Intel Core i7 8700K vs i3 12100
38
out of 100
VS
45
out of 100
We compared two desktop CPUs: the 3.7 GHz Intel Core i7 8700K with 6-cores against the 3.3 GHz i3 12100 with 4-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.
Review
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
The "iGPU" and "Power Efficiency" have a minor impact on the NanoReview Score for desktop CPU.
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of Intel Core i7 8700K
- Unlocked multiplier
- Has 2 more physical cores
- 9% higher Turbo Boost frequency (4.7 GHz vs 4.3 GHz)
Advantages of Intel Core i3 12100
- Newer - released 4 years and 4 months later
- Around 35.2 GB/s (85%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
- Newer PCI Express version โ 5.0
- More modern manufacturing process โ 10 versus 14 nanometers
- 27% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 2215 vs 1741 points
Test in Benchmarks
Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasksCinebench
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| File compression | 509.8 MB/sec | 631.3 MB/sec |
| Clang compilation | 52.2 Klines/sec | 46.7 Klines/sec |
| HTML 5 Browser | 149.8 pages/sec | 170.3 pages/sec |
| PDF Renderer | 210.4 Mpixels/sec | 201.3 Mpixels/sec |
| Text processing | 165.3 pages/sec | 222.5 pages/sec |
| Background blur | 38 images/sec | 39.3 images/sec |
| Photo processing | 61.1 images/sec | 68.8 images/sec |
| Ray tracing | 10.8 Mpixels/sec | 10.9 Mpixels/sec |
PassMark
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
| Integer math | 45.9 GOps/sec | 37 GOps/sec |
| Floating point math | 28.5 GOps/sec | 29 GOps/sec |
| Find prime numbers | 39M Primes/sec | 49M Primes/sec |
| Random string sorting | 25.2M Strings/sec | 14.7M Strings/sec |
| Data encryption | 4.8 GBytes/sec | 7.4 GBytes/sec |
| Data compression | 198.7 MBytes/sec | 146.2 MBytes/sec |
| Physics | 811 Frames/sec | 778 Frames/sec |
| Extended instructions | 13.5B Matrices/sec | 10B Matrices/sec |
Blender
Blender CPU
Performance Per Watt
| Cinebench 2024 / Watt | 5.3 PPW | 7.2 PPW |
| Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt | 72.9 PPW | 123.8 PPW |
| Passmark CPU Mark / Watt | 142.8 PPW | 208.4 PPW |
| Blender / Watt | 1.34 PPW | 1.86 PPW |
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.
Recent User Tests
Intel Core i7 8700K
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2025-03-12 (SPUUD) | Cinebench 2024 | 69 / 486 |
| ๐ 2025-03-09 (angry beaver) | Cinebench 2024 | 70 / 504 |
| ๐ 2025-02-14 (Mike) | Cinebench 2024 | 74 / 520 |
| ๐ 2024-12-01 (AzureWizzard) | Cinebench 2024 | 72 / 499 |
| ๐ 2024-04-21 (Ian Geraldi Cordeiro) | Cinebench 2024 | 64 / 398 |
Intel Core i3 12100
No benchmark results yet
Specifications
Full technical specification of Intel Core i7 8700K and i3 12100General
| Vendor | Intel | Intel |
| Released | October 5, 2017 | January 4, 2022 |
| Type | Desktop | Desktop |
| Instruction Set | x86-64 | x86-64 |
| Codename | Coffee Lake | Alder Lake |
| Model number | i7-8700K | i3-12100 |
| Integrated GPU | UHD Graphics 630 | UHD Graphics 730 |
| Rival Equivalent | - AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | - |
| Successor | - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus | - Intel Core i3 14100 |
Intel CPU rating (#188th place)
CPU
| P-Cores | 6 | 4 |
| P-Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Base Frequency (P) | 3.7 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Turbo Boost Frequency (P) | 4.7 GHz | 4.3 GHz |
| Total Cores | 6 | 4 |
| Total Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Bus Frequency | 100 MHz | 100 MHz |
| Multiplier | 37x | 33x |
| Bus Bandwidth | 8 GT/s | - |
| L1 Cache | 64K (per core) | 80K (per core) |
| L2 Cache | 256K (per core) | 1280K (per core) |
| L3 Cache | 12MB (shared) | 12MB (shared) |
| Unlocked Multiplier | Yes | No |
Package
| Fabrication Process | 14 nm | 10 nm |
| TDP (PL1) | 95 W | 60 W |
| Max. Boost TDP (PL2) | - | 89 W |
| Socket | LGA-1151 | LGA-1700 |
| Peak Temperature | 100ยฐC | 100ยฐC |
Desktop CPU ranking (155th and 129th place)
iGPU
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | Intel UHD Graphics 730 |
| GPU Base Clock | 350 MHz | 300 MHz |
| GPU Boost Clock | 1200 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| Shading Units | 192 | 192 |
| TMUs | 24 | 48 |
| ROPs | 3 | 24 |
| Execution Units | 24 | 24 |
| TGP | 15 W | 15 W |
iGPU FLOPS
More info: UHD Graphics 730 compared to Graphics 630
Memory Support
| Memory Types | - DDR4-2666 | - DDR5-4800 - DDR4-3200 |
| Max. Memory Size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Memory Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Max. Memory Bandwidth | 41.6 GB/s | 76.8 GB/s |
| ECC Support | No | No |
Misc
| Official Site | Intel Core i7 8700K official page | Intel Core i3 12100 official page |
| PCI Express Version | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| PCI Express Lanes | 16 | 20 |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 125