i5-14600K vs i3-2120 - Dead Space GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q - Game Performance Benchmarks

Multi-Thread Performance

Single-Thread Performance

i5-14600K

• The i5-14600K has higher Level 3 Cache. This is useful when you have substantial multiprocessing workloads, many computationally intense simultaneous processes. More likely on a server, less on a personally used computer for interactive desktop workloads.
• For some games, a cpu with a higher clock speed, or in a technical name IPC (Instructions per clock), has better results than other CPU's with higher core count and lower core speed.
• The i5-14600K has a smaller process size. The faster a transistor can toggle on and off, the faster it can do work. And transistors that turn on and off with less energy are more efficient, reducing the operating power, or “dynamic power consumption,” required by a processor.

i3-2120

• The i3-2120 has higher Level 2 Cache. Data/instructions which have to be processed can be loaded from the fast L2 and the CPU does not have to wait for the very slow DDR RAM
• The i3-2120 is more power efficient and generates less heat.