It's been a while since the 12th Generation Core was released, and thanks to the new Intel 7 process and hybrid architecture, the 12th Generation Core delivers amazing performance gains and power control. For many high-level players, at this time, diy a powerful game console, which allows them to focus more on the game, and use the advantages of the hybrid architecture to perform multi-threaded tasks, such as online live broadcasting, background music, etc. This part of the player often has a high demand for products, and AAA masterpieces and professional online games also need good performance support. For these needs, the latest 12th generation Core i7-12700K / KF can better meet their daily application scenarios. In the face of a round of enthusiasm that has just been launched, how to choose a hardware configuration with core i7-12700K / KF? This article gives you a detailed introduction.
First, let's look at the 12th Generation Core i7-12700K/KF, a processor with a 12-core, 20-thread design with 12MB L2 cache and 25MB L3 cache, including 8 P-cores and 4 E-cores, with a P-core reference frequency of 3.6GHz, a maximum turbo frequency of 4.9GHz, a turbo boost Max 3.0 maximum frequency of 5.0GHz, and an E-core reference frequency of 2.7GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 3.8GHz.
Considering the budget factor, at this stage, the i7-12700KF is priced at 2999 yuan, while the i7-12700K is 3199 yuan, and the i7-12700KF can be selected without a core graphics version of the i7-12700KF.
The 12th generation Core desktop processor uses the new LGA1700 pin, so the configuration of the motherboard also uses the new 600 series chipset, and the first Z690 motherboards on the market are naturally a good partner for the i7. The Z690 chipset has up to 12 PCIe 4.0 lanes and 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, plus 8 SATA 6GB/s ports and emerging port protocols such as USB 3.2 Gen2x2 ports and Raiden 4 ports. In addition, Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G network, Intel Optane SSD, RAID technology, etc., are also supported, which greatly improve the scalability of the computer.
However, the overall price of the Z690 motherboard at the initial stage of the listing is still relatively high, if you consider continuing to use DDR4 memory, you can choose MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK D4 Tomahawk missile motherboard, this motherboard uses 16+1+1 power supply, and provides 4 M.2 slots and 3 PCIe slots, of which the PCIe slot directly connected to the processor supports the PCIe 5.0 x16 specification, which can well meet the needs of future graphics card upgrades. Overall, this motherboard is still very low-key, the whole machine does not have a big atmosphere of RGB lighting, the current price of this motherboard is 4499 yuan.
12 generation Core desktop processor not only supports DDR5 memory, DDR4 memory is also supported, with this low-key hardcore motherboard is no problem, 12 generation Core default support DDR4 3200MHz memory, Kingston hack god bar is also a lot of installed players choose the regular customer, here 2 8GB DDR4 3200MHz memory price 489 yuan, 16GB memory performance can fully meet the daily use needs. Of course, its black appearance and motherboard collocation also complement each other.
If you want to pursue the ultimate experience brought by the new DDR5 memory, the Z690 motherboard that supports DDR5 memory is naturally considered by this part of the user, the 12th generation Core defaults to support DDR5 4800MHz memory, the frequency of the large increase brings a leapfrog performance experience, compared to DDR4 memory, the substantial performance improvement is very conducive to improving the data transfer rate during the game, and brings lower latency performance, want to fully play the full performance of the 12th generation Core, you can choose ROG The star product MAXIMUS Z690 HERO, this motherboard is currently priced at 4699 yuan.
This motherboard is powered by 20+1 phase, provides 5 M.2 slot slots via the ROG Hyper M.2 riser card, and the ROG English logo and iconic Loser's Eye are located on the IO panel and south bridge chip, both supporting RGB lighting. On the interface, the ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO provides 1 HDMI interface, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 7 USB 3.2 Gen2 interfaces, 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface, and 6 SATA ports for easy mechanical disk expansion.
At present, the more cost-effective on the market should be Micron's DDR5 memory module, providing 8GB and 16GB solution options, of which the 8GB version is priced at 599 yuan per strip, and the 16GB version is priced at 1199 yuan per strip. Since it is only sold naked, if you want a better RGB effect, you can consider the Zhiqi Royal Halberd or the Pirate Ship, which have special RGB customization products.
Processor heatsink selection, 12 generation Core needs a new heat dissipation buckle to suppress, in line with the principle of "good horse with good saddle", it is recommended to try to cool the water, you can consider the veteran hardware manufacturer Cool Cold Supreme latest launch of the Mirage G240 ARGB water cooling, cold head using translucent design, with RGB lighting effects, bringing cool faith experience. The current price of this water cooling is 649 yuan.
Graphics card is a metaphysical problem, graphics card choice is more important or depends on the demand, generally speaking, high-end processor products naturally need to be equipped with better graphics card. Advanced gamers who play with i7 often have certain requirements for the frame rate performance of the game screen, while maintaining a high level of performance output in response to emerging AAA masterpieces. Here the i7 is generally used to play with graphics products above the RTX 3060. RTX 3070 graphics card is recommended, which first has strong gaming performance, but also can well cope with the needs of creative design and other scenes.
At present, the mainstream RTX 3070 graphics card on the market, the price is mostly in the range of 6000-8000 yuan, here is recommended MSI Ultra Dragon X RTX 3070 graphics card, this graphics card has MSI's iconic dragon logo, while the metal brushed design and side RGB lighting effect undoubtedly enhance the look and feel of the experience. The current price of this graphics card is 5999 yuan.
In terms of power supply, considering the actual power consumption performance of the i7-12700K/KF and RTX 3070, this complete hardware configuration requires at least 650W of power supply to have a full performance release. At this stage, the price of 650W power supply is between 450 and 700 yuan, and it is good to choose according to your own needs. On storage, it is recommended that PCIe 4.0 SSD be combined with large-capacity mechanical hard disks, which is expected to be 2000 yuan smaller. Putting aside the graphics card factor, the overall cost of Core i7 installation is between 10,000 yuan and 12,000 yuan, and if the graphics card part is added, it may be 20,000 yuan less. But the performance improvement brought by i7 is worth it for professional players.
On the 12th generation Core, we see that with the blessing of strong performance, the advantages of the hybrid architecture can be well used to cope with scenarios that require multi-threaded tasks such as live broadcast + games, while the 12th generation Core i7-12700K/ KF has a more powerful performance advantage, which brings higher frame rate performance and is more suitable for those professional anchors. Hybrid architecture allows high frame rates and multithreading to do both, truly achieving the best of both worlds.