Intel Core i9-12900K CPU Processor

Best single thread performance, bar none. Competitive multi-core performance. Competitively priced.Performs well in games and everything else too. Only thing tasks where it's slower than the competition is in long multi-threaded runs, but even then it's about 5-10% at most deficit, which is not much compared to the 20% lead in everything else.I myself went from a Zen2 based Ryzen Threadripper 3960X to this CPU, which is a multi-thread downgrade of about 25% but a single thread upgrade by 50+%. Even more in apps where Zen architecture was holding back performance. Most drastic use case was StarCraft II minimum FPS went from ~45 FPS to ~150 FPS and averages went from ~90 FPS to ~350 FPS all using the same GPU, RTX 3090.

I waited seven years to upgrade my PC because my Skylake CPU was not a limiting factor in a lot of games for a long time. However, my computer had DDR3 memory and fast DDR4 / DDR5 memory eclipses the performance of my old DDR3 computer.Relative to the 12th generation Intel processor, the Core i9 is a bit of a splurge and it is annoying having to find a CPU fan that is compatible with the LGA1700 (extra wide). Due to the supply shortages, it can be hard to find a CPU fan that comes with the appropriate bracket, so be sure to check for compatibility (if it's not included in the box, most manufacturers appear willing to freely send the bracket to you).Similarly, it can also be very hard to get DDR5 memory due to the supply constraints across the industry.Ignoring ... MoreI waited seven years to upgrade my PC because my Skylake CPU was not a limiting factor in a lot of games for a long time. However, my computer had DDR3 memory and fast DDR4 / DDR5 memory eclipses the performance of my old DDR3 computer.Relative to the 12th generation Intel processor, the Core i9 is a bit of a splurge and it is annoying having to find a CPU fan that is compatible with the LGA1700 (extra wide). Due to the supply shortages, it can be hard to find a CPU fan that comes with the appropriate bracket, so be sure to check for compatibility (if it's not included in the box, most manufacturers appear willing to freely send the bracket to you).Similarly, it can also be very hard to get DDR5 memory due to the supply constraints across the industry.Ignoring the pain of the supply chain issues, the 12th generation Intel processors bring along compatibility with PCIe 5 (pretty much unused) and DDR5.I originally bought a DDR5 motherboard, but I ended up returning it and going with a DDR4 motherboard (DDR4 and DDR5 are not compatible, but these CPUs support both) because I could not find DDR5 memory available at a reasonable price. I am very happy with my decision because it performs great and DDR4 memory is widely available.

I bought this CPU to last a long time & it certainly seems like it was worth it so far. The thing is a beast & chews through anything I've thrown at it with zero trouble, has enough cores to handle virtualisation, never bottlenecks an overclocked 3070ti, & seems to handle its power management very well too, quickly dropping down to only around 6 watts at idle.The one issue is that it runs hot. It really needs to be watercooled if you don't want a heater in your room, otherwise it'll want to idle at around 40°C (core temp) and that can be a little much. I'm air cooling mine with a Noctua chromax.black & would not recommend using any air coolers smaller than this gigantic thing, purely for the sake of idle temperatures. Under load it clears the heat just fine, ... MoreI bought this CPU to last a long time & it certainly seems like it was worth it so far. The thing is a beast & chews through anything I've thrown at it with zero trouble, has enough cores to handle virtualisation, never bottlenecks an overclocked 3070ti, & seems to handle its power management very well too, quickly dropping down to only around 6 watts at idle.The one issue is that it runs hot. It really needs to be watercooled if you don't want a heater in your room, otherwise it'll want to idle at around 40°C (core temp) and that can be a little much. I'm air cooling mine with a Noctua chromax.black & would not recommend using any air coolers smaller than this gigantic thing, purely for the sake of idle temperatures. Under load it clears the heat just fine, however, & doesn't peak above 92°C. You'd be able to chop at least 5° off that with an AIO water cooler, but it's good to know that it can still be air cooled without it trying to throttle itself back.I wanted to make the chip run a bit cooler & decided to undervolt it but, at least in my case, it didn't like that at all. I only got to 0.03v under before the chip began balking & losing stability, & overclocking headroom is similarly tight since Intel have binned these so high out of the factory. You can choose to disable the (efficiency) e-cores & iGPU of course, and this will help a little if you have trouble dealing with the heat output & want to use this purely for gaming.Not much else to say; very happy with it and it should be good for years to come.