Enthusiast Citizen has published early performance reviews of Intel’s mainstream and entry-level 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPUs, including the Core i5-12400, Core i3-12300, and Core i3-12100, over at Chiphell Forums.
The Intel Non-K series is designed for more traditional and cost-effective gaming settings. They don’t have the same overclocking capabilities or higher clocks (and greater TDP) as the unlocked SKUs, but they do have lower TDPs, making them ideal for OEMs and pre-built choices. As a result, Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake-S Desktop CPU family is projected to include at least 19 non-K versions.
Intel Non-K Alder Lake-S Core i5 CPUs
Only Golden Cove will be used in the Intel Core i5-12400, which will have six cores and twelve threads (P-Cores). The chip will have an L3 cache of 18 MB with clock speeds of 3.00 GHz base and 4.6 GHz boost. The CPU will have a 65W TDP, and it will be fascinating to see how these chips compare to AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600X, as they are targeting the same market area. The Intel Core i5-12400 will retail for $210 US, while the F model will retail for $180 US.
Intel Non-K Alder Lake-S Core i3 CPUs
Finally, there’s the Intel Core i3-12300 and i3-12100, which are part of the Core i3 family. Both CPUs have four cores and eight threads (4 Golden Cove cores). The chips’ clocks are kept at 4.4 GHz and 4.3 GHz boost, respectively. They also have 12 MB of L3 cache, and the UHD730 graphics are used on all chips below the i5-12600, while the UHD770 iGPU is used on the higher-end CPUs. The basic Core i3-12100 will cost $140 US and the F model will cost $110 US, while the 12300 will cost $150 US.
Intel Alder Lake Non-K Core i5 & Core i3 Synthetic CPU Performance Benchmarks
First and foremost, we must discuss synthetic benchmarks, beginning with the Intel Core i5-12400. With PBO enabled, the i5 processor comfortably outperforms or equals the Ryzen 5 5600X. The average performance boost is roughly 5%, which isn’t much, but when you consider that this chip costs about half as much as the AMD part ($180 vs $299), it’s a major win in the synthetic performance category.
The Intel Core i3 parts are compared to the Ryzen 3 5350G, which is the sole 4 core and 8 thread Zen 3 part that can be compared, and even with the same amount of cores and threads, the Core i3 CPUs completely outclass Zen 3. We’re talking about gains of up to 26 percent, with an average of 20 percent. It’s a significant upgrade over Intel’s Comet Lake CPUs and a significant advantage over AMD’s Zen 3 processors.
Intel Alder Lake Non-K Core i5 & Core i3 Gaming CPU Performance Benchmarks
Finally, there’s the Intel Core i3-12300 and i3-12100, which are part of the Core i3 family. Both CPUs have four cores and eight threads (4 Golden Cove cores). The chips’ clocks are kept at 4.4 GHz and 4.3 GHz boost, respectively. They also have 12 MB of L3 cache, and the UHD730 graphics are used on all chips below the i5-12600, while the UHD770 iGPU is used on the higher-end CPUs. The basic Core i3-12100 will cost $140 US and the F model will cost $110 US, while the 12300 will cost $150 US.
Intel Alder Lake Non-K Core i5 & Core i3 CPU Power Consumption
With its cutting-edge 7nm chips, AMD has been the king of efficiency for some years. This binge has come to a stop, as Intel’s 10 ESF process nodes now promise improved efficiency not just in high-end devices, but also in lower-end chips. At maximum load, the Intel Core i5-12400 consumes 73W, whereas the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X with PBO consumes 119W. The Intel Core i3 CPUs use slightly more power (61-64W vs. 52.6W for the AMD Ryzen 3 5350G), but you receive a performance boost of 30-40% on average.
Intel Alder Lake Non-K Core i5 & Core i3 CPU Temperatures
Finally, we have temperatures, with the Intel Core i5-12400 running at 58 degrees Celsius against 86 degrees Celsius for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. The Core i3 chips run somewhat hotter than the Core i5 chips, up to 62 degrees Celsius, but that’s still far cooler than the Ryzen 3 5350G’s 68 degrees Celsius.
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