Intel released its new 13th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs on October 20th, 2022. And with them came substantial performance improvements over last generations alder lake CPUs. But are they worth the upgrade? Here is our Core i7-13700K vs i7-12700K article.

Now read: Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K.

You can go ahead and pick yourself up a 13th gen CPU now, but wait! Don’t you want to find out whether or not the purchase is worth it? Just how good is the 13700K vs the 12700K? is the upgrade even worth it? That’s what we aim to find out today.

Before we jump into the performance, we need to understand the specifications of the two CPUs, in order to look at them comparatively. This should help us gain an understanding of what specifications to look out for when comparing two separate CPUs.

The Core i7-13700K is an efficiency beast, and we really hope that it stacks up well against it’s predecessor, the 12700K.

Core i7-13700K vs i7-12700K: Specifications

Here we will outline the specifications of both CPUs so we can compare them and determine which is the more powerful CPU based solely on specs. This gives us a better understanding of each CPU and allows us to make an informed decision when choosing between them.

i7-13700K

The 13700K is designed to be a little more budget-friendly than the 13900K bringing high performance into the gaming realm, whilst still having the core and thread count to be proficient in multicore workloads.

The specifications of the Core i7-13700K are as follows:

Cores: P-cores 8 / E-cores 8
Threads: 24
Base clock frequency: P-cores 3.4 GHz / E-cores 2.5 GHz
Boost clock frequency: P-cores 5.4 GHz / E-cores 4.2 GHz
L3 cache: 24MB
Default TDP: 125 W / 253 W boost.
iGPU: Intel UHD graphics 770

i7-12700K

The i7-12700K was a favorite among PC gamers, bringing a great price-to-performance ratio forward, whilst still being able to crack through the more demanding workloads. Let’s see how it holds up to the 13700K.

The specifications of the 12700K are as follows:

Cores: P-cores 8 / E-cores 4
Threads: 20
Base clock frequency: P-cores 3.6 GHz / E-cores 2.7 GHz
Boost clock frequency: P-cores 5.0 GHz / E-cores 3.8 GHz
L3 cache: 12MB
Default TDP: 125 W / 190 W boost.
iGPU: Intel UHD graphics 770

Things to consider when deciding between the 13700K and the 12700K

There are a few things to take into consideration when opting for either of these two CPUs.

Chipset

Although both of the CPUs belong to the same socket, there are some considerable differences between the old 600 series motherboards and the new 700 series motherboards. For instance, the Z790 chipset motherboards have PCIe Gen 5 capabilities, faster memory allowances, and better connectivity.

Both CPUs will work on either motherboard, but there are more than a few benefits to upgrading to the latest motherboard chipset.

Memory speed

The 13th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs have a higher speed memory tolerance for DDR5 memory. The 12th-generation CPUs have a maximum supported memory speed of 4800 MT/s, whilst the 13th-generation CPUs have a maximum supported speed of 5600 MT/s.

Core i7-13700K vs i7-12700K: Specification comparison

Here we will analyze both of the CPUs’ specifications and determine which CPU is the best based on the specifications alone. And what we know about how CPUs behave. This should help us compare any CPU component in the future and come to an informed conclusion.

Core and thread count

The i7-13700K has a higher core and thread count than the 12700K.

Cores are important for multitasking, the more CPU cores you have available, the more you can do at once. Intel has opted to build its 13th-generation CPUs off of the same split-core technology as the 12th gen CPUs.

This means that the cores in both CPUs are split into P (performance cores) and E (efficiency cores) the performance cores are clocked higher and consume more power, whereas the efficiency cores are clocked lower and are more power efficient.

Threads are slightly different than CPU cores, threads are the name given to the instruction executed alongside the CPUs primary instruction. In other words, threads are the ability given to a CPU core to process two instructions simultaneously as opposed to one. This secondary instruction is called a thread.

The more cores and threads your CPU has, the better it will be. (if it’s a part of the same or similar generation)

Core speed

The 13700K wins here with a faster boost speed on both P and E cores.

Core speed is what matters most, especially for gamers. Whilst the number of cores governs a CPUs multi-core performance, core speed governs a CPU’s single-core performance.

Core speed is the measurement of how many times a CPU can complete the CPU instruction cycle, which comprises three main actions, Fetch, Decode, and Execute. This cycle equates to one instruction executed and completed. So the more times per second a CPU core can do this, the better.

Cache

The 13700K has a much larger cache.

The cache is a type of volatile memory that’s located physically close to CPU cores to facilitate speed and reliability. This is where the CPU stores a lot of its yet-to-be-calculated instructions, and the calculations of those instructions that are to be used elsewhere in the PC.

The CPU cache supports CPU speed as it’s responsible for feeding the CPU with data to crunch directly, the more cache you have and the faster it is, the better support your CPU has, making it faster as a result.

The more cache you have, the better.

TDP

The 12700K has a lower TDP, which is better in terms of efficiency.

TDP stands for thermal design power, and it’s the maximum amount of thermal energy an electrical component can emanate at maximum load.

The Intel CPUs have two values for TDP, there’s the default TDP and there’s the boost TDP. These values imply the TDP of the processor when it’s running at its base speed and its boosted speed.

The 12900K has a significantly lower TDP on the boost end, which is great for power efficiency. A lower TPD also means less heat to deal with, which translates into higher overclocking potential.

Sadly, however, a lower TDP is also indicative of a less powerful processor in this day and age.

13700K vs 12700K: performance

We don’t have our hands on the 13th-generation CPUs just yet. But during Intel’s latest Innovation event in 2022. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that the 13th generation CPUs have massive performance improvements over the 12th gen CPUs.

Pat said that the Raptor Lake CPUs will have a 15% better single-core performance gain and a massive 42% performance gain in multi-core benchmarks. A significant performance increase over the 12th generation.

Where to buy Intel 13th generation CPUs

Sold on the latest Intel 13th generation CPUs? here’s where to buy the entire 13th-generation CPU lineup!

Final word

The clear winner today is the 13700K for its superior power and performance. Obviously, we don’t know just how well it’s going to perform until it releases on October 20th, but we do have the metrics given by Intel at its latest innovation event.

The 13700K may be more pricey than the 12700K, but that’s for good reason. The 12700K can be found on sale in numerous places around the launch of Intel’s 13th generation CPUs, and the 12700K as we saw is still a very capable CPU. We hope you enjoyed our Core i7-13700K vs i7-12700K article.

Intel Core i7-13700K vs i7-12700K

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