Core i9-12900TE
VS
Core i9-11900KB

Core i9-12900TE vs Core i9-11900KB

Intel

Core i9-12900TE

16 Cores24 Thrd35 WWMax: 4.8 GHz2022
VS
Intel

Core i9-11900KB

8 Cores16 Thrd65 WWMax: 4.9 GHz2021

Performance Spectrum - CPU

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 i9-12900TE

#363
Celeron G5900T
MSRP: $42|Avg: $50
127%
#364
Celeron G6900TE
MSRP: $53|Avg: $64
126%
#365
Core i5-8600T
MSRP: $213|Avg: $213
125%
#366
Celeron G4950
MSRP: $52|Avg: $63
125%
#367
Core i9-10900E
MSRP: $488|Avg: $450
125%
#368
Core i7-9700KF
MSRP: $374|Avg: $333
124%
#369
Core i5-8400T
MSRP: $182|Avg: $179
120%
#370
Athlon 240GE
MSRP: $75|Avg: $110
120%
#371
Core 5 120UL
MSRP: $277|Avg: $270
113%
#372
Ryzen Embedded V3C14
MSRP: $305|Avg: $305
113%
#373
Core i7-9700T
MSRP: $323|Avg: $276
112%
#374
Core i9-13900TE
MSRP: $554|Avg: $554
108%
#375
Ryzen Embedded V2546
MSRP: $300|Avg: $300
106%
#376
Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7945WX
MSRP: $1399|Avg: $1399
103%
#377
Core i3-9100HL
MSRP: $225|Avg: $100
100%
#378
Core i9-12900TE
MSRP: $494|Avg: $664
100%
#379
Core i9-9940X
MSRP: $1387|Avg: $850
96%
#380
Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7955WX
MSRP: $1899|Avg: $1836
95%
#381
Ryzen Embedded V1756B
MSRP: $250|Avg: $250
94%
#382
Ryzen Embedded R2544
MSRP: $280|Avg: $280
88%
#383
Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
MSRP: $4999|Avg: $4999
82%
#384
Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
MSRP: $3990|Avg: $2850
81%
#385
Celeron G4900
MSRP: $42|Avg: $85
81%
#386
Ryzen Embedded V3C18I
MSRP: $500|Avg: $500
80%
#387
Ryzen Embedded V1807B
MSRP: $300|Avg: $300
78%
#388
Ryzen Embedded R2312
MSRP: $150|Avg: $150
76%
#389
Ryzen Threadripper 7980X
MSRP: $4999|Avg: $5200
76%
#390
Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX
MSRP: $1799|Avg: $1247
74%
#391
Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
MSRP: $1299|Avg: $1300
69%
#392
Celeron G4920
MSRP: $52|Avg: $115
64%
#393
Core i3-9300T
MSRP: $309|Avg: $309
59%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Core i9-11900KB

#284
Core i7-14701E
MSRP: $392|Avg: $380
106%
#284
Ryzen Threadripper 1950X
MSRP: $999|Avg: $300
42%
#285
Core i5-10400
MSRP: $182|Avg: $175
106%
#286
Core i3-12100
MSRP: $122|Avg: $180
106%
#287
Core Ultra 9 285T
MSRP: $549|Avg: $549
104%
#288
Ryzen Threadripper 1950
MSRP: $999|Avg: $300
34%
#288
Core i5-12500TE
MSRP: $225|Avg: $225
103%
#289
Athlon Silver PRO 3125GE
MSRP: $108|Avg: $70
102%
#290
Core i9-10900KF
MSRP: $509|Avg: $336
102%
#291
Core i9-14900T
MSRP: $549|Avg: $577
102%
#291
Core i9-7900X
MSRP: $999|Avg: $188
32%
#292
Core i5-13500T
MSRP: $342|Avg: $342
102%
#293
Core i3-10300
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $140.49
102%
#294
Core i9-10900F
MSRP: $464|Avg: $300
102%
#294
Core i9-7920X
MSRP: $1199|Avg: $236
30%
#295
Ryzen 7 5800X3D
MSRP: $449|Avg: $429
102%
#295
Core i9-7940X
MSRP: $1399|Avg: $275
28%
#296
Core i7-9700F
MSRP: $323|Avg: $200
102%
#297
Ryzen Threadripper 9960X
MSRP: $1499|Avg: $1419
101%
#298
Core i9-7960X
MSRP: $1699|Avg: $185
25%
#298
Core i5-9500F
MSRP: $187|Avg: $154
100%
#299
Core i9-7980XE
MSRP: $1999|Avg: $300
23%
#299
Core i9-11900KB
MSRP: $539|Avg: $350
100%
#300
Core i7-10700F
MSRP: $310|Avg: $250
100%
#301
Core i7-10700T
MSRP: $355|Avg: $200
99%
#302
Core i7-6900K
MSRP: $1089|Avg: $1089
21%
#302
Celeron G5920
MSRP: $52|Avg: $40
99%
#303
Core i3-10105T
MSRP: $122|Avg: $122
99%
#303
Core i7-5960X
MSRP: $999|Avg: $83
21%
#304
Core i7-6950X
MSRP: $1723|Avg: $180
16%
#304
Celeron G5900
MSRP: $50|Avg: $42
98%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Performance Trade-off: The Core i9-11900KB leads in gaming performance. However, the Core i9-12900TE is the stronger candidate for professional workloads, offering 0.9% greater multi-core processing power.
InsightCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
Gaming
Lower gaming performance
Superior gaming performance
Workstation
Better multi-core power
Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price
⚠️ Higher cost ($664)
More affordable ($350)
Longevity
✨ Modern (Alder Lake-S (2022) / 10 nm)
✨ Modern (Tiger Lake-H (2021) / 10 nm SuperFin)

