Sony Playstation 5 vs Intel Core i9-12900K

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CPU comparison with benchmarks

-VS-

CPU lineage

Sony Playstation 5 or Sony Playstation 5 – which processor offers superior performance? In this comparison, we examine disparities and assess which of these two CPUs outperforms the other. We delve into technical specifications and benchmark outcomes.
The Sony Playstation 5 features 8 processor cores and has the capability to manage 16 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q3/2020 and belongs to the 3 generation of the AMD Ryzen 7 series.
To use the Sony Playstation 5, you'll need a motherboard with a BGA socket.
The Intel Core i9-12900K features 16 processor cores and has the capability to manage 24 threads concurrently.
It was released in Q4/2021 and belongs to the 12 generation of the Intel Core i9 series.
To use the Intel Core i9-12900K, you'll need a motherboard with a LGA 1700 socket.
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
Sony Playstation 5 Name Intel Core i9-12900K
AMD Ryzen 7 Family Intel Core i9
3 Generation 12
AMD Ryzen 4000G Group Intel Core i 12000
 
 

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Sony Playstation 5 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 16 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the Sony Playstation 5 is 3.0 GHz
and turbo frequency for one core is 3.5 GHz.
The number of CPU cores greatly affects the speed of the processor and is an important performance indicator.
The Intel Core i9-12900K has 16 CPU cores and can calculate 24 threads in parallel.
The clock frequency of the A-Core is 3.2 GHz.
Processors with hybrid (big.LITTLE) architecture strike a balance between performance and power efficiency, making them ideal for mobile devices.
3.5 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 core) None
None None 5.2 GHz
None None 2.4 GHz
None None 3.2 GHz
None None 8x Gracemont
None None 8x Golden Cove
No Overclocking Yes
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
3.0 GHz Frequency None
None None 3.9 GHz
16 Threads 24
3.5 GHz Turbo Frequency (all cores) None
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
8 CPU Cores 16
8x Zen 2 Cores None
 
 

Internal Graphics

The Sony Playstation 5 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Sony Playstation 5 uses the AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Playstation 5), which has 2304 texture shaders
and 36 execution units.
The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.
The Intel Core i9-12900K has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short.
Specifically, the Intel Core i9-12900K uses the Intel UHD Graphics 770, which has 256 texture shaders
and 32 execution units.
2.23 GHz GPU frequency 0.3 GHz
Q3/2021 Release date Q4/2021
12 Direct X 12
AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Playstation 5) GPU name Intel UHD Graphics 770
7 nm Technology 10 nm
-- Max. displays --
2304 Shaders 256
8.0 GB Max. GPU Memory 64.0 GB
36 Execution units 32
1 Generation 11
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.55 GHz
 
 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

-- AI specifications --
-- AI hardware --
 
 

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.
Decode / Encode AVC Decode / Encode
Decode VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode JPEG Decode / Encode
No AV1 Decode
 
 

Memory & PCIe

The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 16.0 GB distributed across 2 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
The processor supports a maximum memory capacity of 128.0 GB distributed across 2 memory channels. It offers a peak memory bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s. Both the type and quantity of memory can have a substantial impact on the overall system performance.
2 Memory channels 2
16.0 GB Max. Memory 128.0 GB
pci PCIe pci
Yes AES-NI Yes
No ECC Yes
448.0 GB/s Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s
GDDR6 Memory type DDR4-3200, DDR5-4800
 
 

Thermal Management

The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 65 W watts.
TDP indicates the cooling solution needed to effectively manage the processor's heat. It generally provides an approximate indication of the actual power consumption of the CPU itself.
The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 125 W watts.
100 °C Tjunction max 100 °C
None TDP (PL2) 241 W
65 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 125 W
 
 

Technical details

The Sony Playstation 5 is manufactured using a 7 nm process.
A smaller manufacturing process indicates a more contemporary and energy-efficient CPU.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 8.0 MB cache.
A substantial cache can significantly enhance the processor's performance, particularly in scenarios like gaming.
The Intel Core i9-12900K is manufactured using a 10 nm process.
In total, this processor boasts a generous 30.0 MB cache.
Q3/2020 Release date Q4/2021
-- Part Number BX8071512900K
0 bytes L2-Cache 14.0 MB
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, FMA3, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX2+
Chiplet Chip design Monolithic
Renoir (Zen 2) Architecture Alder Lake S
7 nm Technology 10 nm
BGA Socket LGA 1700
Windows 10, Linux, Windows 11 Operating systems Windows 10, Linux, Windows 11
-- Release price 589 $
Technical data sheet Documents Technical data sheet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
8.0 MB L3-Cache 30.0 MB
 
 

Benchmarks

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
40902
40902
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
16095
16095

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
27472
27472
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
9625
9625

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
17595
17595
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
6635
6635

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
10511
10511
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
3735
3735

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
1997
1997
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
1056
1056

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
1990
1990
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
992
992

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Intel Core i9-12900K
16C 24T @ 3.2 GHz
779
779
Sony Playstation 5
8C 16T @ 3.0 GHz
402
402