Left · AMD
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
Spec score
Spec score 75
$315
Amazon US, Oct 24
Ryzen 9 7900X against Core i5-12600K
Ryzen 9 7900X 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 i5-12600K
Spec score
Spec score 61
$297
typical price
Which one for what
Office & everyday
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
80 vs 66 on the office & everyday blend.
Coding & development
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
78 vs 61 on the coding & development blend.
Light gaming
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
74 vs 65 on the light gaming blend.
Gaming
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
73 vs 63 on the gaming blend.
Heavy gaming
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
72 vs 62 on the heavy gaming blend.
Content creation
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
75 vs 56 on the content creation blend.
3D & rendering
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
75 vs 52 on the 3D & rendering blend.
Gaming & streaming
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
73 vs 58 on the gaming & streaming blend.
AI & local models
Ryzen 9 7900Xleft
76 vs 56 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 9 7900X: 75
Core i5-12600K: 61
14 ptsto the left
Gaming
Ryzen 9 7900X: 69
Core i5-12600K: 61
8 ptsto the left
Multi-core
Ryzen 9 7900X: 72
Core i5-12600K: 43
29 ptsto the left
Single-core
Ryzen 9 7900X: 86
Core i5-12600K: 79
7 ptsto the left
Price and value
Worked on typical prices, the figures the comparison is built on.
Value, points per $100
Ryzen 9 7900X: 23.8
Core i5-12600K: 20.5
16%to the left
Typical price
Ryzen 9 7900X: $315
Core i5-12600K: $297
$18to the right
From the spec sheets
Cores
Ryzen 9 7900X: 12
Core i5-12600K: 10
20%to the left
Threads
Ryzen 9 7900X: 24
Core i5-12600K: 16
50%to the left
Boost clock
Ryzen 9 7900X: 5.6 GHz
Core i5-12600K: 4.9 GHz
14%to the left
Turbo power
Ryzen 9 7900X: 230 W
Core i5-12600K: 150 W
53%to the right
The verdict
- The Ryzen 9 7900X leads in games by 13%.
- The Ryzen 9 7900X has 67% more all-core throughput for renders, compiles and exports.
- The Ryzen 9 7900X is 9% quicker in single-threaded work, which is most of what a desktop does.
- The Core i5-12600K typically costs $18 less.
- Per dollar, the Ryzen 9 7900X is the better buy: 23.8 points per $100 against 20.5.
Specifications
| Spec | Ryzen 9 7900X | Core i5-12600K |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 4 | Alder Lake |
| Socket | AM5 | LGA1700 |
| Cores / threads | 12 / 24 (better) | 10 / 16 |
| Base clock | 4.7 GHz (better) | 3.7 GHz |
| Boost clock | 5.6 GHz (better) | 4.9 GHz |
| TDP / turbo power | 170 / 230 W | 125 / 150 W (better) |
| Memory | DDR5 | DDR4 or DDR5 |
| Built-in graphics | Yes | Yes |
| Cooler in the box | No | No |
| Brand | AMD | Intel |
| Released | 2022 (better) | 2021 |
| Typical price | $315 | $297 (better) |
The better figure of each pair is in green, with a tick.