Intel Core i9-12900KF

CPU Description

Release & Generation

• Released November 2021
• 12th Gen Intel Core (Alder Lake)
• First hybrid Performance-cores/Efficiency-cores desktop generation and introduced the LGA1700 platform

Core Configuration & Speeds

• 8 Performance-cores + 8 Efficiency-cores = 16 cores / 24 threads (Performance-cores with Hyper-Threading, Efficiency-cores single-threaded)
• 30 MB Intel Smart Cache (L3) plus additional L2 cache across P- and E-core clusters
• Up to around 5.2 GHz boost on Performance-cores
• 125 W base power (TDP); maximum turbo power ~241 W under sustained turbo loads

Memory Support

• DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200 (actual speeds depend on motherboard and DIMM configuration)

Socket

• LGA1700; designed for 600-series chipsets and supported by later 700-series boards with appropriate BIOS; motherboards offer either DDR4 or DDR5 platform options depending on model

Variants

• i9-12900K: Same core configuration but includes integrated UHD Graphics 770 and is targeted at overclockable enthusiast desktops
• i9-12900KF: Current model; unlocked and overclockable but lacks integrated graphics (requires a discrete GPU for display output)