💎 Value Proposition

Efficiency: The Core i9-11900KB leads not only in performance but also in value. It is effectively 47% cheaper ($350 vs $664) while identifying as the stronger performer.
InsightCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
Cost Efficiency
Lower cost efficiency
Better overall value (+88%)
Upfront Cost
⚠️ Higher cost ($664)
More affordable ($350)

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.

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i9-12900TE and Core i9-11900KB

Intel

Core i9-12900TE

The Core i9-12900TE is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 16 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 1.1 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 30 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4, DDR5 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 22,887 points. Launch price was $299.

Intel

Core i9-11900KB

The Core i9-11900KB is manufactured by Intel. It was released in Maio 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Tiger Lake-H (2021) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.3 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 24 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm SuperFin process technology. Socket: FCBGA1787. Thermal design power (TDP): 65 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 22,693 points. Launch price was $539.

Processing Power

The Core i9-12900TE packs 16 cores / 24 threads, while the Core i9-11900KB offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Core i9-12900TE has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.8 GHz on the Core i9-12900TE versus 4.9 GHz on the Core i9-11900KB — a 2.1% clock advantage for the Core i9-11900KB (base: 1.1 GHz vs 3.3 GHz). The Core i9-12900TE uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (10 nm), while the Core i9-11900KB uses Tiger Lake-H (2021) (10 nm SuperFin). In PassMark, the Core i9-12900TE scores 22,887 against the Core i9-11900KB's 22,693 — a 0.9% lead for the Core i9-12900TE. L3 cache: 30 MB (total) on the Core i9-12900TE vs 24 MB (total) on the Core i9-11900KB.

FeatureCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
Cores / Threads
16 / 24+100%
8 / 16
Boost Clock
4.8 GHz
4.9 GHz+2%
Base Clock
1.1 GHz
3.3 GHz+200%
L3 Cache
30 MB (total)+25%
24 MB (total)
L2 Cache
1.25 MB (per core)
1.25 MB (per core)
Process
10 nm
10 nm SuperFin
Architecture
Alder Lake-S (2022)
Tiger Lake-H (2021)
PassMark
22,887
22,693
Cinebench R23 Multi
12,264
Geekbench 6 Multi
10,645
🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i9-12900TE uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Core i9-11900KB uses FCBGA1787 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

FeatureCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
Socket
LGA1700
FCBGA1787
PCIe Generation
PCIe 5.0+67%
PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed
DDR4-3200
Max RAM Capacity
128 GB
RAM Channels
2
ECC Support
PCIe Lanes
20
🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core i9-12900TE) / VT-x, VT-d (Core i9-11900KB). The Core i9-11900KB includes integrated graphics (Intel UHD Graphics), while the Core i9-12900TE requires a dedicated GPU.

FeatureCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
Integrated GPU
Yes
IGPU Model
Intel UHD Graphics
Unlocked
Yes
AVX-512
Yes
Virtualization
VT-x, VT-d
💰

Value Analysis

The Core i9-12900TE launched at $494 MSRP, while the Core i9-11900KB debuted at $539. At current prices ($664 vs $350), the Core i9-11900KB is $314 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Core i9-12900TE delivers 34.5 pts/$ vs 64.8 pts/$ for the Core i9-11900KB — making the Core i9-11900KB the 61.2% better value option.

FeatureCore i9-12900TECore i9-11900KB
MSRP
$494-8%
$539
Avg Price (30d)
$664
$350-47%
Performance per Dollar
34.5
64.8+88%
Release Date
2022
2021