Intel's Core i5-12600K Is Currently Newegg's Best Selling CPU

Intel Core i5-11600K Deals cover
(Image credit: Intel)

Intel's Core i5-12600K has finally become Newegg's best-selling CPU on the site and sits at the top position on Newgg's leaderboard right now. In addition, the Core i5-12600K is one of the best CPUs for gaming at $277.99. The sub-$300 price, combined with Intel's new Alder Lake microarchitecture, gives the Core i5-12600K a distinct edge over AMD's higher-end Zen 3 counterparts, undercutting CPUs such as the Ryzen 7 5700X and Ryzen 7 5800X by as much as $20-$80 - as of the time of this writing.

In our review of the Core i5-12600K, the Alder Lake chip showed its gaming prowess to be quite good for its original MSRP of $289. Thanks to Intel's new Alder Lake hybrid microarchitecture, the Core i5-12600K's has a 19% IPC improvement over 11th Gen processors, more than enough raw compute power to outperform the latest Zen 3 chips from AMD in gaming applications -- except for the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

In our gaming tests under Windows 11, with the Core i5-12600K specced out with DDR4 memory, we found the Core i5-12600K's gaming performance to be around 11-12% faster than AMD's highly popular Ryzen 5 5600X, which sits in the same $200-$300 price bracket (albeit being slightly cheaper). So even when we compare AMD's more expensive Ryzen 7 5800X to the Core i5-12600K, performance is still in favor of the Intel part while being far cheaper.

Best Selling Processors (Image credit: Newegg)

With a price tag of just $278 on Newegg, Intel gives users quite a bargain for a highly capable mid-range CPU that features overclocking capabilities, and four additional efficiency cores, which isn't the case for Intel's lower-end Core i5 counterparts -- like the Core i5-12400. These other features can make the Core i5-12600K an even better proposition for its sub $300 price tag and allow the chip to outperform the Ryzen 7 5800X in heavily multi-threaded professional applications.

With all this in mind, it is no wonder the Core i5-12600K has finally reached the number one spot on Newegg's best sellers list. Currently, Newegg and Amazon have the Core i5-12600K at its lowest price online for $278. But alternatively, Newegg is also selling the Core i5-12600KF model for an even lower price of $260. The only sacrifice made to the KF variant is the disablement of integrated graphics.

Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

  • The_King
    Here in India the 12600K is 40USD cheaper than the 5700X and 95USD cheap than the 5800X.

    I wouldn't touch the AM4 platform with a 10 foot pole at these prices.

    AMD definitely dropped the ball. I'm not surprised the 12600K is on top of the best selling , it price performance destroys anything AMD has to offer.

    You can buy a MSi Z690 Pro A DDR4 + 12700F for almost the same price has a 5800X3D here. (n)

    RIP AM4!
    Reply
  • egda23
    They really want us to believe that the i9-12900K at 600$ is number 2, ant the i5-12400 at 193$ is number 7 ?
    Reminds me the phrase of Winston Churchill about statistics !
    https://www.causeweb.org/cause/resources/library/r609#:~:text=The%20only%20statistics%20you%20can,Churchill%20(1874%20%2D%201965).
    Reply
  • Alelanza
    Bear n mind availability, while I researched my pc build for about 2 weeks the 12400s were never in stock in Newegg. Also a lot of folks will only buy at Newegg if there isn’t availability elsewhere.
    Reply
  • punkncat
    Alelanza said:
    snip

    I just wanted to comment that there has to be some manner of award out there for being on a forum where you are a member for 15 years and only have four posts.

    Stalking champion!


    The last couple of experiences that I have with Newegg left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. I won't go so far as to say I wouldn't shop with them again, but they are WAY down the list. I would rather go to Best Buy, and that is saying a lot. (cause they are pretty terrible as well)
    Reply
  • jacob249358
    egda23 said:
    They really want us to believe that the i9-12900K at 600$ is number 2, ant the i5-12400 at 193$ is number 7 ?
    Reminds me the phrase of Winston Churchill about statistics !
    https://www.causeweb.org/cause/resources/library/r609#:~:text=The%20only%20statistics%20you%20can,Churchill%20(1874%20%2D%201965).
    This isn't politics I don't think they have much of a reason to lie. Although I am surprised the 12400 isn't higher than something like the 5700g
    Reply
  • SunMaster
    Curious which boards are sold for those Intels - DDR4 or DDR5?

