Power and Temperature
To test the power and temperature, we broke up this testing into two parts, two scenarios. The first scenario is an “all-out” “maximum threads maximum performance” “full load” scenario. In this scenario, we run Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes and record the power and temperature. This shows the power and temp with the CPUs flat out, foot to the floor, pushing them as hard as possible. That provides one set of data.
Then, we run a more normal workload. You aren’t always running your CPU flat out, full bore, all the time. You are doing other things, like just playing a game. So we also wanted to look at the real-world power and temperature when doing something like just playing a game. So we fired up Cyberpunk 2077 and played it for 10 minutes at 1080p and “Ultra” settings on a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, to stress the CPU as much as possible, not the GPU. Both of these scenarios show very different results, and both are relevant.
Maximum CPU Usage Cinebench R23
Running Cinebench R23 pushes all the CPUs to the maximum power usage and power utilization. By far, the older Ryzen 5 3600X ran with the most power at 95W, which is its TDP. Both the newer Ryzen 5 5600X and 5600G are a bit tamer at 76-77W. However, the most efficient out of all the CPUs is actually the new Intel Core i5-12400 which only pulled 65W, its base processor TDP. Consider that in Cinebench the 12400 was 11-14% faster than the 5600G and 5600X, yet, it is outperforming them using less power! That is the definition of effeciency. The 12400 is not a power hog like its upper-tier siblings.
In terms of temperature, the Intel Core i5-12400 is also not a temperature hog. Out of all the CPUs, it actually ran the coolest at near 50c on our 360mm AIO. That’s cooler than the 5600G, 5600X, and 3700X.
CPU Usage While Playing Cyberpunk 2077
Power utilization is even better when just playing a game. The Intel Core i5-12400 drops to around 50W, which is a 23% reduction in power utilization while playing a game. The Ryzen 5 5600G dropped to around the same power utilization, so while playing a game they both pull the same power. The 3600X dropped to 71W from 95W, but the 5600X remained at 75W. This means while playing a game the 12400 is using 35% less power than the Ryzen 5 5600X.
This also translates to the temperature, where once again the Intel Core i5-12400 is on top with only 43c package temperature while playing a game. This is cooler than the 5600G, 3700X, and 5600X. The 12400 is a whole 20 degrees cooler than the 5600X while playing a game.