Powered by two new microarchitectures, one designed for maximum performance and one for peak efficiency, Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs have been making some sizable waves in the desktop processor market. Core counts are once again shooting up, and the Core i7-12700K benefits from this and some key architectural improvements to run laps around its "Rocket Lake" predecessor. At its $409 price, however, the Core i7-12700K’s biggest competitor may actually turn out to be its more affordable Core i5 "K"-series sibling rather than any specific AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 CPU, or Rocket Lake. It's a solid 12th Generation pick on Intel's new platform, and a clear part of Team Blue's desktop-silicon upswing as 2021 draws to a close. Just gauge whether you actually need the extra cores and threads, or the few-at-most extra game frames, before paying the premium over the Core i5-12600K.Core i7-12700K: The 'Core' Specs Before diving into this Core i7 review, we recommend that you first read our Core i9-12900K...
The 12th Generation "Alder Lake" Core i7-12700K handily outperforms its "Rocket Lake" predecessor and stands up to competing AMD CPUs. Its toughest competition is its Core i5 kin.
Excellent multi-threaded and single-core performance; Integrated graphics show improvement over earlier UHD Graphics solutions; Unlocked and overclockable
A little pricey relative to 12th Generation Core i5 and Ryzen alternatives; Like other "K"-series chips, no bundled cooler