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Upcoming Intel Core i5-12400 processor may be an energy-efficient powerhouse

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The upcoming Intel Core i5-12400 processor was benchmarked ahead of its January 2022 launch, and the results are very promising for this midrange CPU.

The benchmarks show that the new Intel Alder Lake release can stand its ground in terms of performance while also providing great energy efficiency.

Intel unveils the 12th Gen Intel Core processor
Intel Corporation

Igor’s Lab tested the processor for gaming purposes, and the testing returned good results. The new CPU is based on a smaller version of Intel’s new Alder Lake-S silicon, called H0. Unlike many other Alder Lake processors, this one comes with only six Golden Cove (performance) CPU cores — it doesn’t feature any Gracemont (efficiency) cores. The CPU has a base clock speed of 2.5GHz and can be boosted up to 4.4GHz in turbo mode.

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Intel Core i5-12400 has a base power of 65 watts and reaches up to 117W in turbo mode — this value is referred to as maximum turbo power (MTP). Testing revealed that the processor should offer fantastic energy efficiency while performing well in gaming.

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In the benchmarks, Intel’s new Core i5-12400 was tested in several games and then compared to currently existing CPUs. It performed similarly to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X in several titles, but it also outmatched the Ryzen in more than one test.

It also offered better gaming performance than the previous generation of Intel processors. Compared to the Rocket Lake Core i7-11700K CPU, the new Alder Lake chip offered greater numbers at a significantly lower power usage. It’s worth noting that the Rocket Lake CPU is an 8-core, 16-thread chip.

Intel Core i9-12900K in a motherboard.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

The benchmark was performed by Igor’s Lab on an emulated CPU. Using the already existing Core i5-12600K, Igor adjusted the base clock and turbo clock to match the specs of the upcoming Core i5-12400. In addition to that, he disabled the E-cores to accurately recreate the unreleased processor. It’s possible that he also used other CPUs to recreate the i5-12400, as he mentions the Intel Core i9-12900K in his hardware lineup.

In addition to the processor, the system was running DDR4 memory, and it was based on the MSI MAG Z690 Edge motherboard. Interestingly enough, based on the testing, Igor’s Lab states that DDR4 memory was the more optimal option for this processor, so it didn’t use the new DDR5 RAM.

These tests certainly bode well for the Core i5-12400, but it’s important to remember that this is not just unreleased hardware: The benchmark was done on a simulated system based on C0 silicon. While Igor’s Lab was able to accurately recreate the new CPU, there are still differences in L3 cache sizes, and the chips themselves may also differ in some ways. We can expect to see up-to-date benchmarks when the CPU is officially released in January.

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Monica J. White
Monica J. White
Computing Writer
Monica is a UK-based freelance writer and self-proclaimed geek. A firm believer in the "PC building is just like expensive…
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