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Entry level Alder Lake: i5-12400 review, the new value king

g67575 said:
I think you'd be fine with a 6 core 12400f, based on this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDVBGseUUAU3EaH?format=jpg&name=large

Assuming 60 FPS minimum is your goal.

As the GamerNexus review mentions above, the i3-12100F is already performing surprisingly well even in CPU intensive games like Total War:Three Kingdoms.

DDR4 4000mhz is cheap these days, I'd go with a 16GB kit, like this one:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/patr...MI9I-D0OOp9QIVVuDtCh0wiQDuEAQYBSABEgJjpvD_BwE

If you get a motherboard with 4 RAM module slots, you can always add 2 additional modules later, if needed.
Click to expand...

Thanks fella

Hadnt even come across the i33 12100f so will look into that. I will definitely go for 32gb of ram, tbh I'm looking to build something that will last me a good 4-5 years. Not sure how much longer my current set up will last as I've had it since it was released lol.

Any ideas on motherboards chaps? I use a lan connection so not fussed about in built wifi. Also have a decent soundblaster card to plug in.

Trying to get something future proof as my current set up for example wont allow me to install Windows 11 as far as I can work out

Cheers
George
 
A longer term option would be DDR5, especially if you want higher RAM capacity, but it's costly and you may need to wait to get hold of some.

I personally wouldn't wanna spend much on an Alder Lake CPU, with Raptor Lake coming in the same year.
 
Also one more thing chaps

I have a Corsair H80igt CPU water cooler, does anyone know if I will be able to use that with the Alder Lake CPU's?
 
g67575 said:
A longer term option would be DDR5, especially if you want higher RAM capacity, but it's costly and you may need to wait to get hold of some.

I personally wouldn't wanna spend much on an Alder Lake CPU, with Raptor Lake coming in the same year.
Click to expand...

The memory capacity of all the current Intel chipsets is disappointingly low for some reason. Everything I’ve looked at is 64-128gb max and QVL memory compatibility is pretty bad.

This memory issue might put an end to the 12700T build I was planning.
 
@ghuk - the cheapest DDR5 LGA1700 (Z690 chipset) board I could find on the web was ~£170. If you're only interested in building a DDR5 system, I could send you the link.

Or, just search for 'Gigabyte Z690 UD DDR5'.

There don't seem to be any budget DDR5 boards available, nor will there necessarily be any on LGA1700 this year.

A 32GB kit of DDR5 is about double or triple the price of a 32GB kit of DDR4.

DDR4 32GB 3600MHZ kit here:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/patr...MIhKDIuqWr9QIVF4BQBh2LuQ8zEAQYAyABEgLKCvD_BwE

It's crazy cheap.

The cheapest DDR4 B660 chipset boards are around £100.
 
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Just to want to say a big 'thank you' for everyone's replies on this thread chaps. I really appreciate it :p

After many, many years of loyal service, my Core i7 3770k + Gigabyte z68 combo has officially been retired lol

I've finally taken the plunge and upgraded to the following spec

Core i5 12400F
MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk DDR4 Motherboard
Corsair DDR4 3600 32GB Ram
Samsung 908 Pro 250GB M.2 Pcie 4.0 NVMe SSD
Artic Liquid Freezer 240 AIO Cooler

Safe to say I am more than impressed, my RTX 3060ti is finally complimented with suitable hardware

Hopefully this set up will last me for a good 4-5 years :)
 
Last edited:
RavenXXX2 said:
Quality rig for the money paid, 12400 is a cracking chip.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate I'm really happy with it :)

One thing I've noticed which if I'm being honest hadnt even thought about when upgrading is that downloading files is now considerably faster. I installed Resident Evil Village last night in almost half the time it would take my old i7 3770k combo :p
 
ghuk said:
Just to want to say a big 'thank you' for everyone's replies on this thread chaps. I really appreciate it :p

After many, many years of loyal service, my Core i7 3770k + Gigabyte z68 combo has officially been retired lol

I've finally taken the plunge and upgraded to the following spec

Core i5 12400F
MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk DDR4 Motherboard
Corsair DDR4 3600 32GB Ram
Samsung 908 Pro 250GB M.2 Pcie 4.0 NVMe SSD
Artic Liquid Freezer 240 AIO Cooler

Safe to say I am more than impressed, my RTX 3060ti is finally complimented with suitable hardware

Hopefully this set up will last me for a good 4-5 years :)
Click to expand...

That should be a solid setup for the next few years.
 
Interesting aside to the 12400 (which is a great value btw)

Intel Core i5-12490F soundly beats Core i5-12400F and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X in Geekbench but it's a China-only chip - NotebookCheck.net News

China only, but can be had for $254.

This guy put up some good numbers with a 12400F, a real one. Seems like a good buy.

download-5.png
 
Wow! The i5 12400f temps are amazing!

Paired with an Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 I'm seeming temps on all 6 cores anywhere between 16 - 22 degrees celsius at idle and its not going much past 40 degrees during an intensive gaming session. Its night and day difference compared to my old i7 3770k

Seriously impressed by this chaps :)
 
ghuk said:
Wow! The i5 12400f temps are amazing!

Paired with an Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 I'm seeming temps on all 6 cores anywhere between 16 - 22 degrees celsius at idle and its not going much past 40 degrees during an intensive gaming session. Its night and day difference compared to my old i7 3770k

Seriously impressed by this chaps :)
Click to expand...

