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AMD Ryzen 5 9600X vs Intel Core i5-12600K: Comparison
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Core i5-12600K separate most on l3 cache: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X at 32 MB, Intel Core i5-12600K at 20 MB, 38% in favour of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X. L2 Cache splits them by another 37%, this time favouring Intel Core i5-12600K. They match on 10 other specifications, including form factor, market segment and performance cores. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X scores 263 against 222 for the Intel Core i5-12600K, a lead of 16%.
Specs
| Specification |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Product Line | Ryzen | Core |
| Form Factor | Desktop | Desktop |
| Model Number | 9600X | i5-12600K |
| Codename | Granite Ridge | Alder Lake |
| TDP | 65 W | 125 W |
| iGPU | AMD Radeon Graphics (2 cores) | Intel UHD Graphics 770 |
| Market Segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Socket | AM5 | LGA 1700 |
| Socket Status | Current | Mature |
| Process Node | 4 nm | 10 nm |
| Performance Cores | 6 | 6 |
| Efficiency Cores | 0 | 4 |
| SMT Enabled | true | true |
| P-Core Base Clock | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| P-Core Boost Clock | 5.4 | 4.9 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | true | true |
| L2 Cache | 6 MB-37% | 9.5 MB |
| L3 Cache | 32 MB | 20 MB-37% |
| Base Power | 65 W | 125 W |
| Max Turbo Power | 88 | 150 |
| Memory Type | DDR5 | DDR5 or DDR4 |
| Max Memory Speed | 5600 | 4800 |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Max Memory Capacity | 256 | 128 |
| Integrated Graphics | Yes | Yes |
| iGPU Model | AMD Radeon Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 770 |
| iGPU Compute Units | 2 | 32 |
| Copilot Plus Certified | false | false |
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 5.0 |
| PCIe Lanes | 24 | 20-17% |
| Launch MSRP | 279 | 289 |
| Retail Availability | Boxed Retail | Boxed Retail |
| Architecture | Zen 5, Ryzen 9000 Series | Alder Lake |
| Cores | 6 | 10 |
| Threads | 12 | 16 |
Benchmarks
Measured results, not specifications. Percentages are the gap to the leading product in each test.
Blender Cycles (CPU)
Blender 4.5, Blender Open Data (CC0). Median of monster + junkshop + classroom, combined samples/min.
Blender renders 3D scenes by tracing light through them, which loads every core at once. The score measures sustained multi-core throughput, so a chip that wins here can still lose at gaming, where one or two fast cores matter more. Figures come from Blender's Open Data project, which places no restriction on reuse, and we publish the median of every submission for that chip on the same Blender version.
Verdict
Intel Core i5-12600K
7.9 / 10 Expert Rating
The Intel Core i5-12600K is an unlocked overclockable chip, well suited to enthusiast gaming and productivity builds.