Notebookcheck Logo

Intel Core i5-12500H vs Intel Core i9-12900HK

Intel Core i5-12500H

► remove from comparison Intel i5-12500H

The Intel Core i5-12500H is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 4 of the 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and all 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 16 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.5 to 4.5 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.8 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compared to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 18 MB L3 cache. Compared to the 12600H, the 12500H offers base clock for both clusters, a slower clocked iGPU and only "Essentials" vPro support.

Performance

The average 12500H in our database is in the same league as the Ryzen 9 6900HS, Ryzen 9 6900HX, Core i7-12650H and also the Core i9-11900H, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. For something that's supposedly a mid-range chip, this kind of performance is just outrageously good, as of Q3 2023.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 80 W, the Gigabyte G7 KE is among the fastest laptops built around the 12500H that we know of. It can be more than 40% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Architecture

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 80 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.3 GHz.

Power consumption

This Core i5 has a "minimum assured" power consumption of 35 W. Its Base power consumption sits at 45 W and its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption isn't supposed to exceed 95 W. A high-performance cooling solution is a must for a CPU like this one here.

Last but not he least, Intel Core i5-12500H is manufactured on Intel's fourth-generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of late 2022, energy efficiency.

Intel Core i9-12900HK

► remove from comparison Intel i9-12900HK

The Intel Core i9-12900HK is a high-end mobile CPU for laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers 6 performance cores (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 8 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 20 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 2.5 to 5 GHz on the performance cluster and 1.8 to 3.8 GHz on the efficiency cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare with the Core i7-6920HQ). All cores can use up to 24 MB L3 cache. As a K-variant, the CPU offers an open multiplicator and therefore the possibility to overclock the CPU cores. Compared to the similar i9-12900H, the 12900HK only offers the "Essentials" features of vPro.

Performance

The average 12900HK in our database is in the same as the Core i9-13900H, as far as multi-thread benchmark scores are concerned. It's also almost as fast as the Ryzen 7 7745HX and the Core i5-13500HX. This is a super-fast processor, as of mid 2023; it will have no issues running any app or any game for at least two more years.

Thanks to its decent cooling solution and a long-term CPU power limit of 134 W, the Alienware x17 R2 P48E is among the fastest laptops built around the 12900HK that we know of. It can be more than 40% faster in CPU-bound workloads than the slowest system featuring the same chip in our database, as of August 2023.

Features

The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).

The integrated graphics card is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 1.45 GHz.

Power consumption

This Core i9 series chip has a "minimum assured" power consumption of 35 W, with 45 W being its Base power consumption. The maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption sits at 115 W.

The i9-12900HK is manufactured on Intel's 4th generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for lower-than-average, as of mid-2023, energy efficiency.

