core i3-1210054%
The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Monster Hunter World, Metro Exodus, NBA 2K20, Ghostrunner, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Battlefield V, Control, DOTA 2A, Forza Horizon 4, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Horizon Zero Dawn, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Half-Life: Alyx, Hitman 3.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite91.796.0
Valorant104.3109.1
Cyberpunk 207758.461.1
Apex Legends98.0102.6
Call of Duty Warzone78.281.8
Overwatch84.488.4
Red Dead Redemption 271.975.3
DOOM Eternal52.154.6
Warzone81.385.1
Assassin's Creed87.691.7
Valheim86.590.6
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 comparing 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. So 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 compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.


Power consumption
Core i5-660054% Core i3-1210096%
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 i3-12100 is more energy efficient than the Core i5-6600 since it has less power consumption: 65W vs. 60W. 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 streaming, machine learning, programming, video editing or video rendering, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to work, 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
Intel Core i5-6600 Intel Core i3-12100
Cinbench 15 Single-core166267
Cinbench 15 Multi-core5971958
Cinbench 20 Single-core381642
Cinbench 20 Multi-core14114447
Cinbench 23 Single-core10411503
Cinbench 23 Multi-core374114658

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance
Intel Core i5-6600 Intel Core i3-12100
Single-Core22943516
Multi-Core610720521

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance
Intel Core i5-6600 Intel Core i3-12100
Single-Core10681740
Multi-Core36677859

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most useful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last in your computer. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will still be able to produce maximum FPS even in the newest games. It turns out that there is no longer a need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

Intel Core i5-6600 Intel Core i3-12100
Announcement dateSeptember 27, 2015January 07, 2022
TypeDesktopDesktop
SocketFCLGA1151FCBGA1744
Core nameSkylakeAlder Lake-U
Architecturex86x86
Generation612
Turbo Frequency3.9 MHz4.3 MHz
Frequency3.3 MHz1 MHz
Cores44
Threads48
Bus rate8 GT/s8 GT/s
Bit6464
Lithography14 nm7 nm
Transistors count2460 millions9800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)65 W60 W
Memory typeDDR4-1866/2133, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.35VUp to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s
Max. Memory64 Gb128 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth34.1 GB/s76.8 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache5 MB
L3 cache6 MB12 MB
OverclockingNoNo
Supports ECCNoNo
Part numberExpansion Options
In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i5-6600 is 69% better than Core i3-12100 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-6600 is better: 2
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i3-12100 is better: 31
   However, it should be realized that the summary data in the table above do not mean that taking them into account you should completely trust a simple comparison of these figures. Better to watch the testing video and read the reviews of real owners of Intel Core i5-6600 and Intel Core i3-12100 before making a decision which of the processors to buy for gaming.
Intel Core i5-6600 - all data

•  Cinebench r15 score
•  Cinebench r20 score
•  Cinebench r23 score
•  GeekBench 6, 5.2 score
Intel Core i3-12100 - all data

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


Intel Core i5-6600 Processor Comparisons
• Vs Core i3-10100F
• Vs Ryzen 7 2700
• Vs Core i3-12100F
• Vs Ryzen 3 2200G
• Vs Core i3-9100F
• Vs Ryzen 3 1200
• Vs Core i5-9600K
• Vs Core i5-10600K
• Vs Ryzen 3 3200G
• Vs Core i5-11400
• Vs Ryzen 7 1700
• Vs Core i3-10100
• Vs Core i9-10900F
• Vs Ryzen 5 2400G
• Vs Ryzen 5 2600X
• Vs Ryzen 5 2600
• Vs Ryzen 5 1600
• Vs Ryzen 5 3400G
• Vs Core i7-9700K


