Intel Core i9-12900K tested in Cinebench with air and liquid cooling
TweakPC delivers benchmark scores of the Alder Lake lineup.
German TweakPC has some last-minute benchmarks results featuring 16-core Core i9-12900K, 12-core Core i7-12700K, and 10-core Core i5-12600K CPUs. All those SKUs are to launch officially tomorrow. The website tested the flagship model with four different power limit settings, illustrating how much more performance comes at higher power consumption. As reported earlier, with Alder Lake, Intel introduces a new naming scheme for power consumption figures, replacing TDP with Processor Base Power and PL2 (Power Limit 2) with Maximum Turbo Power.
According to the results, the Core i9-12900K gains nearly 28% performance with a power limit increased from 125W (PBP) to 241W (MTP). The test was performed with liquid cooling, which prevented the CPU from overheating over 81°C, the author notes.
Intel Core i9-12900K performance per power limit, Source: TweakPC
The CPU was also tested with a Dark Rock Pro 4 air cooler, which shows a slightly different picture. With the power limit at maximum, the CPU has quickly reached 100°C just 4 minutes after the test has begun:
Intel Core i9-12900K with air cooling, Source: TweakPC
Intel Alder Lake-S flagship SKU wasn’t the only one tested by TweakPC. Cinebench R20 and R23 results were also shared for 12 and 10-core K-series CPUs. Do note that the results feature MTP power settings. The website has only provided multi-threaded results.
| Intel Alder Lake-S Cinebench Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz/TweakPC | Power Limit | Cinebench R23 MT | Cinebench R20 MT |
| Core i9-12900K | – | ||
| Core i9-12900K | – | ||
| Core i9-12900K | – | ||
| Core i9-12900K | – | ||
| Core i7-12700K | |||
| Core i5-12600K | |||
Intel 12th Gen Core series in Cinebench, Source: TweakPC
Intel will launch its Alder Lake-S series tomorrow, which is also the date for review embargo lift. The flagship 12900K SKU is priced at 589 USD, while the 12700K will be available at 409 USD. The 12600K SKU, which might be considered the star of the show, will retail at 289 USD, putting pressure on AMD’s mid-range CPU offering.
Source: TweakPC (12900K) #2, (12700K), (12600K)
