Core i9-12900KS vs Xeon Gold 6526Y

Core i9-12900KS

16 Cores24 Thrd150 WWMax: 5.3 GHz2022

Xeon Gold 6526Y

16 Cores32 Thrd195 WWMax: 3.9 GHz2023

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i9-12900KS

16 / 24

43,528

+0.8%

43,195

0.0%

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core i9-12900KS

#134

Core i5-11400

MSRP: $182|Avg: $141

105%

#135

Core i5-13600K

MSRP: $329|Avg: $319

104%

#136

Core i5-13500

MSRP: $242|Avg: $264

104%

#137

Ryzen 7 8700G

MSRP: $329|Avg: $269

104%

#138

Core i7-14700

MSRP: $384|Avg: $348

104%

#139

Ryzen 5 2500X

MSRP: $159|Avg: $80

104%

#140

Athlon Gold PRO 3150GE

MSRP: $100|Avg: $60

103%

#141

Core i9-13900K

MSRP: $599|Avg: $500

103%

#142

Core i3-14100

MSRP: $134|Avg: $131

103%

#143

Ryzen 5 3400G

MSRP: $149|Avg: $80

102%

#144

Core i7-10700KF

MSRP: $405|Avg: $160

102%

#145

Core i5-11600K

MSRP: $262|Avg: $170

102%

#146

Core i7-13700K

MSRP: $409|Avg: $400

101%

#147

Ryzen 5 PRO 3400G

MSRP: $149|Avg: $80

100%

#148

Ryzen 7 PRO 2700X

MSRP: $329|Avg: $150

100%

#149

Core i9-12900KS

MSRP: $739|Avg: $385

100%

#150

Ryzen 5 5500X3D

MSRP: $185|Avg: $180

99%

#151

Core Ultra 7 265T

MSRP: $384|Avg: $362

99%

#152

Ryzen 3 3200GE

MSRP: $85|Avg: $64

99%

#153

Core i3-9100T

MSRP: $122|Avg: $50

99%

#154

Ryzen 5 4600G

MSRP: $154|Avg: $143

99%

#155

Core i7-13700T

MSRP: $384|Avg: $250

99%

#156

Ryzen 9 5900X

MSRP: $549|Avg: $350

98%

#157

Core i7-13700F

MSRP: $359|Avg: $345

98%

#158

Core i5-13600T

MSRP: $255|Avg: $255

98%

#159

Ryzen 5 3400GE

MSRP: $149|Avg: $80

98%

#160

Core i7-12700F

MSRP: $314|Avg: $275

98%

#161

Core i5-9400

MSRP: $192|Avg: $85

98%

#162

Core i3-13100

MSRP: $134|Avg: $128

97%

#163

Core i9-10910

MSRP: $488|Avg: $200

95%

#164

Core i5-14600T

MSRP: $255|Avg: $255

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon Gold 6526Y

#365

EPYC 7513

MSRP: $2840|Avg: $389

111%

#366

Xeon Silver 4216

MSRP: $1011|Avg: $800

109%

#367

EPYC 9454P

MSRP: $4598|Avg: $3333

108%

#369

Xeon Gold 6542Y

MSRP: $2878|Avg: N/A

105%

#370

EPYC 7502

MSRP: $2600|Avg: $1299

105%

#371

Xeon 6730P

MSRP: $3726|Avg: $3726

105%

#372

Xeon Gold 6330

MSRP: $2128|Avg: $2128

104%

#373

Xeon Gold 6548Y+

MSRP: $3726|Avg: $3726

104%

#374

Xeon Gold 6448H

MSRP: $3658|Avg: N/A

103%

#375

Xeon D-2766NT

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $212

103%

#376

Xeon Gold 6442Y

MSRP: $2878|Avg: N/A

103%

#377

Xeon 6740P

MSRP: $4650|Avg: $4650

102%

#378

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9985WX

MSRP: $7999|Avg: $7999

101%

#379

Xeon W-3345

MSRP: $2499|Avg: $3319

101%

#380

Xeon Gold 6526Y

MSRP: $2878|Avg: N/A

100%

#382

Xeon Platinum 8352Y

MSRP: $3995|Avg: N/A

99%

#383

EPYC 7551P

MSRP: $2100|Avg: $329

95%

#384

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7985WX

MSRP: $7349|Avg: $7999

95%

#385

EPYC 9375F

MSRP: $5306|Avg: $108

95%

#386

Xeon w9-3475X

MSRP: $3739|Avg: $3930

91%

#388

EPYC 9254

MSRP: $3761|Avg: $1099

90%

#389

Xeon Gold 5220R

MSRP: $1780|Avg: $1015

90%

#390

EPYC 9555P

MSRP: $7983|Avg: $6130

89%

#391

Xeon Gold 5218

MSRP: $1273|Avg: $500

89%

#392

EPYC 9374F

MSRP: $4850|Avg: $3466

89%

#393

Xeon Gold 6448Y

MSRP: $3583|Avg: N/A

89%

#394

EPYC 9454

MSRP: $5225|Avg: $576

88%

#395

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5945WX

MSRP: $2399|Avg: $1000

88%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($2,878) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon Gold 6526Y is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core i9-12900KS	Xeon Gold 6526Y
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	✅ More affordable ($385)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,878)
Longevity	✨ Modern (Alder Lake-S (2022) / Intel 7 nm)	✨ Modern (Emerald Rapids (2023) / Intel 7 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i9-12900KS ($385), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($2,493 less, 87% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core i9-12900KS	Xeon Gold 6526Y
