Core i9-12900TE vs Ryzen 9 6900HS

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, productivity performance, platform differences, power efficiency, pricing context, and upgrade path so you can see which CPU actually makes more sense.

Core i9-12900TE

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +3.7% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+87.5% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 16 MB).

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (22,887 vs 23,040).
❌Launch MSRP is still $494 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 6900HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 6900HS can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Ryzen 9 6900HS

2022

Why buy it

✅+0.7% higher PassMark.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 680M, while Core i9-12900TE needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i9-12900TE across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 30 MB).

Core i9-12900TE

2022

Ryzen 9 6900HS

2022

Why buy it

✅Better for gaming: +3.7% higher average FPS across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
✅+87.5% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 16 MB).

Why buy it

✅+0.7% higher PassMark.
✅100+% more PCIe lanes (20 vs 0) for storage and expansion-heavy builds.
✅Integrated graphics onboard with Radeon 680M, while Core i9-12900TE needs a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark (22,887 vs 23,040).
❌Launch MSRP is still $494 MSRP, while Ryzen 9 6900HS mostly shows up through inconsistent older-market listings.
❌No integrated graphics, while Ryzen 9 6900HS can still boot and troubleshoot without a discrete GPU.

Trade-offs

❌Worse for gaming: lower average FPS than Core i9-12900TE across 50 shared CPU benchmark tests.
❌Smaller total L3 cache (16 MB vs 30 MB).

Quick Answers

So, is Ryzen 9 6900HS better than Core i9-12900TE?

It depends on what matters more to you. For gaming, Core i9-12900TE is ahead with a 3.7% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. For rendering, compiling, streaming, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 6900HS pulls ahead with 0.7% better PassMark. Core i9-12900TE also has the bigger cache pool with 87.5% larger total L3 cache (30 MB vs 16 MB).

Which one is better for streaming, content creation, and heavy multitasking?

For streaming, content creation, and heavier multitasking, Ryzen 9 6900HS is the better fit. You are getting 0.7% better PassMark, backed by 8 cores and 16 threads.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper CPU?

Ryzen 9 6900HS is still the faster CPU overall, but Core i9-12900TE makes more sense if price matters more than absolute performance. Ryzen 9 6900HS is at an unclear MSRP at unclear MSRP versus $494 MSRP, and it gives you 0.7% better PassMark. The trade-off is that Core i9-12900TE is still the better pure gaming CPU with a 3.7% average FPS lead across 50 shared CPU game tests in our data. Core i9-12900TE is also 100.0% better value on MSRP (46.3 vs 0.0 PassMark/$), which is why it is easier to justify for price-conscious builds on paper.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Ryzen 9 6900HS is the safer long-term CPU choice because it gives you more overall headroom and a better platform outlook.

Games Benchmarks

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i9-12900TE Benchmark Check

Ryzen 9 6900HS Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
1080p
low	254 FPS	251 FPS
medium	239 FPS	234 FPS
high	201 FPS	197 FPS
ultra	172 FPS	169 FPS
1440p
low	220 FPS	220 FPS
medium	187 FPS	186 FPS
high	153 FPS	152 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	133 FPS
4K
low	151 FPS	154 FPS
medium	128 FPS	131 FPS
high	100 FPS	101 FPS
ultra	87 FPS	89 FPS

Open Core i9-12900TE Open Ryzen 9 6900HS

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
1080p
low	330 FPS	441 FPS
medium	281 FPS	370 FPS
high	235 FPS	322 FPS
ultra	211 FPS	287 FPS
1440p
low	273 FPS	370 FPS
medium	242 FPS	323 FPS
high	209 FPS	288 FPS
ultra	178 FPS	247 FPS
4K
low	169 FPS	255 FPS
medium	151 FPS	229 FPS
high	142 FPS	215 FPS
ultra	123 FPS	186 FPS