Intel Core i3-12100 Processor Comparisons
• Vs Core i3-12100T
• Vs Core i3-12100F
• Vs Core i5-11600K
• Vs Core i5-1155G7
• Vs Ryzen 7 4700GE
• Vs Core i5-1250P
• Vs Ryzen 7 PRO 4700G
• Vs Core i9-10900F
• Vs Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G
• Vs Core i9-10900
• Vs Ryzen 7 5700U
• Vs Core i9-7900X
• Vs Core i7-1260P
• Vs Ryzen 9 4900U
• Vs Core i9-9900X
• Vs Ryzen 7 5800
• Vs Xeon Gold 6130T
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600G
• Vs Apple M1
• Vs Core i5-12500TE
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600X
• Vs Ryzen 7 5800U
• Vs Core i7-1270P
• Vs Core i5-12500T
• Vs EPYC 7F32
• Vs Core i9-10910
• Vs Core i5-12500E
• Vs Core i9-10900X
• Vs Core i7-1280P
• Vs Core i5-12500
• Vs Core i5-11500H
• Vs Core i9-9820X
• Vs Core i5-11600KF
• Vs Ryzen 7 PRO 4750GE
• Vs Core i5-1240P
• Vs Core i5-11500B
• Vs Core i3-12100E
• Vs Ryzen 7 4700G
• Vs Ryzen 9 4900HS
• Vs Core i5-11600
• Vs Core i7-10700KF
• Vs Core i9-9900KS
• Vs Core i7-10700K
• Vs Core i7-7900X
• Vs Core i5-11500
• Vs Core i5-11400H
• Vs Ryzen 9 4900H
• Vs Ryzen 7 4800H
• Vs Ryzen 7 4800HS
• Vs Core i5-11400
• Vs Core i9-9900KF
• Vs Core i3-1220P
• Vs Ryzen 5 3600XT
• Vs Core i9-9900K
• Vs Core i5-11400F
• Vs Xeon E5-2680R v4
• Vs Xeon E5-2697R v4
• Vs Ryzen 5 3600X
• Vs Xeon W-1290T
• Vs Core i7-9800X
• Vs Core i3-12100TE
• Vs Core i3-12300
• Vs Core i3-12300T
• Vs Ryzen 7 PRO 5875U
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 5675U
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 5650GE
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 5650G
• Vs Core i7-1265UL
• Vs Core i5-1250PE
• Vs Ryzen 9 7900X
• Vs Ryzen 7 7700X
• Vs Ryzen 5 7600X
• Vs Core i9-12900KS
• Vs Core i9-13900K
• Vs Core i9-12900K
• Vs Core i9-12900KF
• Vs Core i9-12900F
• Vs Core i7-13700K
• Vs Core i7-13700KF
• Vs Core i5-13600K
• Vs Core i5-13600KF
• Vs Core i3-N305
• Vs Core i3-13100
• Vs Apple M2
• Vs Apple M2 Pro
• Vs Core i5-13600
• Vs Core i5-13600HX
• Vs Core i9-13950HX
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600
• Vs Ryzen 9 7900
• Vs Ryzen 7 7700
• Vs Ryzen 5 7600
• Vs Core i9-13900T
• Vs Core i9-13900F
• Vs Core i7-13700F
• Vs Core i7-13700T
• Vs Core i5-13600T
• Vs Core i5-13500H
• Vs Core i5-13500T
• Vs Core i5-13400F
• Vs Core i5-13400T
• Vs Core i3-13100T
• Vs Core i3-13100F
• Vs Ryzen 7 5700X
• Vs Ryzen 5 5500
• Vs Core i3-13300
• Vs Core i3-13300F
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 5350GE
• Vs Ryzen 9 7950X
• Vs Ryzen 9 7950X3D
• Vs Ryzen 9 7900X3D
• Vs Ryzen 9 5900
• Vs Ryzen 7 5700GE
• Vs Ryzen 7 5800X3D
• Vs Core i5-7500
• Vs Core i3-8100
• Vs Ryzen 5 4500
• Vs Core i3-6100
• Vs Core i5-6500T
• Vs Ryzen 9 3900XT
• Vs Core i5-7600K
• Vs Core i7-5820K
• Vs Ryzen 9 5900X
• Vs Ryzen 7 5800X
• Vs Ryzen 7 3700X
• Vs Ryzen 9 3900X
• Vs Ryzen 9 5950X
• Vs Ryzen 9 5600X
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600GE
• Vs Ryzen 3 5300GE
• Vs Ryzen 5 4600G
• Vs Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE
• Vs Apple M1 Ultra
• Vs Ryzen 3 PRO 4355G
• Vs Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• Vs Ryzen 5 5600X3D
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