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Intel Core i9-12900HK
Alder Lake-H's unlocked flagship. Same 6P+8E layout as the i7-12700H but with a 5.0GHz ceiling and an unlocked multiplier, it was the fastest laptop CPU in the world at launch before the HX series took that crown weeks later.
Pros
- First 5GHz mobile Core i9
- Unlocked multiplier for overclocking-friendly chassis
- 14 cores and 20 threads with 24MB of L3
- Fastest 96-EU Iris Xe clocks in the 12th-gen H line
Cons
- Power draw and heat are extreme in thin laptops
- Barely faster than the much cheaper i7-12700H
- Efficiency far behind contemporary Apple and AMD silicon
- Superseded within months by the HX series
Average
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Intel Core i9-12900HK
General
- Announced
- 2022
- Process
- 10 nm
- Base TDP
- 45 W
- Max TDP
- 115 W
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 14
- Performance cores
- 6
- Efficiency cores
- 8
- Threads
- 20
- Base clock
- 2.5 GHz
- Boost clock
- 5 GHz
- L3 cache
- 24 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Intel Iris Xe (96 EU)
- iGPU clock
- 1,450 MHz
Memory
- Memory support
- DDR5-4800 / LPDDR5-5200 / DDR4-3200
- Max memory
- 64 GB
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 2,450Bottom 48%
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 12,700Top 40%
- Cinebench R23 (single)
- 1,810Top 35%
- Cinebench R23 (multi)
- 17,600Top 24%
- PassMark
- 24,954Top 34%
- 3DMark Time Spy Graphics (iGPU)
- 1,496Top 42%
Quick answers
Is the Intel Core i9-12900HK good in 2026?
The Intel Core i9-12900HK earns an Inno Score of 53.5/100 (“Average”) based on its specs and benchmark results. Alder Lake-H's unlocked flagship. Same 6P+8E layout as the i7-12700H but with a 5.0GHz ceiling and an unlocked multiplier, it was the fastest laptop CPU in the world at launch before the HX series took that crown weeks later.
Does the Intel Core i9-12900HK count as "Core i7 or equivalent"?
Its PassMark CPU Mark average is 24,954 (cpubenchmark.net, retrieved Sep 26, 2026), which puts it in Tier A of our CPU tier checker: current Core i7 H / Core Ultra 7 / Ryzen 7 class and above. Requirement pages word this differently, so check the exact wording with your department.
What are the key specs of the Intel Core i9-12900HK?
Cores: 14 · Threads: 20 · Boost clock: 5 GHz · Base TDP: 45 W
What are the closest alternatives to the Intel Core i9-12900HK?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Intel Core Ultra 5 125U, Intel Core Ultra 5 226V, AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
