The budget-friendly Core i5-12400F Alder Lake Desktop CPU from Intel has gone on sale in Peru, and it costs nearly half as much as the 12600K and 5600X.

Within the Alder Lake Core i5 CPU sector, the Intel Core i5-12400F will be the most entry-level chip. It will have six cores, twelve threads, and will rely only on Golden Cove (P-Cores). Gracemont cores will not be available on the 12400. Furthermore, it will have a base frequency of 2.5 GHz and can accelerate to 4.4 GHz (4.0 GHz all-core). Although the CPU has a base TDP of 65W, the maximum wattage should be in the range of 100-150W. Well, not exactly 150, because the top Core i5 unlocked chip, the Core i5-12600K, has 150 cores, but we’ll find out once we test the chip.

In terms of the listing itself, the Intel Core i5-12400F is being sold for 899 Sols in Peru (as reported by XanxoGaming), which equates to $222 US. This price includes an 18 percent VAT; remove that and you’ll receive $181 US, which is the price most people will pay for the chip. When the CPU is officially released, you may expect an even lower price. The Core i5-12400F is nearly half the price of the Core i5-12600K and Ryzen 5 5600X at this pricing, making it a very powerful offering in the budget gaming market since AMD presently has no Zen 3 chips other than some older Zen 2 components that are being sold at discounted prices.

In gaming, the 12400F outperforms the 5600X and Core i7-11700K, with some wins in the multi-threaded segment as well. It does so while using less power and running slightly cooler than AMD’s Zen 3 processors.

The CPU will be shipped with Intel’s new boxed cooler, which has a stylish new look and is completely compatible with the LGA 1700 socket. The new Laminar series ‘RM1’ design was created with the Core i5 65W CPUs in mind. Aside from that, at CES 2022, Intel will unveil its H670, B660, and H610 motherboards, which will drive Alder Lake’s price down even lower and support both DDR5 and DDR4 memory.

Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU Specs “Preliminary”

CPU Name	P-Core Count	E-Core Count	Total Core / Thread	P-Core Base / Boost (Max)	P-Core Boost (All-Core)	E-Core Base / Boost	E-Core Boost (All-Core)	L3 Cache	TDP (PL1)	TDP (PL2)	Expected (MSRP) Price
Core i9-12900KS	8	8	16 / 24	3.2 / 5.2 GHz	5.2 GHz	2.4 / 3.9 GHz	3.7 GHz	30 MB	125W	TBC	TBC
Core i9-12900K	8	8	16 / 24	3.2 / 5.2 GHz	5.0 GHz	2.4 / 3.9 GHz	3.7 GHz	30 MB	125W	241W	$599 US
Core i9-12900	8	8	16 / 24	2.4 / 5.1 GHz	TBA	1.8 / TBA GHz	TBA	30 MB	65W	~200W	TBA
Core i9-12900T	8	8	16 / 24	TBA / 4.9 GHz	TBA	TBA	TBA	30 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i7-12700K	8	4	12 / 20	3.6 / 5.0 GHz	4.7 GHz	2.7 / 3.8 GHz	3.6 GHz	25 MB	125W	190W	$419 US
Core i7-12700	8	4	12 / 20	2.1 / 4.9 GHz	TBA	1.6 / TBA GHz	TBA	25 MB	65W	~190W	TBA
Core i7-12700T	8	4	12 / 20	TBA / 4.7 GHz	TBA	TBA	TBA	25 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12600K	6	4	10 / 16	3.7 / 4.9 GHz	4.5 GHz	2.8 / 3.6 GHz	3.4 GHz	20 MB	125W	150W	$299 US
Core i5-12600	6	0	6 / 12	3.3 / 4.8 GHz	4.4 GHz	N/A	N/A	18 MB	65W	~200W	TBA
Core i5-12600	6	0	6 / 12	3.0/ 4.6 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12500T	6	0	6 / 12	TBA / 4.4 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12400	6	0	6 / 12	2.5 / 4.4 GHz	4.0 GHz	N/A	N/A	18 MB	65W	~150W	TBA
Core i5-12400T	6	0	6 / 12	TBA / 4.2 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i3-12300	4	0	4 / 8	2.5 / 4.4 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	65W	~100W	TBA
Core i3-12200T	4	0	4 / 8	TBA / 4.2 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i3-12100	4	0	4 / 8	3.3 / 4.3 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	65W	~100W	TBA
Core i3-12100T	4	0	4 / 8	TBA / 4.1 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	35W	TBA	TBA