Open Core i9-12900TE Open Ryzen 9 6900HS

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
1080p
low	572 FPS	576 FPS
medium	572 FPS	564 FPS
high	572 FPS	485 FPS
ultra	572 FPS	388 FPS
1440p
low	572 FPS	576 FPS
medium	572 FPS	510 FPS
high	572 FPS	437 FPS
ultra	572 FPS	355 FPS
4K
low	572 FPS	432 FPS
medium	495 FPS	368 FPS
high	440 FPS	323 FPS
ultra	370 FPS	262 FPS

Open Core i9-12900TE Open Ryzen 9 6900HS

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
1080p
low	572 FPS	576 FPS
medium	572 FPS	576 FPS
high	572 FPS	576 FPS
ultra	572 FPS	576 FPS
1440p
low	572 FPS	576 FPS
medium	572 FPS	576 FPS
high	572 FPS	576 FPS
ultra	572 FPS	513 FPS
4K
low	572 FPS	536 FPS
medium	572 FPS	489 FPS
high	511 FPS	438 FPS
ultra	433 FPS	379 FPS

Open Core i9-12900TE Open Ryzen 9 6900HS

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i9-12900TE and Ryzen 9 6900HS

Core i9-12900TE

The Core i9-12900TE is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 January 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture. It features 16 cores and 24 threads. Base frequency is 1.1 GHz, with boost up to 4.8 GHz. L3 cache: 30 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on 10 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR4, DDR5 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 22,887 points. Launch price was $299.

Ryzen 9 6900HS

The Ryzen 9 6900HS is manufactured by AMD. It was released in Janeiro 2022 (3 years ago). It is based on the Rembrandt-H (Zen 3+) (2022) architecture. It features 8 cores and 16 threads. Base frequency is 3.3 GHz, with boost up to 4.9 GHz. L3 cache: 16 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 6 nm process technology. Socket: FP7. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR5. Passmark benchmark score: 23,040 points. Launch price was $299.

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Processing Power

The Core i9-12900TE packs 16 cores / 24 threads, while the Ryzen 9 6900HS offers 8 cores / 16 threads — the Core i9-12900TE has 8 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.8 GHz on the Core i9-12900TE versus 4.9 GHz on the Ryzen 9 6900HS — a 2.1% clock advantage for the Ryzen 9 6900HS (base: 1.1 GHz vs 3.3 GHz). The Core i9-12900TE uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (10 nm), while the Ryzen 9 6900HS uses Rembrandt-H (Zen 3+) (2022) (6 nm). In PassMark, the Core i9-12900TE scores 22,887 against the Ryzen 9 6900HS's 23,040 — a 0.7% lead for the Ryzen 9 6900HS. L3 cache: 30 MB (total) on the Core i9-12900TE vs 16 MB (total) on the Ryzen 9 6900HS.

Feature	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
Cores / Threads	16 / 24+100%	8 / 16
Boost Clock	4.8 GHz	4.9 GHz+2%
Base Clock	1.1 GHz	3.3 GHz+200%
L3 Cache	30 MB (total)+88%	16 MB (total)
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)+150%	512K (per core)
Process	10 nm	6 nm-40%
Architecture	Alder Lake-S (2022)	Rembrandt-H (Zen 3+) (2022)
PassMark	22,887	23,040
Cinebench R23 Multi	—	13,445
Geekbench 6 Single	—	1,854
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	8,732

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Memory & Platform

The Core i9-12900TE uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Ryzen 9 6900HS uses FP7 (PCIe 4.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core i9-12900TE	Ryzen 9 6900HS
Socket	LGA1700	FP7
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+25%	PCIe 4.0
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR5-4800
Max RAM Capacity	—	64 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	No
PCIe Lanes	—	20

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Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core i9-12900TE) / AMD-V (Ryzen 9 6900HS). The Ryzen 9 6900HS includes integrated graphics (Radeon 680M), while the Core i9-12900TE requires a dedicated GPU.