Intel Core i7-8700 vs Intel Core i5-12600

Core i7-8700 vs Core i5-12600 specs and performance

Our benchmark analysis concludes that the Core i5-12600 performs better than the Core i7-8700. Furthermore, our gaming benchmark shows that it also outperforms the Core i7-8700 in all gaming tests too.

When comparing these CPUs we notice that they have the same number of cores and the same number of threads. With our hardware info, we find that the Core i5-12600 has a slightly higher clock speed than the Core i7-8700. Also, the Core i5-12600 has a slightly higher turbo speed. Both these chips have an identical TDP (Thermal Design Power). This measures the amount of heat they output and can be used to estimate power consumption.

Most CPUs have more threads than cores. This technology, colloquially called hyperthreading, improves performance by splitting a core into multiple virtual ones. This provides more efficient utilisation of a core. Indeed, the Core i7-8700 has more threads than cores. Each physical core is split into multiple threads.