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Intel Core i9-12900F

Intel Core i9-12900F: A Hybrid Flagship for Professionals and Gamers

(Current as of March 2025)

Key Specifications: Architecture, Manufacturing Process, and Key Features

The Intel Core i9-12900F processor, released in late 2021, remains in demand in 2025 due to its hybrid Alder Lake architecture. It is the first mass-market CPU from Intel that combines Performance-cores (P-cores) and Efficiency-cores (E-cores).

- 16 cores (8P + 8E) and 24 threads: P-cores operate at a frequency of up to 5.0 GHz (Turbo Boost) and handle resource-intensive tasks, while E-cores (up to 3.8 GHz) optimize background processes.

- Intel 7 manufacturing process (10nm Enhanced SuperFin): Improved energy efficiency and transistor density.

- 30 MB L3 cache: Reduces data processing latency.

- Support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5: Bandwidth of up to 128 GB/s (PCIe 5.0 x16) and up to 4800 MHz for DDR5.

Real-world Performance: In Geekbench 6, the CPU demonstrates 2542 points in single-threaded tests and 13884 points in multi-threaded tests. This makes it suitable for rendering, 4K gaming, and working with neural networks.

Compatible Motherboards: Sockets and Chipsets

The processor uses the LGA 1700 socket, which is supported by the Z690, B660, H610 chipsets.

- Z690 (from $180): For enthusiasts. Overclocking support, PCIe 5.0 x16, up to 4 slots for DDR5/DDR4. Examples: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F ($280).

- B660 (from $120): Balanced price and functionality. No overclocking but includes PCIe 4.0. Suitable for builds with RTX 4070 level GPUs.

- H610 (from $70): Budget option. Limitation: 1 PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and DDR4-3200.

Important: Some boards only support DDR4 (e.g., ASUS Prime B660-Plus D4). For DDR5, look for the "D5" marking.

Memory: DDR4 vs. DDR5 — What to Choose?

The i9-12900F is compatible with both types, but the choice depends on budget and tasks:

- DDR5 (4800–6400 MHz): Suitable for professionals (rendering, ML). Price for 32 GB — $150–250.

- DDR4 (3200–3600 MHz): Up to 40% savings. 32 GB will cost $80–120.

In Practice: In gaming, the difference between DDR4 and DDR5 is about 5-10% (e.g., in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p). For 8K video editing, DDR5 will reduce export time by 15–20%.

Power Supply: How Many Watts Do You Need?

The official TDP of the processor is 65 W, but the peak power (PL2) reaches 180 W. Recommendations:

- With a discrete GPU (e.g., RTX 4080): A power supply of at least 750 W (preferably 80 Plus Gold/Platinum). Example: Corsair RM750x ($120).

- Without a high-end GPU: 550–650 W is sufficient (Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W — $90).

Tip: Avoid cheap power supplies without certifications — they mayoperate unstably under load.

Pros and Cons of the i9-12900F

Advantages:

- High single-threaded performance (gaming, Photoshop).

- Energy efficiency under base load.

- Support for DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 (future-proofing).

Disadvantages:

- Requires an expensive cooling solution (e.g., NZXT Kraken X63 — $130).

- No integrated graphics (unlike the i9-12900K).

- DDR5 and motherboards for it are more expensive than their DDR4 counterparts.

Use Cases: Who is it Suitable For?

1. Gamers: Paired with RTX 4070 Ti, it delivers 120+ FPS at 1440p (The Witcher 4, Starfield).

2. Content Creators: Renders in Blender 30% faster than the i7-12700K.

3. Streamers: 24 threads handle encoding and gaming simultaneously.

4. Engineers: Calculations in MATLAB or AutoCAD are performed seamlessly.

Example: Editing a 10-minute 4K video (DaVinci Resolve) takes about 12 minutes versus 18 with the Ryzen 7 5800X.

Comparison with Competitors

- AMD Ryzen 9 5900X (12 cores, $350 in 2025): Falls short in single-threaded tasks (Geekbench 6 Single Core — 2100) but is cheaper.

- AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (8 cores, $400): Better in gaming due to 3D V-Cache but weaker in multi-threaded scenarios.

- Intel Core i7-13700K ($380): Newer but more expensive. Performance gain is only 10-15%.

Conclusion: The i9-12900F is advantageous at a price of up to $300 (new) as a balance between price and power.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Cooling: Minimum — tower cooler (DeepCool AK620 — $60), optimal — 240 mm liquid cooling.

2. Case: Good ventilation (Lian Li Lancool III — $140).

3. Storage: PCIe 4.0 NVMe (Samsung 990 Pro 1TB — $120) for maximum speed.

4. BIOS: Update to the latest version for stability and Windows 12 support.

Final Verdict: Who Should Buy the i9-12900F in 2025?

