Is the Intel Core i5-12600K good for gaming?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Is the Intel Core i5-12600K good for gaming?

Intel Core i5-12600K is great for gaming

Most modern games don’t require countless cores and threads. So long as you have at least 4 physical cores with double the number of threads, you’re usually good to go. Intel made some serious improvements to the Intel Core i5-12600K compared to its predecessor, including a new manufacturing process, 4 more physical cores, and DDR5 support.

Even thebest graphics cardfrom AMD and NVIDIA shouldn’t experience any bottleneck issues with this CPU, especially when paired with super-fast DDR4 or DDR5 memory. You could spend more and enjoy better performance across the board in numerous scenarios with a Core i7 or Core i9 processor, but you don’t need either for gaming.

The below table compares the Core i5-12600K against the older Core i5-11600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X.

Selecting the verybest CPUdoesn’t necessarily result in the best gaming performance. You’ll eventually reach a point where the additional cores won’t make much difference in most PC titles. We published test results in our in-depthIntel Core i5-12600K review, showcasing just how competent this CPU is for gaming.

The best Intel mid-range CPU

With enough performance for even the most demanding games and a killer price to match, the Intel Core i5-12600K is pretty much everything you could want out of a CPU for gaming.

Get the Windows Central Newsletter

All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He’s been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at@RichEdmonds.