For PC gamers and budget-constrained creative types, Intel's "Alder Lake" Core i5-12600K punches well above its weight in gaming and content creation alike. Just know that the cost of adoption (memory, motherboard, cooler) may make waiting a bit to upgrade a better bet.
Velocity Micro delivers on its reputation for performance-first builds in the new "Alder Lake"-based Raptor Z55 boutique desktop PC, which beats all comers in our Core i9/GeForce RTX 3080 Ti configuration.
The Core i9-12900K is Intel's first truly innovative high-end desktop CPU in years, showing great potential in its performance/efficiency mixed-core design and support for DDR5 memory. Just expect a high initial cost of adoption and, perhaps, some PC-gaming growing pains.
Small but packed with full-bore desktop components, Maingear's Turbo gaming desktop delivers exquisite performance. It's the ultimate compact gamer, if you can withstand the sticker shock.