Intel Core i9-12900K scores high marks with overclocked DDR5 memory

The top and bottom of an engineering sample of an Intel Alder Lake processor
(Image credit: harukaze5719)

A recently leaked Intel Core i9-12900K benchmark appears to show it crossing the 30,000 mark in Cinebench R23 test, but that same leaker is now showing the CPU's performance with new DDR5 RAM – and the results are impressive, if true. 

Newly published screenshots from REHWK on Twitter, first reported by VideoCardz, show the CPU running alongside the DDR5 memory overclocked to 8000 MT/s.

The screenshots feature the CPU-Z software with a Gigabyte’s DDR5-6200 memory kit, according to REHWK. The Intel Core i9-12900K has been overclocked to 4004 MHz, which translates to 8008 MT/s. 

RAM timings are at 50-50-50-125-150 for CL, tRDC, tRP, tRAS, and tRC. The system used for testing was the Gigabyte Z690 Tachyon motherboard, which is designed for overclocking.

Overclocking is when CPUs use different algorithms for boosting its maximum frequency, which improves the numeric values. Benchmark tests assign scores based on speeds for a CPU’s cores and threads, with higher numbers meaning faster RAM.

CPU-Z is a type of benchmark test used to test a lot of component features, including the RAM access speed of a CPU. Timing tests are for RAM timings, which refers to maximum transfer rates in a CPU. Each category refers to a different aspect of RAM being tested, and in this case the smaller the numbers the better.

There are two types of benchmark tests: single-threaded/core or multi-threaded/core. Single-threaded/core tests are when Cinebench R23 uses only one of the CPU cores/threads to test out speeds, and these are useful to see how fast a CPU will run for simple tasks such as web-surfing, video playback, office tasks, or programming.

Multi-threaded/core tests use all available cores/threads to test out speeds, which is vital for tasks with heavy RAM usage such as gaming, video editing, or 3D modeling. In this case, the Intel Core i9-12900K has 16 cores and 24 threads that were used for this benchmark test.

Recently, a major accidental leak from the MSI website indicates that the Intel Core i9-12900K could be released November 4 of this year. And, according to leaked benchmark comparisons, the Intel CPU handily beat out the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X.

Allisa James
Computing Staff Writer

Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.