Intel Core i7-12700K: What Real Users Actually Think

The 12600k has 6 p-cores and 4 e-cores. The p-cores are hyper threaded, so you really get 12 performance threads and 4 efficiency threads. The 12700k has 8 p-cores and 4 e-cores. This gets you 16 p-threads and 4 e-threads. For almost every single video game that exists today, not a single one uses 12 p-threads to their max.

The 12600k is far more than enough for gaming. It's actually faster in every single way compared to the i9 11900k. So the i7 is not worth the extra money. Instead use that extra money on a better GPU.

12700f with B660 motherboard would be my choice.

The 12700 (F, non-K) offers the best value. It performs very similarly to the 12700K, at $30-60 cheaper depending on what variants you get. It also has much a lower heat output, allowing you to save on a cooler and letting it run quieter. Along the same thought process, the 12700 also requires a lesser motherboard since it can't be overclocked.

Within spitting distance of the i9, but MUCH better thermals and power draw.

Whatever you get, it'll be superseded next year. Don't fall into the trap of chasing the upgrade dragon.

K models never had CPU coolers, as they are meant for overclockers with their unlocked multiplier. So it would be just waste. Basic i7-12700 Boxed comes with cooler.

Yes, it's safe. 12th gen is fine, it's only 13th and 14th gen with issues.

It depends on the price. I'm using one and it's plenty good.

I have the i7 and I'd say get the i5 unless you're running renders.

The i9s are pushed as far as possible, just for the sake of that ever so slightly higher performance. It's not surprising that you can lose most of the power draw while still topping the benchmarks. Diminishing returns hits hard on power.

I had a 12900kf pre-ordered since October 27th, but it is sitting as backordered. After seeing these in-game benchmarks, I just cancelled my 12900kf pre-order and picked up a 12700kf in person at the store! Will be pairing this setup with a 3090 in a dedicated iRacing rig pushing triple 1440p IPS panels.

Avoid 13th and 14th gen, they have known issues.

The people claiming the i7 is so much better are the ones who wasted their money on an i7 instead of an i5 and want to justify their purchase. I own two 11th gen i5s and an 11th gen i7, there is no noticeable difference other than artificial benchmarks.

The 12600k is a very good CPU that will last a long time. The 12700k is a better CPU that will last even longer. For everyone telling you that the 12600k is all you need for gaming... they're technically correct. Right now. That doesn't mean that a noticeable difference won't start to emerge in a few years.

You should buy the Ryzen 7700 if you care so much about efficiency. It's equal to a 12700K in performance while being more efficient. You also get a better platform so next time you feel like upgrading you won't have to buy a new motherboard and RAM.

12700K looks like an absolute banger for gaming.

When I bought my first PC everyone recommended the 4C/4T i5-2500k. I said fuck the police and sprang for the 4C/8T i7-2700k since it was maybe fifty bucks more. It's been 10 years, a PSU upgrade, and two GPU upgrades, and I still daily drive that i7-2700k overclocked straight out of the box.

14700k/13700k has some instability and degradation. It's not as bad as 14900k/13900k but it's there. Between the two CPUs get the 12700k because 12th gen are all stable.

I splurged on the i7 12700k about 1 week ago, and I love it. Part of my rationale for the i7 is future-planning, I don't have to worry about a new cpu for at least another 8 yrs now.

I got a 12700kf for $210 CAD a few weeks ago, paired it with a 4070 ti super and it's great.

In all my time PC gaming, after 5-6 years on a generation I've never given a single damn whether I had the x600 or the next step up. It's almost always negligible compared to the newest gen after that long. 12700k for gaming only is generally a waste and I can all but guarantee will give no meaningful futureproofing over 12600k.

12600k with a better board. I bought a 12700k and feel it was wasteful. Not to mention it needs much better cooling.

I have the 12600K and it's destined to be a classic gaming CPU. It doesn't break a sweat whatever you throw at it. Single digit CPU performance (2-8%) most of the time in most games, even stressful games such as Cyberpunk. No current GPU would stress it and it will run a 3060 Ti without effort.

I had a 12700K +4090 and went to the 13700K +4090 and didn't feel any improvement. Supposedly fps went up, but it was already higher than my 144hz 1440p screen could put out. Keep the 12700k. It's a great CPU.

Your overthinking things. Your 12th gen is already super fast. You'll be good til about 17th gen. That way you'll have a new socket/architecture/node. Don't worry about it. This is coming from someone that has a 13900k. Not going to upgrade to 14th gen or above.

The 12700k is fast. I just had to move my nephew's PC from an 8700k to a 12600k and it is a noticeable upgrade. Going from an ancient haswell to a 12700k is night and day.

Intel don't ship a cooler with K-sku CPUs. That CPU can use a lot of power and the cheap stock cooler is really not up to the task. You'll find most people running a 12700k are using a 240mm AIO or a 120mm air cooler as a minimum.

I work with hardware every day all day. I've been with Intel since 1999, but in the last 5 years the writing is on the wall for Intel. I wouldn't use anything but 10 and 12th Gen Intel. My main is a 10700K and I still see no reason to upgrade.

12700k is basically as fast as any other CPU if you have fast DDR5 RAM. I've owned a 3700x, 10700kf, 11700k, 12700k, 12900k, 5800x3d, 12100f, 13900kf, 7600, 7800x3d and now back on the 12700k after the disaster I call AM5.

Alder Lake isn't affected by the stability issues so it's fine.

For gaming the 12700k is within 4 to 5 fps of a 13700k, and the 12700k is easier to cool. The 12700k is still a very good chip.

If you want to go Intel, an i7-12700KF is a very wise choice. The 14700KF adds 8 slow cores, which most workloads don't benefit from. The 12700K has proven reliable and there are no widespread issues with it.

The only mistake you made was getting a 12700K instead of a 12600K, they will last just as long for gaming, and the only valid upgrade from these chips is a 14900K because it's the fastest chip on the socket.

The F variant means it doesn't have integrated graphics. If you stream it has AV1 decode support so it can help with streaming. If you do video editing it's about 20% performance difference. The K is worth the little extra to cover all bases.

With how much they've dropped in price, the 12700k seems like an awesome sweet spot, even with fast DDR4 that's cheap too. I'm planning on upgrading from my i5 12500 to the 12700k pretty soon, just waiting for the absolute cheapest price I can get.

I think the core i7 12700 would be more than sufficient and I should be able to get at least another 8 years of usage out of this system, like I had with the core i5 4590.

I replaced my 14700k with a 12900k over the weekend. No issues and it's definitely better. My 14700k had issues loading Facebook and horrible speedtest results that degraded over time. Since swapping to 12th gen, everything has been fine.

I have a 12700k + 3090 + 3440x1440p monitor and it's just fine. 189-200 for a 12700k is still a good value.

I purchased the 12700K for $187, which is dirt cheap since I probably paid $300 for an i7 in 2012. Honestly not paying attention to the drama around Intel. You get more for your $ with any CPU today compared to 2012.

Lovely 12700k, handles everything without a sweat.

The i7 is in a really weird spot — very little to zero increase in gaming performance and ST workloads vs the i5, and workstations looking for scalable workloads will go for the i9. The only thing that will save this chip is the branding.