ModelIntel Core i5-12500HIntel Core i9-12900HK
CodenameAlder Lake-HAlder Lake-H
SeriesIntel Alder Lake-PIntel Alder Lake-P
Series: Alder Lake-P Alder Lake-H
Intel Core i9-12900HK1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900H compare1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12800H compare1.8 - 4.8 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12650H compare1.7 - 4.7 GHz10 / 16 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12600H compare2 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12500H « 1.8 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12450H compare1.5 - 4.4 GHz8 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900HK « 1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i9-12900H compare1.8 - 5 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12800H compare1.8 - 4.8 GHz14 / 20 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i7-12650H compare1.7 - 4.7 GHz10 / 16 cores24 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12600H compare2 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12500H1.8 - 4.5 GHz12 / 16 cores18 MB L3
Intel Core i5-12450H compare1.5 - 4.4 GHz8 / 12 cores12 MB L3
Clock1800 - 4500 MHz1800 - 5000 MHz
L1 Cache1.1 MB1.2 MB
L2 Cache10 MB11.5 MB
L3 Cache18 MB24 MB
Cores / Threads12 / 1614 / 20
TDP45 Watt45 Watt
Technology10 nm10 nm
max. Temp.100 °C100 °C
SocketBGA1744BGA1744
FeaturesDDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Dir., DL Boost, GNA, vPro Ess., MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, BMI2, ABM, FMA, ADX, VMX, SMX, SMEP, SMAP, EIST, TM1, TM2, HT, Turbo, SST, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHADDR4-3200/LPDDR4x-4266/DDR5-4800/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL Boost, GNA, vPro Ess., MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA
iGPUIntel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs ( - 1300 MHz)Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs ( - 1450 MHz)
Architecturex86x86
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i5-12500H
36.5 pt (61%)
Restrict / Search: Model: Max. age: years
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - i9-12900HK
38.4 pt (64%)
Restrict / Search: Model: Max. age: years
Cinebench 2024 - Cinebench 2024 CPU Single Core
min: 77     avg: 98.7     median: 105 (59%)     max: 114 Points
Cinebench 2024 - Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi Core
min: 722     avg: 781     median: 746 (14%)     max: 876 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
min: 11330     avg: 13325     median: 13461 (13%)     max: 14686 Points
min: 13175     avg: 17214     median: 18330.5 (17%)     max: 19282 Points
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
min: 1629     avg: 1677     median: 1685.5 (72%)     max: 1701 Points
min: 1266     avg: 1744     median: 1787 (76%)     max: 1940 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 627     avg: 647     median: 652.5 (72%)     max: 656 Points
min: 487     avg: 659     median: 664 (74%)     max: 739 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 4687     avg: 5126     median: 5090.5 (12%)     max: 5640 Points
min: 5068     avg: 6575     median: 6990.5 (17%)     max: 7366 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 2001     avg: 2142     median: 2112 (13%)     max: 2283 Points
min: 1975     avg: 2635     median: 2811 (18%)     max: 2944 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 233     avg: 242.5     median: 242.5 (68%)     max: 250 Points
min: 185     avg: 250.8     median: 256 (72%)     max: 279 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 23.44     avg: 27.2     median: 26.2 (34%)     max: 33 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 2.22     avg: 2.9     median: 3 (71%)     max: 3.28 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
min: 6388     avg: 8227     median: 8553.5 (52%)     max: 9412 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
min: 44691     avg: 50164     median: 49381 (36%)     max: 57202 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (64bit)
min: 68542     avg: 73237     median: 75223 (48%)     max: 75947 Points
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (64bit)
min: 10299     avg: 12660     median: 12378 (15%)     max: 15303 Points
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
min: 186.394     avg: 212.6     median: 201.1 (2%)     max: 250.324 s
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
min: 3.375     avg: 3.7     median: 3.5 (1%)     max: 4.209 s
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
min: 7387     avg: 8274     median: 8068.5 (13%)     max: 9573 Points
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multi Thread 4 runs
min: 44105     avg: 50901     median: 51984.5 (30%)     max: 54380 MIPS
min: 53320     avg: 67287     median: 70991 (41%)     max: 75564 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
min: 5174     avg: 5360     median: 5377 (63%)     max: 5563 MIPS
min: 4240     avg: 5616     median: 5622.5 (66%)     max: 6186 MIPS
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
min: 113.7     avg: 130.6     median: 124.5 (42%)     max: 159.6 fps
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
min: 250     avg: 286     median: 288.2 (66%)     max: 317.5 fps
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
min: 12     avg: 15.1     median: 15.3 (27%)     max: 16.6 fps
min: 15     avg: 19     median: 20.2 (36%)     max: 21.6 fps
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
min: 1.1     avg: 1.3     median: 1.3 (37%)     max: 1.5 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
min: 2     avg: 2.3     median: 2.3 (39%)     max: 2.6 GB/s
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
min: 12.5     avg: 14     median: 13.6 (35%)     max: 16.3 GB/s
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
min: 385     avg: 435.3     median: 426 (5%)     max: 520 Seconds
min: 413     avg: 421.5     median: 421.5 (5%)     max: 430 Seconds
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
min: 223     avg: 245.1     median: 238 (2%)     max: 288 Seconds
min: 172.5     avg: 197.3     median: 183 (1%)     max: 246 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
min: 0.4748     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (11%)     max: 0.535 sec
min: 0.4155     avg: 0.5     median: 0.5 (10%)     max: 0.637 sec
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
min: 12791     avg: 13126     median: 13126 (28%)     max: 13461 Points
min: 11679     avg: 14567     median: 14439 (31%)     max: 16864 Points
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
min: 7.281     avg: 8.5     median: 7.9 (2%)     max: 10.896 s
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
