CPU overclocking:
Our CPU overclocking section will focus on the performance of the i9-12900K. As with the Z690 Unify-X, we will post overclocking results under dry ice. With the same pot used, namely the Bartx Copper ECO Pot.
Protocol:
Before starting, it is necessary to have one or more reference scores with our i9-12900k at stock frequencies, i.e., without having made any modification except for having activated the XMP profile in the case of an Intel processor. Concerning the test voltages, we decided to put the voltage in fixed mode, the adaptive mode will be detailed later in a dedicated article.
It is also very important to have a sheet of paper or spreadsheet to hand. This will allow you to note down all the tests you are going to perform as well as the results or failures. During this series of tests, I will always have in mind to compare the performance obtained by CornerJack during the test of the MSI Z690 Unify-X with which he had also tested an i9-12900k.
Load-Line Calibration:
Before we start, we need to set the LLC. In the case of this motherboard, we set it to “Turbo” mode. In the tables above you can see the differences between the selected voltage, the idle voltage and the load voltage 
This is an important point, here the “turbo” mode gives us a good stability on the voltage without impacting us too much with idle voltages too high or in load too low.
Benchmark Scores :
Let’s start by noting the results under Cinebench R15 and R20, taking care to note the voltage(vcore), the maximum temperature during the benchmark, the power consumption and, of course, the score obtained. During the benchmark, the HWinfo window is open which has a slight negative impact on the score.
Overclocking under watercooling in steps :
To start with, I leave the BIOS on auto by just setting the RAM to XMP 6000C40. First, we read the vcore voltage and load frequency during the benchmarks on Cinebench R15 and R20 (4900 at 1.2v). I therefore opted for a starting frequency of 4900 MHz with a multiplier of 49, a BCLK of 100 and a voltage of 1.2 volts. The Ecore and the cache are placed at 4000 MHz.
The idea is then, in the OS, to test the stability on several runs of Cinebench R15 and R20 multithreaded. If it’s stable, I increase the frequency by 100 MHz while rechecking the stability. If the benchmark crashes, I increase the voltage by 0.05 volt increments in order to regain a stability allowing to run the benchmark. The objective is to get a “quick” idea of the maximum benchmarkable frequency 
Thus, my 12900k manages to reach 5.3GHz with a voltage of 1.38 volts (1.33 volts for R15) but with a very high temperature. As for the Vrm’s, they do relatively well, without additional airflow they manage to stay below 46°C.
After that we raised cache and the Ecore multiplier, which required more voltage. And finally we tested this overclocking without the Ecore. And here are the results on R20. As you can see, 5300MHz is way too high in temperature, so for normal use I would opt for 5200MHz frequency.
Here are the two screenshots of our tests with Ecore with the i9-12900k.
And, those without Ecore.
