'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Intel Core i7-13700 and Core i7-12700 are Intel's 13th Gen and 12th Gen Core i7 CPUs that are quite popular in the DIY market. They are designed for budget gamers and do not support overclocking. They are already so powerful that an average gamer won't need to overclock them anyway, but which is the better gaming CPU? The 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 or the 12th Gen Core i7-12700? Let's find out!
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.
Intel Core i7-13700 vs Core i7-12700
The Intel Core i7-13700 is the successor to the Intel Core i7-12700, so it is naturally better. But how better is it compared to its predecessor? Is it fast enough to justify the higher price? That's exactly what we intend to find today. Let's start with the specs first.
Trending
Specs
The Intel Core i7-13700 is designed on the 13th Gen Raptor Lake architecture, while the Core i7-12700 is based on the 12th Gen Alder Lake architecture.
Here's the full specs list of the two CPUs:
As you can see, the Intel Core i7-13700 has more cores, higher clock speeds, and even more cache compared to the Intel Core i7-12700. The DDR5 RAM speeds are much faster on the Intel Core i7-13700 CPU, and the maximum capacity of RAM you can install on this CPU is also significantly higher.
That said, both processors are designed for the same socket. So, if you have a decent motherboard with an LGA-1700 socket, you can install both processors, and they will work.
Performance benchmark
While the specs disclosed a lot of information, it doesn't tell the complete story. Let's check out how the two CPUs perform in a multitude of benchmarking tools.
The Intel Core i7-13700 is 9.7% faster in single-core performance compared to the Intel Core i7-12700. In multi-core benchmarks, the former is 20.4% faster than the latter. This performance difference will also be seen in the gaming side of things.
Games that favor higher clock speeds, higher cache, and more cores will benefit from the newer 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 over the older 12th Gen processor. The 13th Gen processor also has more cores, which should be able to support the games released in the near future.
Price
The Intel Core i7-13700 costs $371 as of this writing, and the Intel Core i7-12700 costs $265. There's a 40% price difference between the two CPUs, which is not worth the performance you are getting.
Which is the better gaming CPU?
The 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 is the better CPU in terms of pure performance. However, it's not worth it since you are getting approximately only 20% better performance but paying 40% more compared to the Intel Core i7-12700.