    Also curious is the difference of Amazon vs. Newegg.

    Currently on Amazon the top 7 spots are AMD, 1 "Cronus Zen Controller Emulator" and the first Intel is the i7-12700KF in 9th spot.

    https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Computer-CPU-Processors/zgbs/pc/229189
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    SunMaster said:
    Curious which boards are sold for those Intels - DDR4 or DDR5?

    Also curious is the difference of Amazon vs. Newegg.

    Currently on Amazon the top 7 spots are AMD, 1 "Cronus Zen Controller Emulator" and the first Intel is the i7-12700KF in 9th spot.

    https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Computer-CPU-Processors/zgbs/pc/229189

    I would also be interested in which boards are most popular.

    I think that is a tougher choice than which CPU.

    My current choice would be the 12600k even though I would really only "need" the 12400. Or actually the 12300 but then it seems a mismatch to buy a motherboard and then OEM looks like the way to go - heaven forbid. A horrid race to the bottom.

    But still holding out for Rocket Lake.
    Reply
  • Liquidrider
    All about supply and demand.
    Some facts seeing as this article is both entertaining and misleading.

    AMD remains the top-selling product on Amazon, Bestbuy, Microcenter
    On Newegg AMD CPUs have been sold out on New Egg for nearly 2 weeks and as of May 1st been restocked.But how do you know this? Glad you asked
    AMD vs Intel
    Whether AMD or Intel becomes a top seller anywhere, should be ignored completely because it is so easily manipulated. In fact, there are companies out there that will manipulate the top seller's list for you... for a price.

    Every single day I have to monitor the inventory of computer components. The one I linked is public. The one I use daily is not and can't be shared for work reasons.

    The_King said:
    Here in India the 12600K is 40USD cheaper than the 5700X and 95USD cheap than the 5800X.

    I wouldn't touch the AM4 platform with a 10 foot pole at these prices.

    AMD definitely dropped the ball. I'm not surprised the 12600K is on top of the best selling , it price performance destroys anything AMD has to offer.

    You can buy a MSi Z690 Pro A DDR4 + 12700F for almost the same price has a 5800X3D here. (n)

    RIP AM4!

    RIP AM4? LMAO 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
    What is the MSRP of a 5800X3D?
    What is the MSRP of a 12600KS?
    What is the top sellers at Best Buy, Microcenter, Amazon?

    Please do some legwork before posting non-sense.
    Reply
  • The_King
    Liquidrider said:


    RIP AM4? LMAO 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
    What is the MSRP of a 5800X3D?
    What is the MSRP of a 12600KS?
    What is the top sellers at Best Buy, Microcenter, Amazon?

    Please do some legwork before posting non-sense.

    Typical response from someone who thinks the only market place in the world is in the US.
    Are there Micro-centers around the world/globally?

    Amazon US is vastly different from Amazon around the world.
    The new released Zen 3 CPUs are not even listed for sale on Amazon India despite been launched officially last month globally.

    While most reviews on this site is related to the US market place. I specifically stated in India in my comment.

    Here the Ryzen 5 5500 is selling for around 215USD when the 12600K is selling (+/-300USD) much closer to its MSRP than AMD.

    What prices you get at Micro-centre or Amazon US is irrelevant to my post concerning the Indian market place.

    You should learn to read and do your own legwork before posting anything!
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    Liquidrider said:
    All about supply and demand.
    Some facts seeing as this article is both entertaining and misleading.

    AMD remains the top-selling product on Amazon, Bestbuy, Microcenter
    On Newegg AMD CPUs have been sold out on New Egg for nearly 2 weeks and as of May 1st been restocked.But how do you know this? Glad you asked
    AMD vs Intel
    Whether AMD or Intel becomes a top seller anywhere, should be ignored completely because it is so easily manipulated. In fact, there are companies out there that will manipulate the top seller's list for you... for a price.

    Every single day I have to monitor the inventory of computer components. The one I linked is public. The one I use daily is not and can't be shared for work reasons.
    Top-selling means units people DO buy not units people WANT TO buy.
    Yes, if AMD can't provide enough CPUs then people will buy more intel CPUs, no shenanigans there, that's how things work.
    That's what people have been saying for years, ever since AMD sold off glofo and has to rely on 3rd party fabs they are "doomed" to work with whatever supply they can get.
    Reply