Intel Core i9-12900: What Real Users Actually Think

12900K and 13900K longevity is virtually identical. Those additional 8 e-cores do NOT make any difference to 99% of usual home usage including gaming.

The 13700K is basically an improved 12900K. It looks like the 13700K is $550 CAD plus tax at most stores… so it's not like you overpaid, but the extra expense might've been worth it. The 13900K is a whole different beast, but it comes with higher caveats of heat and power consumption. Still, nothing wrong with the 12900K! Using one myself.

Engineering sample. If you're not already familiar enough with engineering samples to know how to tell what one is from the screenshot you posted, then I would strongly recommend moving on. It's a can of worms you have to want to get into, not be surprised by. It will be slower (THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS RETAIL CHIPS). It will require specific motherboard support to work. It may have bugs.

12700 is already slightly overkill for gaming. 12900 only gives 4 extra E Cores, which games usually don't use. It may be useful for something that runs in background with little resource utilization, but then you will need to be on Windows 11 to take advantage of Big Little architecture.

The i7-13700K outperforms the 12900K, and is usually cheaper. You'd get pretty much the same performance as an i7 or i9 with an i5 though for even cheaper. i5 is best bang for your buck.

Based on PC Part Picker, this looks to be an all time low (other than Microcenter deals).

It's not a bad idea to have too much power for intensive software development, but it is a bit overkill yeah. Even a 12400 would be adequate if you're not trying to future-proof.

Pretty much the first CPU performance review I have seen for mobile alder lake. About +30% to +50% vs Ryzen and intel 11th gen in multithread performance. Oh, and about +100% power consumption. Where 11th gen hit ~75 watts on productivity, this new alder lake chip hit 130W.

If you're looking for best bang for the buck, ignore ALL i9's. The 13700K not only outperforms it, but really for gaming the 12600K, 13600K, 12700K and 13700K are all really great options for Intel boxes.

Yeah, your motherboard is the issue. That ASRock cannot power more than about 125 watts constantly due to a very poor VRM (even though it's an H670 which you THINK should be designed to a higher level). Basically, it's designed for Celeron, Pentium Gold and low-end i3, and is the wrong choice for i5 or i7, never mind i9.

I also upgraded from 4790K, but to a 12700k. Paired with a 3090 and game at 4K 120Hz. We also can upgrade to 13th gen if we come across a really good deal down the road. My 4790K now takes on home server duties and still does great. One day my 12700K will take over and I'll get a new shiny CPU but I reckon we won't be missing out on much if anything for another 3 years.

Yes you are overthinking it. You have a very capable CPU and decent upgrade over your last one.

Yes you are overthinking - a Lot. If every time you buy a CPU or other hardware, and then you immediately went to check what's new on the market... You will obviously gonna see something new and better (and more expensive). I don't see the mistake of buying a 12900k.

13600k is the best bang for buck if your wanting to go Intel

Looks good. Too bad it was the 12900 tested and not the 12700. It might break 200w in some games with that 150w 3070ti.

There isn't going to be a big difference between the i9 and top two i7s. It is just clock speed which should hit performance slightly but not drastically. Essentially the i9 is a really well binned i7.

The 12900k is really a waste of money, unless you're going to max it out immediately, and can't wait for 13th gen. 12600/12700 are the way to go.

The 12900H and 12900HK aren't SKUs they usually sell in gaming laptops, OEMs prefer the i7s due to better efficiency, while the i9s are meant for mobile workstations, where CPU performance is the only metric that matters to the buyer.

No it is not. V-min shift is the cause of the degradation issues on 13-14th gen CPU's which has apparently been fixed now by the latest BIOS updates. You've got a great CPU that should last for many more years to come!

12th gen is safe

12900k is very similar to 13700k, and it seems like you paid less than you would have for a 13700k. Doesn't seem like a mistake to me. 12900k is a great processor.

The 12900 is a great CPU that is capable of working well with basically every modern gpu. It is capable of working with a 3090ti without bottlenecking it so...

The 12600, 13600, or 13700 are all better bang for your buck. I9s are for work stations. Games basically never use more than 6 or 8 cores, if even that; so the i9's high core count doesn't actually help during games and the 13700 has the same core count for a few hundred less.

Got an i9 12900k and a 3080 TI complete love it out performance anything I have owned. Get a quality motherboard. And at least an 850 watt psu (maybe a 1k) and DDR-5 memory and your set for 5-8 years easy

This is noticeably more powerful than a 5900X though, and faster than a 5950X even. This is a lot of cpu for the money.

You seem to have found the base reason for the clockspeed yourself. Running faster in heavy multicore workload such as cinebench requires power. The motherboard is able to provide 150W. Though your results are bad even with that.

If you don't need all that multicore performance just get a 12700k. As a non K part the 12900 power draw drops to its 65W PL2 TDP leading to worst performance in games.

Either is fine, one is just unable to do multiplier overclock.

12900k is a great CPU if you're good with tweaking to get the heat right.

12th gen is safe. They run hot but don't degrade like the later generations.

You are overthinking it. You upgraded your multicore performance by 500% and you are concerned that you did not upgrade it by 550%. If you are really worried in 2 years or so you will be able to pick up bargain bin 14700k and plop it on the same motherboard. Don't lose any sleep over it.

nah bud this is buyer's remorse. 12900k is a insanely fast CPU. you'll have plenty of good years of gaming

Don't overthink it. You got a great PC and that's all that matters! Not percentages gained in synthetic benchmarks.

Oh man I look back at this thread and think about all the 13th gen and 14th gen Intel cpus that are now gonna have the premature failure due to the oxidation issues. Hope they RMA every single one.

I have 12900F 65 watts TPU and it's passively cooled, it has max 45 degrees... so like... idk about running hot

The 13700k is basically a slightly more power efficient 12900k

I have a 12900ks on custom water and I can beat my friends 13900k with the same gpu and board on an expensive AIO. Don't over think it.

I upgrade every 2 or 3 gens. I have a 10980xe and a 12900K and I'm keeping them for a hot minute. I'm happy with both.

No. You are fine for years to come. Unless you use your PC in a professional capacity where time is money. Then it's a maybe. Not a firm yes.

9060xt 16gb 32gb ram 3600mhz and i9 12900k can't go above 75 fps on anything

I too recently upgraded from an i7 4790 (non k), directly to the i7 12700k. You made a Quantum leap forward in processor power and are on a platform (LGA1700) that will at least be supported for a couple more generations.