Best Buy Lists Alder Lake Non-K CPU Specs And Pricing

Alder Lake
Alder Lake (Image credit: Intel)

Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake processors have barreled into the list of best CPUs for gaming, but more SKUs are on the way. In addition, Best Buy (via momomo_us) has revealed the specifications and pricing for the upcoming non-K models that target consumers with stricter budgets.

According to rumors making the rounds in hardware circles, Intel will reportedly announce Alder Lake's non-K chips at CES 2022. Considering the time frame of Best Buy's listings, it's doubtful that they're placeholders. The non-K series may launch at CES 2022. Nonetheless, we recommend you approach the information with caution.

For buyers who don't need the power or unlocked multiplier of the Core i9-12900K ($599), the Core i9-12900 and Core i9-12900F are legit alternatives at $529.99 and $509.99, respectively. You still get all the 8P + 8E configuration benefits, albeit at lower clock speeds.

The Core i7-12700K ($419) is one of the more balanced options in Intel's Alder Lake product stack. Nonetheless, the more budget-friendly and power-efficient options include the Core i7-12700 and Core i7-12700F, which may retail for $359.99 and $329.99, respectively.

Intel Alder Lake Non-K Specifications And Pricing

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ProcessorPricingConfigurationCores / ThreadsP-Core Base/Boost (GHz)L3 Cache (MB)GraphicsPBP (W)Part Number
Core i9-12900$529.998P + 8E16 / 242.4 / 5.130UHD Graphics 77065BX8071512900
Core i9-12900F$509.998P + 8E16 / 242.4 / 5.130N/A65BX8071512900F
Core i7-12700$359.998P + 4E12 / 202.1 / 4.925UHD Graphics 77065BX8071512700
Core i7-12700F$329.998P + 4E12 / 202.1 / 4.925N/A65BX8071512700F
Core i5-12600$239.996P + 0E6 / 123.3 / 4.818UHD Graphics 77065BX8071512600
Core i5-12500$219.996P + 0E6 / 123.0 / 4.618UHD Graphics 77065BX8071512500
Core i5-12400$209.996P + 0E6 / 122.5 / 4.418UHD Graphics 73065BX8071512400
Core i5-12400F$179.996P + 0E6 / 122.5 / 4.418N/A65BX8071512400F
Core i3-12100$139.994P + 0E4 / 83.3 / 4.312UHD Graphics 73060BX8071512100
Core i3-12100F$109.994P + 0E4 / 83.3 / 4.312N/A58BX8071512100F
Pentium Gold G7400$79.992P + 0E2 / 43.76UHD Graphics 71046BX80715G7400
Celeron G6900$59.992P + 0E2 / 43.44UHD Graphics 71046BX80715G6900

Currently, we consider the Core i5-12600K ($299) as the best overall processor for gaming. But if your budget doesn't allow it, the Core i5-12600, Core i5-12500, and Core i5-12400 are good 65W options as well. However, there will be a performance gap between the models above and the K-series chip.

The Core i5-12600 could be available for $239.99, whereas the Core i5-12500 may retail for $219.99. Like last generation's Core i5-11400, the Core i5-12400 will probably be the best budget gaming Alder Lake chip. At $209.99, the Core i5-12400 could potentially offer the best bang for your buck. Or, if you don't require integrated graphics, the Core i5-12400F might sell for as low as $179.99. The Core i3-12100, Core i3-12100F, Pentium Gold G7400, and Celeron G6900 will also have their place in the market with price tags below the $140 mark.

The pricing for Alder Lake non-K processors certainly looks very attractive, but their success will depend partially on the price of the upcoming H670, B660, and H610 motherboards as well. In addition, it'll be interesting to see how AMD reacts to the new Alder Lake chips. The chipmaker's Ryzen 5000 (Zen 3) had crushed it before Alder Lake arrived and stole the show, but a small price cut could put Ryzen back in the picture.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • samopa
    So, unlike the K variant, all the Core i5 have their E-core disabled, is it true or just the typo ?
    Reply
  • Lafong
    Apparently true if you accept the rumor, which makes me think about the i7-12700 as I don't need a K.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    samopa said:
    So, unlike the K variant, all the Core i5 have their E-core disabled, is it true or just the typo ?

    Not disabled. Not there to begin with. As I've been saying for a while, the desktop variants of Alder Lake don't have E-Cores just to save power like in a mobile device, they're there to improve multithreaded performance.

    but a small price cut could put Ryzen back in the picture.
    The $180 12400F with DDR4 is likely to beat the $300 MSRP 5600x. It's going to take more than a "small price cut" to the original MSRP to bring balance to the force here.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    Admin said:
    Intel's looming Alder Lake non-K series processors have appeared for sale at Best Buy.

    Best Buy Lists Alder Lake Non-K CPU Specs And Pricing : Read more
    Looming is for something bad, and there is nobody this is bad for, retailers/oem and users are happy about them and even amd had long enough to sell their cpus and have new product in the form of z3d coming up, these are not looming for anybody they are just upcoming.
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    spongiemaster said:
    The $180 12400F with DDR4 is likely to beat the $300 MSRP 5600x. It's going to take more than a "small price cut" to the original MSRP to bring balance to the force here.
    Hopefully B and H series come too. Because as it sits, the motherboards are so much more expensive for Intel right now that it makes the price gap much closer.
    Reply
  • jacob249358
    This sounds really great, but we need b660 and h610. It's also great if you still want to go ryzen because once all these are available along with cheaper motherboards, the 5600x will have to drop in price a lot to sell well.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    There are already price reductions to the Ryzen 5000 series line, though it's likely they're not "official". The 5950X is down to $690, for example.
    Reply
  • jacob249358
    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    There are already price reductions to the Ryzen 5000 series line, though it's likely they're not "official". The 5950X is down to $690, for example.
    Yeah but that is like a 5% cut from before alder lake. Barely anything. The only cpu much affected by these launches is the 5600x. The 5600x is still around $300 and it was released like a year ago at that price. The reason being I think it's the only CPU really affected is because the i9 and i7 non-k's are never really popular anyway. But the 12400(f) will probably trade punches with the 5600x being $210 and $180 I believe it said.
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    spongiemaster said:
    Not disabled. Not there to begin with. As I've been saying for a while, the desktop variants of Alder Lake don't have E-Cores just to save power like in a mobile device, they're there to improve multithreaded performance.

    It looks like maybe the E Cores are a way to get to high core counts while staying within the standard desktop power/heat budget more than saving die space. I expected E cores further down the stack.

    Regarding the rollout (existence?) of the B and H series motherboards. How many chips are in a chipset? Is it consolidation of the chipset features to fewer chips that leads to H670 getting the axe ?
    Reply
  • NightHawkRMX
    The lower end and especially lower TDP CPUs could use E cores the most. I could see a Celeron just being E cores for example. I would like to see at least a few e cores thrown at lower tier parts. That being said, the omission of E cores does not make the products bad, but just not as good as they COULD have been.

    The E cores are far more impressive to me than the P cores.
    Reply