Cost Efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+653%)	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	✅ More affordable ($385)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,878)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i9-12900KS Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 6526Y Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i9-12900KS and Xeon Gold 6526Y

Core i9-12900KS

The Core i9-12900KS is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 5 April 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 16 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 3.4 GHz, with boost up to 5.3 GHz. L3 cache: 30 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 150 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 43,528 points. Launch price was $499.

Xeon Gold 6526Y

The Xeon Gold 6526Y is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 December 2023 (1 year ago). It is based on the Emerald Rapids (2023) architecture. It features 16 cores and 32 threads. Base frequency is 2.8 GHz, with boost up to 3.9 GHz. L3 cache: 37.5 MB (total). L2 cache: 2 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA4677. Thermal design power (TDP): 195 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-5200. Passmark benchmark score: 43,195 points. Launch price was $1,517.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i9-12900KS packs 16 cores / 24 threads, matching the Xeon Gold 6526Y's 16 cores. Boost clocks reach 5.3 GHz on the Core i9-12900KS versus 3.9 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6526Y — a 30.4% clock advantage for the Core i9-12900KS (base: 3.4 GHz vs 2.8 GHz). The Core i9-12900KS uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6526Y uses Emerald Rapids (2023) (Intel 7 nm). In PassMark, the Core i9-12900KS scores 43,528 against the Xeon Gold 6526Y's 43,195 — a 0.8% lead for the Core i9-12900KS. L3 cache: 30 MB (total) on the Core i9-12900KS vs 37.5 MB (total) on the Xeon Gold 6526Y.

Feature	Core i9-12900KS	Xeon Gold 6526Y
Cores / Threads	16 / 24	16 / 32
Boost Clock	5.3 GHz+36%	3.9 GHz
Base Clock	3.4 GHz+21%	2.8 GHz
L3 Cache	30 MB (total)	37.5 MB (total)+25%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	2 MB (per core)+60%
Process	Intel 7 nm	Intel 7 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Emerald Rapids (2023)
PassMark	43,528	43,195
Cinebench R23 Multi	27,796	—
Geekbench 6 Single	2,082	—

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i9-12900KS uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon Gold 6526Y uses LGA4677 (PCIe 5.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800 on the Core i9-12900KS versus 5200 on the Xeon Gold 6526Y — the Xeon Gold 6526Y supports 199.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Xeon Gold 6526Y supports up to 4096 of RAM compared to 128 GB — 187.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i9-12900KS) vs 8 (Xeon Gold 6526Y). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i9-12900KS) vs 80 (Xeon Gold 6526Y) — the Xeon Gold 6526Y offers 60 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: LGA1700 (Core i9-12900KS) and C741 (Xeon Gold 6526Y).

Feature	Core i9-12900KS	Xeon Gold 6526Y
Socket	LGA1700	LGA4677
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0	PCIe 5.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR5-4800	5200+103900%
Max RAM Capacity	128 GB+3276700%	4096
RAM Channels	2	8+300%
ECC Support	✅	✅
PCIe Lanes	20	80+300%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Core i9-12900KS has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Both support AVX-512 instructions, benefiting scientific computing, AI inference, and encryption workloads. Both support VT-x, VT-d virtualization. The Core i9-12900KS includes integrated graphics (UHD 770), while the Xeon Gold 6526Y requires a dedicated GPU. Direct competitor: Xeon Gold 6526Y rivals EPYC 9334.