Intel 12th Gen CPUs, Z690 and DDR5 Preview

12th Gen Processors – Features & Specifications

I have three CPUs in for review right now, but while I can’t dive into the performance of them until the NDA lift, I can give you a general overview of what they have to offer. I have the Intel Core i9-12900K, the i7-12700K and the i5-12600K in for review, which gives us a good selection of the overall range that Intel will be offering for this launch. The new CPUs are split into two sets of cores, thanks to the new big.LITTLE architecture. This setup comprises of P-Core, or performance cores, which do the heavy lifting for single and lightly threaded processes, and E-Core, or efficient cores, which are designed to help with scaling highly-threaded workloads.

This is combined with the new Thread Director, which will distribute workloads to the right cores to improve overall stability and performance. Meanwhile, the new CPUs bring support for PCIe 5.0 lanes, while still offering PCIe 4.0/3.0 for storage, expansion cards and more. There’s support for DDR4 and DDR5 technologies, but it’s up to motherboard vendors to pick which to add to their products. Plus, there’s larger L3 and L2 Caches, Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, and Xe graphics hardware too.

Core i9-12900K

• Cores (P-cores + E-cores) – 16 (8P+8E)
• Max Turbo Frequency – 5.2 GHz
• Single P-core Turbo – 5.1 GHz
• Single E-core Turbo – 3.9 GHz
• P-core Base – 3.2 GHz
• E-core Base – 2.4 GHz
• Threads – 24
• Intel Smart Cache Size (L3) – 30
• Total L2 Cache Size – 14
• Xe Graphics – Intel UHD Graphics 770

Intel i7-12700K

• Cores (P-cores + E-cores) – 12 (8P+4E)
• Max Turbo Frequency – 5.0 GHz
• Single P-core Turbo – 4.9 GHz
• Single E-core Turbo – 3.8 GHz
• P-core Base – 3.6 GHz
• E-core Base – 2.7 GHz
• Threads – 20
• Intel Smart Cache Size (L3) – 25
• Total L2 Cache Size – 12
• Xe Graphics – Intel UHD Graphics 770

Intel Core i5-12600K

• Cores (P-cores + E-cores) – 10 (6P+4E)
• Max Turbo Frequency – 4.9 GHz
• Single P-core Turbo – 4.9 GHz
• Single E-core Turbo – 3.6 GHz
• P-core Base – 3.7 GHz
• E-core Base – 2.8 GHz
• Threads – 16
• Intel Smart Cache Size (L3) – 20
• Total L2 Cache Size – 9.5
• Xe Graphics – Intel UHD Graphics 770

What Intel Had to Say

“The 12th Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processor redefines x86 architecture performance. Introducing our new performance hybrid architecture, combining Performance-cores with Efficient-cores to elevate gaming, productivity, and creation. These breakthrough processors intelligently optimize workloads and pave the way for future leaps in processor design. Enjoy the full range of the latest platform innovations like industry first PCIe 5.0 readiness and DDR5 memory. With Intel® UHD graphics immerse yourself in a visually stunning experience with up to 8K HDR support and the ability to view 4 simultaneous 4K displays. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processors bring all the features you need to game, work, and create like never before.” – Intel