Buy on Amazon
$60
In Stock
AvailabilityMSRP in USD: $133
Availability
MSRP in USD: $133
AvailabilityMSRP in USD: $599
Availability
MSRP in USD: $599
Key Differences
In short — Core i9-12900K outperforms the cheaper Core i3-540 on the selected game parameters. We do not have the prices of both CPUs to compare value. The better performing Core i9-12900K is 4319 days newer than the cheaper Core i3-540.
Advantages of Intel Core i3-540
- Up to 80% cheaper than Core i9-12900K - $60.0 vs $298.85
- Consumes up to 42% less energy than Intel Core i9-12900K - 73 vs 125 Watts
Advantages of Intel Core i9-12900K
- Performs up to 64% better in Far Cry 3 than Core i3-540 - 198 vs 121 FPS
- Can execute more multi-threaded tasks simultaneously than Intel Core i3-540 - 24 vs 4 threads
Far Cry 3
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra
Intel Core i3 Processor i3-540 3.06GHz 4MB LGA1156 CPU BX80616I3540
Buy for $60 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 74934 minutes ago
Intel Core i9-12900K Gaming Desktop Processor with Integrated Graphics and 16 (8P+8E) Cores up to 5.2 GHz Unlocked LGA1700 600 Series Chipset 125W
Buy for $298.85 on Amazon
In Stock
Updated 74934 minutes ago
TOP 5 Games
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Game Graphics
Ultra
Core i3-540
Desktop • Jan 7th, 2010
Core i9-12900K
Desktop • Nov 4th, 2021
Geekbench 5 Benchmarks
Intel Core i3-540 | vs | Intel Core i9-12900K |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 7th, 2010 | Release Date | Nov 4th, 2021 |
| Core i3 | Collection | Core i9 |
| Clarkdale | Codename | Alder Lake |
| Intel Socket 1156 | Socket | Intel Socket 1700 |
Desktop | Segment | Desktop |
| 2 | Cores | 16 |
| 4 | Threads | 24 |
| 3.1 GHz | Base Clock Speed | 3.2 GHz |
| Non-Turbo | Turbo Clock Speed | 5.2 GHz |
73 W | TDP | 125 W |
| 32 nm | Process Size | 10 nm |
| 23.0x | Multiplier | 32.0x |
| Intel HD | Integrated Graphics | UHD Graphics 770 |
| No | Overclockable | Yes |
Builds Using Core i3-540 or Core i9-12900K
Far Cry 3, 1920 x 1080, Ultra
155 FPS
$10.25/FPS
GeForce RTX 4060
Core i9-12900K
64 GB, 2 TB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$1,589
In Stock
198 FPS
$18.18/FPS
GeForce RTX 4090
Core i9-12900K
16 GB, N/A Storage
Buy on Amazon
$3,599.99
In Stock
137 FPS
$9.41/FPS
GeForce RTX 3050
Core i9-12900K
64 GB, 2 TB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$1,289
In Stock
189 FPS
$12.7/FPS
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
Core i9-12900K
32 GB, N/A Storage
Buy on Amazon
$2,399.99
In Stock
155 FPS
$9.54/FPS
GeForce RTX 4060
Core i9-12900K
64 GB, 2 TB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$1,479
In Stock
137 FPS
$10.07/FPS
GeForce RTX 3050
Core i9-12900K
32 GB, 512 GB SSD
Buy on Amazon
$1,379
In Stock
183 FPS
$15.84/FPS
GeForce RTX 3090
Core i9-12900K
32 GB, N/A Storage
Buy on Amazon
$2,899.49
In Stock
189 FPS
$10.32/FPS
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
Core i9-12900K
32 GB, N/A Storage
Buy on Amazon
$1,949.99
In Stock
183 FPS
$22.29/FPS
GeForce RTX 3090
Core i9-12900K
64 GB, 4 TB SSD + 8 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$4,079
In Stock
183 FPS
$21.03/FPS
GeForce RTX 3090
Core i9-12900K
32 GB, 4 TB SSD + 8 TB HDD
Buy on Amazon
$3,849
In Stock
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