Intel's 12th Gen Core K-SKU CPUs: PC building considerations, Memory and Overclocking knobs

Note: This article was first published on 28 October 2021.

Building a new Intel 12th Gen Core DIY machine?

If you haven't yet hopped on to the AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, the new Intel 12th Gen Core K-SKU processors look to be formidable competitors and a worthy consideration. There are of course other factors like pricing and availability that could sway opinions in taking up one or the other in various markets, but before that becomes the focal point, we take a closer look at other practical aspects of Intel's new offering you might want to take note when trying to make the choice.

Larger package and a new socket

As our lead photo shows, the Intel 12th Gen Core processors are quite a bit larger than many of Intel's past processors. With up to 16 physical processing cores (8 P-cores + 8 E-cores) in a new hybrid architecture, massive amounts of cache, new PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 controllers and speedier interconnect fabric, it's no surprise that the 12th Gen Core processor requires a new LGA 1700 socket to pack the large die and the necessary pinouts to supports its interconnect requirements with the motherboard.

It goes without saying, the new processors require a new motherboard (and an updated chipset), but we'll get to that in a moment.

Intel's new processors have also made improvements in the processor packaging to assist the processor core to transfer heat out more efficiently. While the last two Core processor generations have made strides to have thinner processor dies and consequently increase the thickness of the integrated heat spreader, the difference is much more pronounced on the 12th Gen Core processors as the new Intel 7 process in conjunction with the change in die layout has resulted in a much thinner processor die. Additionally, Intel was also able to decrease the thickness of the solder thermal interface material (STIM) interfacing with the processor.

The result is that the thinner die and thinner STIM has allowed Intel to mount a much thicker integrated heat spreader, thus improving the thermal performance of the processor.

Will you need a new CPU cooler?

While we hear that some cooler brands are getting ready to supply adapters for your existing CPU coolers to make them compatible with the 12th Gen Core processors, it probably isn't a safe option.

The 12th Gen Core processor is quite a bit different in physical size, has a rectangular package rather than the squarish packages of the past, plus not to mention all the improvements made under the hood of the integrated heat spreader which might result in minor height differences between different generations of processors. Simply put, there are too many differences that could contribute to a less than desirable outcome from using older coolers with adapters to pair with the 12th Gen Core processors.

Just days back, Hothardware reported on what WCCFTech came across and while it might be an image to smear one cooling brand over another in times of uncertainty, one can't deny that all of the changes above would result in not having the right pressure applied across your brand new 12th Gen Core processor when re-using older coolers.

Our take? Don't skimp on getting a certified cooler for your new processor. After all, you'll need to invest in several new components to get the best out of the processing platform, so add coolers to the equation.

Another recent development we've noted is some motherboard vendors like ASUS (at least for their Z690 boards), offer LGA 1200 mounting holes in addition to LGA 1700. This makes it easier to consider re-using an LGA 1200 cooler that has passed the manufacturer's certification to be used with an LGA 1700 socket-based processor like the 12th Gen Core CPUs.

The new Intel Z690 motherboard chipset

To accompany the new Intel 12th Gen Core processors, especially the high-end K-SKU variants, Intel has chosen to introduce the Intel Z690 chipset as the first of their Intel 600 series motherboard chipsets. Specifically, the Intel Z690 offers maximum overclocking potential with 12th Gen Core K-SKU processors by according you memory overclocking and base clock tweaking.

We'll get into more about the overclocking knobs offered by the new processor and platform further down, but let's first get acquainted with what else the Intel Z690 brings to the picture.

Though the new processor's capabilities like DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 necessitate a brand new motherboard, the Intel Z690 extends the unlocked 12th Gen Core processor's capabilities by giving it even more 'legs' through support for up to 12 PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes and 16 PCIe Gen 3.0 lanes, doubling the x8 DMI throughput from Gen 3.0 to 4.0, and increased bandwidth with up to quad USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) ports. 

Interestingly and for the first time, Intel is bringing Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) to PC chipsets to simplify storage control by allowing direct control and management of NVMe-based SSDs from the PCIe bus without additional RAID controllers or other hardware adaptors. Initially designed for enterprise-grade management of NVMe SSDs connected to Intel Xeon CPUs, Intel VMD brings enterprise reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) features to NVMe SSDs, and it's now available on the Intel Z690 for enthusiasts too.

There's also the optional bits that some motherboard vendors might choose to pair to differentiate their offerings, such as Intel 2.5Gbps Ethernet capability, Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) to manage PCIe storage and RAID support as well as Intel Optane Memory to augment solid-state storage. These are par for the course since it has been introduced with Intel 10th Gen Core processors and Intel Z490 chipset as optional add-ons too.

Next up, memory configuration matters, and what's new in the realm of memory overclocking.

DDR5 and DDR4 memory matters

The 12th Gen Core processors have memory controllers that support either the latest DDR5 memory or existing DDR4 memory. So it's nice to know you have a choice.

However, which memory standard you can use comes down to whether the Intel Z690 motherboard you've chosen is built for DDR4 or DDR5 memory. At the moment we've yet to see motherboard models with implementation for both memory types like in the old days where dual memory type options existed. However given the vast differences between both memory types such as on-DIMM memory voltage regulation for DDR5, it looks unlikely that a motherboard can support both memory types as it will escalate board design complexity and price.

So choose your motherboard wisely in advance.

 

Should you choose a DDR4 or DDR5 based motherboard?

