Left · AMD
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
Spec score
Spec score 59
$229
typical price
Ryzen 9 5900X against Core i5-12600KF
Core i5-12600KF leads on the overall index. 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 i5-12600KF
Spec score
Spec score 61
$209
Amazon US, Oct 24
Which one for what
Office & everyday
Core i5-12600KFright
61 vs 66 on the office & everyday blend.
Coding & development
Core i5-12600KFright
59 vs 61 on the coding & development blend.
Light gaming
Core i5-12600KFright
61 vs 65 on the light gaming blend.
Gaming
Core i5-12600KFright
60 vs 63 on the gaming blend.
Heavy gaming
Core i5-12600KFright
59 vs 62 on the heavy gaming blend.
Content creation
Either
Within 0 points; buy on price.
3D & rendering
Ryzen 9 5900Xleft
54 vs 52 on the 3D & rendering blend.
Gaming & streaming
Either
Within 1 points; buy on price.
AI & local models
Either
Within 0 points; buy on price.
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 9 5900X: 59
Core i5-12600KF: 61
2 ptsto the right
Gaming
Ryzen 9 5900X: 59
Core i5-12600KF: 61
2 ptsto the right
Multi-core
Ryzen 9 5900X: 50
Core i5-12600KF: 43
7 ptsto the left
Single-core
Ryzen 9 5900X: 67
Core i5-12600KF: 79
12 ptsto the right
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
Ryzen 9 5900X: 25.8
Core i5-12600KF: 29.6
15%to the right
Typical price
Ryzen 9 5900X: $229
Core i5-12600KF: $206
$23to the right
From the spec sheets
Cores
Ryzen 9 5900X: 12
Core i5-12600KF: 10
20%to the left
Threads
Ryzen 9 5900X: 24
Core i5-12600KF: 16
50%to the left
Boost clock
Ryzen 9 5900X: 4.8 GHz
Core i5-12600KF: 4.9 GHz
2%to the right
Turbo power
Ryzen 9 5900X: 142 W
Core i5-12600KF: 150 W
6%to the left
The verdict
- The Core i5-12600KF leads in games by 3%.
- The Ryzen 9 5900X has 16% more all-core throughput for renders, compiles and exports.
- The Core i5-12600KF is 18% quicker in single-threaded work, which is most of what a desktop does.
- The Core i5-12600KF typically costs $23 less.
- Per dollar, the Core i5-12600KF is the better buy: 29.6 points per $100 against 25.8.
Specifications
| Spec | Ryzen 9 5900X | Core i5-12600KF |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 3 | Alder Lake |
| Socket | AM4 | LGA1700 |
| Cores / threads | 12 / 24 (better) | 10 / 16 |
| Base clock | 3.7 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| Boost clock | 4.8 GHz | 4.9 GHz (better) |
| TDP / turbo power | 105 / 142 W (better) | 125 / 150 W |
| Memory | DDR4 | DDR4 or DDR5 |
| Built-in graphics | No | No |
| Cooler in the box | No | No |
| Brand | AMD | Intel |
| Released | 2020 | 2021 (better) |
| Typical price | $229 | $206 (better) |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.