Left · AMD
AMD Ryzen 5 9600
Spec score
Spec score 67
$239
Amazon US, Oct 24
Ryzen 5 9600 against Core i7-12700KF
Level on the overall index; the details below decide it. The price beside each button is the Amazon US reading where ScoutPrices has one; the comparison below is worked on typical prices.
Right · Intel
Intel Core i7-12700KF
Spec score
Spec score 68
$285
typical price
Which one for what
Office & everyday
Either
Within 1 points; buy on price.
Coding & development
Core i7-12700KFright
64 vs 68 on the coding & development blend.
Light gaming
Ryzen 5 9600left
73 vs 69 on the light gaming blend.
Gaming
Ryzen 5 9600left
71 vs 68 on the gaming blend.
Heavy gaming
Ryzen 5 9600left
70 vs 67 on the heavy gaming blend.
Content creation
Core i7-12700KFright
58 vs 65 on the content creation blend.
3D & rendering
Core i7-12700KFright
53 vs 63 on the 3D & rendering blend.
Gaming & streaming
Core i7-12700KFright
63 vs 66 on the gaming & streaming blend.
AI & local models
Core i7-12700KFright
57 vs 65 on the AI & local models blend.
Head to head
Scores
Indices out of 100 on ScoutSpecs' own scale, one per kind of work. They are not frames per second and not a measurement of any one sample.
Spec score
Ryzen 5 9600: 67
Core i7-12700KF: 68
1 ptsto the right
Gaming
Ryzen 5 9600: 71
Core i7-12700KF: 66
5 ptsto the left
Multi-core
Ryzen 5 9600: 40
Core i7-12700KF: 57
17 ptsto the right
Single-core
Ryzen 5 9600: 87
Core i7-12700KF: 80
7 ptsto the left
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
Ryzen 5 9600: 23.7
Core i7-12700KF: 23.9
1%to the right
Typical price
Ryzen 5 9600: $283
Core i7-12700KF: $285
$2to the left
From the spec sheets
Cores
Ryzen 5 9600: 6
Core i7-12700KF: 12
100%to the right
Threads
Ryzen 5 9600: 12
Core i7-12700KF: 20
67%to the right
Boost clock
Ryzen 5 9600: 5.2 GHz
Core i7-12700KF: 5 GHz
4%to the left
Turbo power
Ryzen 5 9600: 88 W
Core i7-12700KF: 190 W
116%to the left
The verdict
- The Ryzen 5 9600 leads in games by 8%.
- The Core i7-12700KF has 43% more all-core throughput for renders, compiles and exports.
- The Ryzen 5 9600 is 9% quicker in single-threaded work, which is most of what a desktop does.
Specifications
| Spec | Ryzen 5 9600 | Core i7-12700KF |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 5 | Alder Lake |
| Socket | AM5 | LGA1700 |
| Cores / threads | 6 / 12 | 12 / 20 (better) |
| Base clock | 3.8 GHz (better) | 3.6 GHz |
| Boost clock | 5.2 GHz (better) | 5 GHz |
| TDP / turbo power | 65 / 88 W (better) | 125 / 190 W |
| Memory | DDR5 | DDR4 or DDR5 |
| Built-in graphics | Yes (better) | No |
| Cooler in the box | Yes (better) | No |
| Brand | AMD | Intel |
| Released | 2025 (better) | 2021 |
| Typical price | $283 (better) | $285 |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.