If you're upgrading from a DDR4 based platform, perhaps choosing a DDR4 based Intel Z690 motherboard could be a wise choice where value out of pocket damage is concerned.

If you're starting afresh or have no compatible memory to re-use, perhaps ponying up for DDR5 memory might be a wiser investment in the long run. Besides the longevity of re-using the memory for a later platform, don't forget DDR5 specs point to a big jump in speed, bandwidth and density. There's also the possibility the DDR5 memory modules you've picked up are Intel XMP3.0 certified, further unlocking more features and capabilities. More on this later.

How fast can you go with DDR5 or DDR4 on the new platform and what about memory configuration options?

For DDR4, it's pretty much status quo to 11th Gen Core processors with dual memory modules supported per memory channel at speeds up to DDR4-3200. So that's a total of four DIMMs for a typical setup.

With DDR5 memory, Intel states you can get frequencies as high as DDR5-4800. However, the memory frequency supported is dependent on other factors like a) how many slots are provisioned per channel on the motherboard, b) how many DIMMs are populated per channel and c) if it is a single rank or dual rank DIMM memory module. Intel has compiled this table for a quick reference:-

Taking into consideration all the mentioned factors, your DDR5 memory frequency can range from anywhere between 3,600MT/s to 4,800MT/s. Some other notes that are good to keep in mind is not to mix memory varieties/brands within the same channel and symmetric configurations are required within the same channel, i.e. single rank or dual-rank DIMMs on both slots (1R/1R, or 2R/2R).

Now, these are just the official memory speeds as supported by Intel officially. However, given the right motherboard, the right memory modules and memory configurations, you could go way higher than the frequencies listed here. A peek at Gigabyte's top Aorus motherboard's memory speed options go higher than 7,000MHz!

So that brings us to the next topic of memory overclocking.

What's Intel XMP 3.0 and why does it matter?

In tandem with a vastly capable memory spec (DDR5) that's debuting with the Intel Z690 motherboards and the 12th Gen Core processors, Intel has also chosen to beef up its Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) specs. 

It's basically a pre-tested and qualified memory profile that you access in the BIOS and you apply it for enhanced performance, be it more optimal latencies settings or in combination with a higher memory clock if the memory module has been certified for it.

Intel XMP 3.0 now adds more profiles, has more capabilities and is optimised for DDR5 memory since it derives voltage differently from past memory modules. There are now three vendors specified XMP profiles supported and even two more rewritable profile slots for your ease of saving an experimental profile that you feel works for your system. Additionally, profile names now support up to 16 characters, thus improving how you store and identify a profile. No more figuring out what 'Profile 1' means.

Intel Dynamic Memory Boost

We were quite enthusiastic when the Intel 11th Gen Core Rocket Lake-S processor boasted of real-time memory overclocking. It's a big leap in overclocking convenience as opposed to doing it on the BIOS previously. However, other than allowing real-time memory overclocking in the OS with the right tools such as Intel's Extreme Tuning utility, it's one of those settings that just stay on all the time and there's no intelligence in it.

The 12th Gen Core processors take memory overclocking convenience up yet another level thanks to supporting the new Intel Dynamic Memory Boost Technology. As its name suggests, it delivers intelligent memory overclocking performance on demand when there's a workload that requires the boost. When there's no load, the system defaults to its default memory frequency. So that's power savings and less stress on your components.

While the functionality is a cinch, you get to specify which XMP profile to use as the boost frequency. No other intervention is required and it works with either DDR4 or DDR5 XMP certified memory modules.

Overclocking the rest of the CPU

So we talked about memory considerations and the new DDR5 memory with Intel XMP 3.0 for overclocking profiles, as well as the CPU's new Dynamic Memory Boost function on the earlier page. 

Intel's Turbo Boost Max 3.0 that debuted two generations ago is still present with the 12th Gen Core and its job is to identify up to two of the best performing cores to ramp up performance for single or dual-core turbo performance in line with the task at hand. So that's auto performance ramping, but you'll be happy to know that even with the 12th Gen Core's more advanced architecture, the new processor is even more flexible than past generations where overclocking is concerned.

We've already seen what it accords in the memory subsystem, so here's a good overview of its overclocking architecture and the big levers available out of the box for the 12th Gen Core K-SKU processors:-

Remember there are P-cores and E-cores? The good news is that both can be independently controlled where overclocking is concerned since both cores have their own range of turbo-boosting above their normal frequencies. You could even disable E-cores or P-cores respectively, but Intel's testing has advised against it as it doesn't really bring any advantages as the processor is quite efficient in choosing the right core for the right task at hand. Meanwhile, don't forget that only the Intel Z690 chipset will accord you Base Clock frequency manipulation and memory overclocking.

To control all this and more, Intel's updated Extreme Tuning Utility 7.5 comes into play to offer all the required tools and knobs, including more than 20 more advanced tuning options that weren't present before like Processor PLL overrides, PCIe Graphics and DMI overclocking and more.

If all these feels overwhelming and you just want to get a quick idea or potential of what's possible, thankfully Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility has a One-Click Overclocking with Intel Speed Optimizer to help you narrow down and simplify the first stage of overclocking. Once you're satisfied with the one-click overclock settings, you can take baby steps to fine-tune selective parameters further and try to push your 12th Gen Core K-SKU processor ever upwards to new heights.

That wraps up our in-depth overview of the 12th Gen Core processors; stay tuned to our review to truly find out if real-world performance matches up to Intel's marketing!

Read Next: These are the six new Alder Lake-based 12th Gen Core K-SKU processors launched

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