This processor is suitable for:

- Gamers looking to save on the CPU to invest more in a GPU.

- Professionals needing multi-threading capabilities without overspending on the latest models.

- Enthusiasts experimenting with DDR5 and PCIe 5.0.

Price: The new i9-12900F in 2025 is priced at $280–320, making it one of the best choices in the "upper mid-range" segment. However, if your budget allows, consider the i7-14700K ($370) or Ryzen 9 7900 ($400) for a more long-term perspective.

This article is current as of March 2025. Prices and availability may change.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2022

Model Name

The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.

i9-12900F

Code Name

Alder Lake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Performance-cores

Efficient-cores

Max Turbo Frequency

Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.

5.10 GHz

Performance-core Base Frequency

2.40 GHz

Efficient-core Base Frequency

1.80 GHz

Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum P-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

5.00 GHz

Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency

Maximum E-core turbo frequency derived from Intel® Turbo Boost Technology.

3.80 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom. Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 frequency is the clock frequency of the CPU when running in this mode.

5.10 GHz

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Yes

L3 Cache

30 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA1700

Technology

Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.

Intel 7

TDP

65 W

Processor Base Power

The time-averaged power dissipation that the processor is validated to not exceed during manufacturing while executing an Intel-specified high complexity workload at Base Frequency and at the junction temperature as specified in the Datasheet for the SKU segment and configuration.

65 W

Maximum Turbo Power

The maximum sustained (>1s) power dissipation of the processor as limited by current and/or temperature controls. Instantaneous power may exceed Maximum Turbo Power for short durations (<=10ms). Note: Maximum Turbo Power is configurable by system vendor and can be system specific.

202 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

100°C

PCI Express Version

PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.

5.0 and 4.0

Number of PCI Express Lanes

A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.

Intel 64

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.

Yes

Instruction Set

The instruction set is a hard program stored inside the CPU that guides and optimizes CPU operations. With these instruction sets, the CPU can run more efficiently. There are many manufacturers that design CPUs, which results in different instruction sets, such as the 8086 instruction set for the Intel camp and the RISC instruction set for the ARM camp. x86, ARM v8, and MIPS are all codes for instruction sets. Instruction sets can be extended; for example, x86 added 64-bit support to create x86-64. Manufacturers developing CPUs that are compatible with a certain instruction set need authorization from the instruction set patent holder. A typical example is Intel authorizing AMD, enabling the latter to develop CPUs compatible with the x86 instruction set.

64-bit

PCI Express Configurations

PCI Express (PCIe) Configurations describe the available PCIe lane configurations that can be used to link to PCIe devices.

Up to 1x16+4 | 2x8+4

Memory Specifications

Memory Type

Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.

Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s Up to DDR4 3200 MT/s

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

128 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Max Memory Bandwidth

Max Memory bandwidth is the maximum rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by the processor (in GB/s).

76.8 GB/s

Miscellaneous

Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost) on CPU

A new set of embedded processor technologies designed to accelerate AI deep learning use cases. It extends Intel AVX-512 with a new Vector Neural Network Instruction (VNNI) that significantly increases deep learning inference performance over previous generations.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)

Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.

Yes

Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)

Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.

Yes

Intel Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.1 | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX2

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

Execute Disable Bit

Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.

Yes

Cache

CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.

30 MB Intel® Smart Cache

Intel AES New Instructions

Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.

Yes

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives.

Yes

Intel Boot Guard

Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.

Yes

Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology

CET - Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.

Yes

Intel OS Guard

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

2542

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

13884

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1964

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

16822

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

4071

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

36971

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Core i7-13700KF

2875 +13.1%

Core i9-13980HX

2685 +5.6%

Core i9-12900F

2542

Core i5-1340PE

2386 -6.1%

Xeon w7-2495X

2262 -11%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Core i7-13700KF

17570 +26.5%

Xeon w5-2565X

15177 +9.3%

Core i9-12900F

13884

Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100

12663 -8.8%

Xeon W-3245

11718 -15.6%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Core i9-14900KS

2536 +29.1%

Core i9-12900K

2010 +2.3%

Core i9-12900F

1964

Core i9-11900KF

1768 -10%

Ryzen 7 7700

1690 -14%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Xeon E7-8860 v4

25400 +51%

Core i9-12900KF

19884 +18.2%

Core i9-12900F

16822

Xeon Gold 5320

14735 -12.4%

EPYC 7F72

13215 -21.4%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Core i9-14900HX

4328 +6.3%

Core i9-13900HX

4158 +2.1%

Core i9-12900F

4071

Core i5-12600KF

3934 -3.4%

Core 7 240H

3860 -5.2%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core i9-13950HX

44548 +20.5%

Core Ultra 9 285T

40238 +8.8%

Core i9-12900F

36971

Core i7-13700HX

34021 -8%

Core i5-14500HX

32099 -13.2%