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Intel Core i9-12900K vs Intel Core Ultra 7 265K: Comparison
Intel Core i9-12900K and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K separate most on l2 cache: Intel Core i9-12900K at 14 MB, Intel Core Ultra 7 265K at 36 MB, 61% in favour of Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. PCIe Lanes splits them by another 17%, again favouring Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. They match on 11 other specifications, including form factor, market segment and performance cores. In Blender Cycles (CPU) the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 478 against 354 for the Intel Core i9-12900K, a lead of 26%.
Specs
| Specification |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Form Factor | Desktop | Desktop |
| Model Number | i9-12900K | 265K |
| Codename | Alder Lake | Arrow Lake-S |
| TDP | 125 W | 125W Base / 250W Max Turbo |
| Market Segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Socket | LGA 1700 | LGA 1851 |
| Socket Status | Mature | Current |
| Process Node | 10 nm | 3 nm |
| Performance Cores | 8 | 8 |
| Efficiency Cores | 8 | 12 |
| SMT Enabled | true | false |
| P-Core Base Clock | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| P-Core Boost Clock | 5.2 | 5.4 |
| E-Core Base Clock | 2.4 | 3.3 |
| E-Core Boost Clock | 3.9 | 4.6 |
| Unlocked Multiplier | true | true |
| L2 Cache | 14 MB-61% | 36 MB |
| L3 Cache | 30 MB | 30 MB |
| Base Power | 125 W | 125 W |
| Max Turbo Power | 241 | 250 |
| Memory Type | DDR5 or DDR4 | DDR5 |
| Max Memory Speed | 4800 | 6400 |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Max Memory Capacity | 128 | 256 |
| Integrated Graphics | Yes | Yes |
| iGPU Model | Intel UHD Graphics 770 | Intel Graphics |
| iGPU Compute Units | 32 | 4 |
| Copilot Plus Certified | false | false |
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 5.0 |
| PCIe Lanes | 20-17% | 24 |
| Launch MSRP | 589 | 394 |
| Retail Availability | Boxed Retail | Boxed Retail |
| Cores | 16 | 20 |
| Threads | 24 | 20 |
| Architecture | Alder Lake | Arrow Lake, Core Ultra 200 Series |
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 i9-12900K
7.9 / 10 Expert Rating
The Intel Core i9-12900K is an unlocked overclockable chip, well suited to enthusiast gaming and productivity builds.