min: 16.1     avg: 18.9     median: 17.7 (1%)     max: 24.152 s
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
min: 383.9     avg: 405.7     median: 397.4 (2%)     max: 435.936 s
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. CPU no Physx
min: 59631     avg: 64239     median: 59969 (46%)     max: 77386 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 15380     avg: 18894     median: 19689 (48%)     max: 20500 Points
min: 16821     avg: 21617     median: 21148 (52%)     max: 25556 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
min: 82429     avg: 85046     median: 85045.5 (69%)     max: 87662 Points
min: 64571     avg: 75788     median: 66129 (54%)     max: 96663 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
84919 Points (69%)
min: 63938     avg: 75775     median: 65657 (53%)     max: 97730 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
86520 Points (72%)
min: 66915     avg: 84567     median: 82935 (69%)     max: 102779 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
min: 15451     avg: 16932     median: 17100 (43%)     max: 18190 Points
min: 15707     avg: 18272     median: 17695 (45%)     max: 21231 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
min: 23099     avg: 24362     median: 24351.5 (43%)     max: 25450 Points
min: 21092     avg: 27235     median: 27778.5 (50%)     max: 31045 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
min: 8343     avg: 9856     median: 9989 (42%)     max: 11121 Points
min: 9449     avg: 12012     median: 12212 (51%)     max: 14252 Points
Geekbench 6.4 - Geekbench 6.4 Single-Core
min: 2239     avg: 2280     median: 2279.5 (57%)     max: 2320 Points
min: 1797     avg: 2204     median: 2204 (55%)     max: 2611 Points
Geekbench 6.4 - Geekbench 6.4 Multi-Core
min: 8714     avg: 9892     median: 9891.5 (38%)     max: 11069 Points
min: 9804     avg: 10263     median: 10262.5 (40%)     max: 10721 Points
Geekbench 6.0 - Geekbench 6.0 Single-Core
2125 Points (67%)
min: 2175     avg: 2591     median: 2494 (79%)     max: 3105 Points
Geekbench 6.0 - Geekbench 6.0 Multi-Core
8352 Points (34%)
min: 10342     avg: 14464     median: 12046 (49%)     max: 21003 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.5 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 1556     avg: 1642     median: 1636.5 (64%)     max: 1693 Points
min: 1298     avg: 1738     median: 1866 (73%)     max: 1918 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.5 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 7962     avg: 9862     median: 10272 (18%)     max: 10828 Points
min: 9969     avg: 12819     median: 13648 (24%)     max: 14294 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
1636 Points (7%)
min: 1257     avg: 1690     median: 1821.5 (8%)     max: 1859 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
10203 Points (32%)
min: 9934     avg: 11876     median: 11907 (38%)     max: 13757 Points
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 5823     avg: 7424     median: 7928.5 (79%)     max: 8015 Points
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 38751     avg: 44916     median: 44864 (45%)     max: 51184 Points
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 545     avg: 555     median: 554 (1%)     max: 565 ms
min: 490     avg: 547     median: 509.5 (1%)     max: 737 ms
Sunspider - Sunspider 1.0 Total Score *
min: 102.4     avg: 107.1     median: 107.1 (1%)     max: 111.7 ms
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 83082     avg: 83286     median: 83229 (64%)     max: 83548 Points
94352 Points (73%)
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
min: 214     avg: 238.4     median: 240 (66%)     max: 251 Points
min: 191.4     avg: 236.5     median: 249 (68%)     max: 269 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
min: 246     avg: 270.7     median: 272 (49%)     max: 286 Points
min: 216     avg: 290.7     median: 299 (54%)     max: 331 Points
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage 2.0 random write internal
43.3 MB/s (30%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage 2.0 seq write internal
2539 MB/s (72%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage 2.0 random read internal
81.5 MB/s (39%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage 2.0 seq read internal
3600 MB/s (100%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Work Score 3.0
20584 Points (76%)
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
min: 1668     avg: 1755     median: 1752 (66%)     max: 1824 Points
min: 1418     avg: 1870     median: 1903 (71%)     max: 2138 Points
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 59.5     avg: 103.2     median: 106 (18%)     max: 132.7 Watt
min: 82.3     avg: 117     median: 117.5 (20%)     max: 174.7 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 76.3     avg: 116     median: 126.5 (23%)     max: 134.6 Watt
min: 77.7     avg: 130.6     median: 138.5 (25%)     max: 166 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
min: 4.45     avg: 17.4     median: 17.5 (12%)     max: 30.6 Watt
min: 13.2     avg: 38.1     median: 38.1 (25%)     max: 63 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
min: 6.46     avg: 11.9     median: 12.3 (14%)     max: 16 Watt
Power Consumption - Power Efficiency - Cinebench R15 Multi external Monitor
min: 15.7     avg: 19.8     median: 18 (13%)     max: 27.1 Points per Watt
min: 17.2     avg: 20.7     median: 20.6 (15%)     max: 25.4 Points per Watt

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i5-12500H → 100% n=33

Average Benchmarks Intel Core i9-12900HK → 113% n=33

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Add one or more devices and compare

In the following list you can select (and also search for) devices that should be added to the comparison. You can select more than one device.

restrict list:
v1.33
log 28. 23:50:06

#0 ran 0s before starting gpusingle class +0s ... 0s

#1 checking url part for id 14055 +0s ... 0s

#2 checking url part for id 14041 +0s ... 0s

#3 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#4 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Wed, 28 May 2025 12:38:50 +0200 +0s ... 0s

#5 composed specs +0.007s ... 0.007s

#6 did output specs +0s ... 0.007s

#7 getting avg benchmarks for device 14055 +0.004s ... 0.011s

#8 got single benchmarks 14055 +0.017s ... 0.028s

#9 getting avg benchmarks for device 14041 +0.004s ... 0.032s

#10 got single benchmarks 14041 +0.014s ... 0.046s

#11 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.046s

#12 min, max, avg, median took s +0.056s ... 0.102s

#13 return log +0.002s ... 0.104s

Please share our article, every link counts!
Mail Logo
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Benchmarks / Tech > Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)