News Great CPU Deals for Budget Builds: Intel Core i7-12700KF is now just $199, Core i5-12600KF a mere $149

[Eximo]

K chips are usually the leaky ones too? Not good enough to be 12600 at 65W, but they can clock higher.

 

[TerryLaze]

K chips are usually the leaky ones too? Not good enough to be 12600 at 65W, but they can clock higher.

The 12600 doesn't have e-cores and the p-cores are clocked 400Mhz lower for base, they are not comparable at all.

 

[bit_user]

K chips are usually the leaky ones too? Not good enough to be 12600 at 65W, but they can clock higher.

i5-12600 and i5-12600K are based on different dies. There are only 3 different dies that make up all of the Gen 12, Gen 13, and Gen 14 desktop models:

• Alder Lake stepping C0: the classic 8P + 8E die we all know. Also, the only one to launch in 2021.
• Alder Lake stepping H0: the 6P + 0E die that launched several months later.
• Raptor Lake stepping B0: the 8P + 16E die which launched about 1 year after Alder Lake.

All of the socketed desktop models, plus some of the laptop models (i.e. HS & HX) are utilizing one of these dies. For lower-end laptops and BGA mini-PCs, there are two generations of P dies (6P + 8E), a couple generations of U dies (2P + 8E), and an N die (0P + 8E).

 

[35below0]

Can't argue with the value. The 13600K is considerably better than 12600KF but with a price to match. For $150 the 12600KF is a monster.

The platform is not dead. It's a dead end, but not dead. There will not be any new CPUs for it, but new RAM and GPUs will slot right in, to say nothing of M.2 NVMes.
LGA1700 is a great choice and it's going to be usable for many years. So unless someone is running a 10th or 11th gen CPU, i'd recommend it. Of course, AM5 is worth considering too.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I maintain the dies, themselves, aren't particularly scarce. Just look at pricing of the i3-14100. Newegg has it for $143, which is $111 less than they wanted for the i5-12600:

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https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qtBzK8/intel-core-i3-14100-35-ghz-quad-core-processor-bx8071514100​

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Yes, two of the P-cores have been disabled. Can it really be true that yield on P-cores is a problem, when there are C0 dies (8P + 8E) selling for less, and yet have all 8 P-cores enabled (e.g. i7-12700K)?

My guess is that probably the corporate Windows 10 client market is the main destination of most i5-12600 CPUs, and they're probably neither terribly cost-sensitive nor price-responsive. It's not a great gaming CPU, due to relatively low boost clocks and smaller L2 cache than Raptor Lake. I wish they had refreshed it with Raptor Cove cores, but we might end up seeing something of the sort from Bartlett Lake?

On the part about business buying up the i5, you might be correct but I know I work for a nonprofit. We buy 95% Dell due to warranties and we’ve had great luck with them.

But for us, we try not to buy a pc with less than an i7. At least with Dell when you price it, yes i5 PCs save a little, but when you get down to it there’s not a lot of price difference in the overall pc cost. Also we’ve found when buying the better CPUs over the years such as the i7 that they age better. In that they may be more power than needed right then, but as the computer gets older it seems to be able to handle the workloads just a little longer before replacement.

 

[bit_user]

On the part about business buying up the i5, you might be correct but I know I work for a nonprofit. We buy 95% Dell due to warranties and we’ve had great luck with them.

The Dell Precision 3000 desktop machines we have at my job are holding up much better than the previous round we bought. Those had all kinds of problems, from failing motherboards to hard drives and NVMe drives.

for us, we try not to buy a pc with less than an i7. At least with Dell when you price it, yes i5 PCs save a little, but when you get down to it there’s not a lot of price difference in the overall pc cost.

Okay, but there's a key detail you missed: I said Windows 10. That's because it lacks proper E-core scheduling. If I were buying low/mid-grade machines and running Windows 10 on them, I'd probably steer away from E-cores. That's why I expect some buyers have been opting for those CPUs in 2022-2023. Maybe not so much, any more. If there was continued demand for them, you'd expect Intel to have some Gen 13 or Gen 14 i5's without E-cores.

BTW, even in 2024, my work PC still has Win 10 on it. I like that - once Win 11 got released, I suddenly found my work PC got very stable!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

We are in the process currently of trying to get everyone compliant to windows 11. But still a lot of PCs that are a few years old and won’t support 11.

 

[Eximo]

Amazon's current price for the 12700kf is $190.

12700K is $215

 

[35below0]

Even the 13600K has dropped in price. $270
12600KF is $150 (again)

Imo the 13th gen i7 is no bueno, but the 12th and 14th are.