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The Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700 battle is a confusing one. You may think the Intel Core i7 will win, and why wouldn't you? It's an Intel Core i7 after all. An Intel i7 is better than the Intel i5, right? No, that's not quite how it works. So, which is the better $300 CPU? The Intel Core i5-13600K is the better CPU at $300. That's because the former i5 CPU is a 13th Gen K-series CPU, while the latter i7 CPU is from 12th Gen.
The K series CPUs have unlocked multipliers, so they have a higher base and boost clocks straight out of the factory, along with overclocking support. This article goes in-depth with all the details and explains why the Intel Core i5-13600K is the better CPU.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700: Specs
The Intel Core i5-13600K is based on the 13th Gen Raptor Lake architecture that brought improvement in E-cores, clock speeds, and even cache sizes. On the other hand, the Intel Core i7-12700 is based on the 12th Gen Alder Lake architecture. Let's look at the specs in the Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700 discourse:
The specs sheet presents a confusing tale. On one hand, the Intel Core i7-12700 has more P-cores. On the other hand, there are fewer P-cores and eight E-cores on the Intel Core i7-13600K, which increases its total core count to 14. The Intel Core i5-13600K also has more L2 cache and higher boost clocks, thanks to its unlocked multiplier.
Although the Intel Core i5-13600K has lower P-cores, its total number of physical cores is higher than the Core i7-12700 due to the presence of higher E-cores.
Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700: Performance difference
Specs don't always translate to real-world performance. So, let's put both CPUs to the tests and see how they perform. Here's how Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700 performs in popular benchmarks:
As you can see, the Intel Core i5-13600K is 30% faster than the Intel Core i7-12700 in the Geekbench 6 multi-core test. But, in the Geekbench single-core test, the Intel Core i5-13600K is only 5.6% faster than the Intel Core i7-12700. This pattern follows in all of the tests. The former CPU wins by a small percentage in single-core scores but dominates in multi-core tests against the latter.
This will be synonymous with gaming performance as well. The Intel Core i5-13600K will be the winner in many games.
Intel Core i5-13600K vs Core i7-12700: Which is the better $300 CPU?
If you want a better CPU for your money, the Intel Core i5-13600K is the one to go for. It scores better in both single-core and multi-core benchmarks, and this performance lead will also be seen on the gaming side. What makes the Intel Core i5-13600K even better is the price. Currently, it costs $3 more but offers way superior performance and can be overclocked later.
The Intel Core i7-12700, on the other hand, cannot be overclocked as it is not a K-series processor while costing almost the same. The Intel Core i5-13600K also has better DDR5 5600 MT/s RAM speeds by default. On the other hand, the Intel Core i7-12700 only has support for DDR5 4800 MT/s speeds. The Intel Core i5-13600K is the better CPU to buy under $300.
