Intel Core i3-12300 has earned its place as the fastest quad-core processor after making a record-breaking performance on the Y-cruncher testing (it tests the stress of the CPU by requiring it with computing pi from a number of digits).
Its Alder Lake processor was ramped up to 5,442 MHz by Phantom K, a Korean overclocker. This resulted in the Y-cruncher taking 33.3 seconds, which was faster than the previous record time of 52 secs (held by AMD Ryzen 5300G).
The computer that break the record used the Intel Core i3-12300 inside the ASUS ROG Maximus Apex motherboard featuring 32GB DDR5-6736 memory. It’s notable that liquid nitrogen was not utilized to cool the CPU (as usually happens when you have huge overclocks) however, dry ice was used instead.
If you’re thinking “how could a processor that isn’t Intel’s K model have a record for overclocking?’ Be aware that Intel’s “K” models are the only ones that are able to be overclocked, and now, thanks to Alder Lake chips it has been found that normal CPUs can be clocked at least with specific motherboards.
Analysis: A Place To Be Watched
Intel’s Alder Lake non-K CPUs certainly are drawing attention due to users boosting them up by a massive increase in overclocks.
It is important to note that the record-setting overclock of the Intel Core i3-12300 was achieved on a Z690 board. That is an expensive model that is BCLK compatible. Yet, German overclocker Der8auer (who was the one who performed the Celeron overclock, also using Z690) speculated that this juicing with non-K chips could be possible on lower-end motherboards, too. Tom’s Hardware seems to suggest that certain B660 motherboards that have been observed are able to accomplish these feats.
In that regard, gamers have the option to build an affordable Alder Lake gaming PC by installing a middle-cost board and chipset in it, and then increasing its performance with a massive overclock (obviously not at the level that is shown here, which need special cooling, but there’s plenty of room to increase performance using liquid or air cooling). However in this scenario, Intel may want to close the door to ensure the sales of its more expensive Alder Lake chips, so we’ll have to wait and see the way this plays out.