Those tempts are impressive the 12400 cpu`s are looking better by the day.
 
ghuk said:
Just to want to say a big 'thank you' for everyone's replies on this thread chaps. I really appreciate it :p

After many, many years of loyal service, my Core i7 3770k + Gigabyte z68 combo has officially been retired lol

I've finally taken the plunge and upgraded to the following spec

Core i5 12400F
MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk DDR4 Motherboard
Corsair DDR4 3600 32GB Ram
Samsung 908 Pro 250GB M.2 Pcie 4.0 NVMe SSD
Artic Liquid Freezer 240 AIO Cooler

Safe to say I am more than impressed, my RTX 3060ti is finally complimented with suitable hardware

Hopefully this set up will last me for a good 4-5 years :)
Click to expand...

What's performance like in gaming? Are you at 1440p by any chance? I'm very tempted to go for a entry level/budget build this time round.
 
ghuk said:
Wow! The i5 12400f temps are amazing!

Paired with an Arctic Liquid Freezer 240 I'm seeming temps on all 6 cores anywhere between 16 - 22 degrees celsius at idle and its not going much past 40 degrees during an intensive gaming session. Its night and day difference compared to my old i7 3770k

Seriously impressed by this chaps :)
Click to expand...
Now you know exactly why I got the 9600KF over the flagship 9900K, same deal with that.

By lowering temps you are increasing your processors overclock potential. So many people told me not to get the six core 9600KF, it was like they were beating a dead horse. I didn't deviate from and because I only have six cores, I had less heat to manage which is what I was trying to tell everyone at the time. Id like to see a 9900K do this in the same cooling environment. Remember this machine is ambient (-10*F) it has a conventional loop that goes through a passive heat exchanger (liquid to liquid). People get mesmerized by the number of cores but TBH the amount of cores you have is over rated. Take a core 2 duo chip for example, it's goint to still allow you run windows 10 and with an SSD it will be nearly as quick as a brand new machine for basic uses.

Told me not to get this CPU they said...
97vmq5.png
 
storm-chaser said:
Now you know exactly why I got the 9600KF over the flagship 9900K, same deal with that.

By lowering temps you are increasing your processors overclock potential. So many people told me not to get the six core 9600KF, it was like they were beating a dead horse. I didn't deviate from and because I only have six cores, I had less heat to manage which is what I was trying to tell everyone at the time. Id like to see a 9900K do this in the same cooling environment. Remember this machine is ambient (-10*F) it has a conventional loop that goes through a passive heat exchanger (liquid to liquid). People get mesmerized by the number of cores but TBH the amount of cores you have is over rated. Take a core 2 duo chip for example, it's goint to still allow you run windows 10 and with an SSD it will be nearly as quick as a brand new machine for basic uses.

Told me not to get this CPU they said...
97vmq5.png
Click to expand...
The 3600 or 3700X were the CPUs to get at that time if you wanted good performance but also to keep the temps down and AMD were cheaper than Intel in those days also.
 
storm-chaser said:
Now you know exactly why I got the 9600KF over the flagship 9900K, same deal with that.

By lowering temps you are increasing your processors overclock potential. So many people told me not to get the six core 9600KF, it was like they were beating a dead horse. I didn't deviate from and because I only have six cores, I had less heat to manage which is what I was trying to tell everyone at the time. Id like to see a 9900K do this in the same cooling environment. Remember this machine is ambient (-10*F) it has a conventional loop that goes through a passive heat exchanger (liquid to liquid). People get mesmerized by the number of cores but TBH the amount of cores you have is over rated. Take a core 2 duo chip for example, it's goint to still allow you run windows 10 and with an SSD it will be nearly as quick as a brand new machine for basic uses.

Told me not to get this CPU they said...
97vmq5.png
Click to expand...

You need to direct die the 9900k. The delta between my stock ihs and my buddies dd was 15c+

The gap grows at higher loads as well since heat transfer through stim ends up the bottleneck.
 
Joxeon said:
The 3600 or 3700X were the CPUs to get at that time if you wanted good performance but also to keep the temps down and AMD were cheaper than Intel in those days also.
Click to expand...
Point noted.
Not a big fan of Ryzen, but I may have chosen AMD anyway if I could have pushed the processor to a daily, reliable 5.0GHz 24/7 OC. That was one of my pre-requisites for the build and at the time neither of those AMD processors allowed for that. So right out of the gate I'd be picking a CPU that has less overclocking head room, which was the opposite of my intent!

Also, price difference was negligible. The 9600KF was $200 on newegg at the time. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Robert896r1 said:
You need to direct die the 9900k. The delta between my stock ihs and my buddies dd was 15c+

The gap grows at higher loads as well since heat transfer through stim ends up the bottleneck.
Click to expand...

Then again I could go direct die on my 9600KF and do the same :)

However, I think direct die is over-rated, especially on the 9900K.

I was just watching some videos a couple of days ago on the soldered Intel chips and the general consensus was that it isn't worth it. Unless of course you have an anomaly, poorly made one.

Gamers Nexus in particular, showed only 1-2c difference between solder and liquid metal. IMO not worth the risk of damaging a $300 chip or messing with it at all. The gains are not really worth the effort.

The core count craze has definitely blinded people to their true needs in a central processing unit, but what do I know...
 
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