Intel Core i7-12700KF Review

Better than the Core i9 Flagship

This is our second Alder Lake review, after our look at the top Core i9 on launch day, and this time we’re looking at the more standard Core i7-12700KF. For those who are curious, the i7-12700KF and 12700K are identical CPUs with the exception of the integrated graphics (Intel UHD 770), which are deactivated in the KF version. Aside from that absence, they’re identical, albeit the KF chip will save you some money.

The Core i7-12700K presently costs $450, while the KF variant is somewhat less expensive at $430. That implies these components will compete with AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X, which has a $450 MSRP but is now available for approximately $390 on the open market.

In terms of specs, the 12700K CPU has 12 cores in total, with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores for a total of 20 threads. That’s a configuration extremely similar to the Core i9, but with four less E-cores.

The L3 cache size has also been reduced from 30 MB to 25 MB, a 17% drop, while the turbo clock frequencies have been reduced to 4.9 GHz for the P-cores and 3.8 GHz for the E-cores, a very modest reduction.

As a result of these adjustments, the highest turbo power rating has been cut from 241 watts to 190 watts, representing a significant 21 percent power savings over the Core i9 12900K. The rest of the specifications remain same, which means 20 PCIe lanes from the CPU, 16 of which are the new PCI Express 5.0 specification. DDR4 and DDR5 memory technologies are supported, but not simultaneously or by the same motherboard, so you must decide which memory type to use ahead of time.

The stock memory support is DDR4-3200 or DDR5-4800, and we recently examined DDR5-6000 performance with the Core i9-12900K and discovered that, for the most part, this new high-speed memory gives virtually little more performance when combined with an Alder Lake CPU. As a result, all potential 12th-generation clients should overlook DDR5 and stick with DDR4 for the time being.

As a result, we will not spend time testing the i7-12700KF with DDR5. Check out our 12900K review to discover what that memory technology has to offer.

Because of Alder Lake’s hybrid core design, the i7-12700KF, like most 12th-generation CPUs, can now run Windows 11 and its enhanced thread scheduler for best performance. As a result, we tested this and all other CPUs with a new install of Windows 11. This includes Ryzen CPUs, especially since it was discovered that Ryzen gaming performance is often a little faster when utilizing a more contemporary operating system.

We utilized the MSI Z690 Tomahawk Wi-Fi DDR4 motherboard to test 12th-generation Core series CPUs. The Ryzen test system is powered by an Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero motherboard with the most recent BIOS update, as well as all of the most recent Windows updates and drivers. Finally, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card was used to capture all application and gameplay data during the testing process.

Let’s have a look at the outcomes…

Benchmarks

Starting with Cinebench R23, AMD sees some severe results, with the i7-12700KF giving about 50% more performance than the 5800X and 54% more than its predecessor, the 11700K. In fact, the new 12th-generation Core i7 CPU was 11% quicker than the 5900X, which costs 25% more.

In Rainbow Six Siege testing, AMD edged out the i7-12700KF by a scant 3% margin, implying that gaming performance between these two CPUs appears to be roughly comparable so far.

In Borderlands 3, the 5800X and i7-12700KF are close enough to declare it a tie. Indeed, we’re so GPU constrained with these high-end CPUs that the 12900K wasn’t much quicker.

The i7-12700KF did budget ahead for average frame rate by 5%, which is still fairly minor, and the 1% poor performance was identical. So, even in the extremely CPU-intensive Watch Dogs Legion, these two CPUs deliver comparable performance.

When running high-end CPUs, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is highly GPU constrained, therefore the 5800X and i7-12700KF gave the same level of performance, which was also similar to other high-end CPUs such as the 12900K.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the most CPU-intensive game we had to test with, especially in the village segment of the game. When comparing average frame rate, the i7-12700KF was 4% faster than the 5800X, however it was 2% slower for the 1% low. In any case, the performance of these two competing sections was quite close.

The latest Core i7 CPU outperformed the 5800X in Hitman 3, however the margins aren’t huge, with the i7-12700KF up to 4% quicker. Once again, we discover that, despite the typically large disparity in core-heavy apps, game performance is as near as you can go.

This is, indeed, intriguing. When comparing the 1 percent low result, the new Ages of Empires 4 was up to 27 percent quicker when ran on the i7-12700KF vs the 5800X. Meanwhile, the average frame rate was increased by 19%. This is a major gain for Intel, and it makes me wonder how these two CPUs will compare in the future as games grow more CPU demanding.

Horizon Zero Dawn is another game that is severely GPU constrained. Using these high-end CPUs, the 5800X took the lead, outperforming the new i7-12700KF by 5%. This wasn’t a huge difference, but it was a triumph for AMD.

The i7-12700KF matched the bulk of the high-end CPUs featured in this test, despite the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 is incredibly GPU demanding, even with the dialed-down quality settings that we’re utilizing here.

When it comes to power drain when gaming, the CPUs tested show minimal variation. Whereas the i7-12700KF increased total system power use by 31% in Blender, we’re only seeing a 5% increase over the 5800X when playing games. So it appears that gamers don’t need to worry about CPU power usage for the time being, provided they’re basically just gaming and not running core-heavy programs, though as we’ve seen, the 12700KF also performs admirably in this regard.

ARTICLE SOURCES

Brain Tech Solution compels authors to rely on original sources to back up their claims. White documents, government statistics, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts are among them. Where applicable, we also cite original research from other credible publishers. In our editorial policy, you can learn more about the criteria we use to provide accurate, balanced information.

• Techspot, Accessed Nov 5, 2021.
• TV News, Accessed Nov 5, 2021.
• Newspapers, Accessed Nov 4, 2021.