It is probably not fairly the 30 GHz that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger predicted again in 2002, however Intel’s Core i9-13900KS Particular Version processor, which is accessible on cabinets at present for $699, is the world’s first shopper CPU to run at 6 GHz with out overclocking. With a whopping 250W base energy specification, it is also now formally essentially the most power-hungry desktop CPU in historical past.
Notably, the 13900KS’ peak of 6 GHz is 300 MHz sooner than the 5.7 GHz for AMD’s Ryzen 7000 processors, however AMD has a particular sequence of Ryzen 7000X3D chips that can sq. off with the 13900KS for the title of the world’s quickest gaming CPU.
AMD’s competing chips arrive subsequent month, and we absolutely anticipate that AMD will pattern its chips to the press for overview on the as-yet unrevealed launch date. In distinction, Intel despatched out its announcement with out samples offered to the press prematurely, which is able to naturally result in hypothesis that the corporate would not anticipate the chips to carry the gaming efficiency lead towards AMD’s upcoming X3D processors. Moreover, Intel formally positions the 13900KS because the ‘world’s quickest desktop processor’ as a substitute of utilizing the ‘world’s quickest gaming processor’ tag that it has employed for different chips previously — learn into that what you’ll.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | MSRP | Cores / Threads (P+E) | P-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | E-Core Base / Enhance Clock (GHz) | Cache (L2/L3) | TDP / PBP / MTP | Reminiscence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-13900KS | $699 | 24 / 32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 6.0 | 2.2 / 4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 150W / 253W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Core i9-13900K / KF | $589 (Okay) – $564 (KF) | 24 / 32 (8+16) | 3.0 / 5.8 | 2.2 / 4.3 | 68MB (32+36) | 125W / 253W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-5600 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X3D | ? | 16 / 32 | 4.2 / 5.7 | – | 144MB (16+128) | 120W / 162W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ? | 12 / 24 | 4.4 / 5.6 | – | 140MB (12+132) | 120W / 162W | DDR5-5200 |
| Ryzen 7 7800X3D | ? | 8 /16 | 4.x / 5.0 | – | 104MB (8+96) | 120W / 162W | DDR5-5200 |
The Core i9-13900KS is functionally an identical to the present quickest gaming chip on the planet, the 13900K, however the further ‘S’ within the title denotes that that is premium-binned silicon that hits 6 GHz on two cores — 200 MHz sooner than the 12900K.
The chip additionally has a 150W Processor Base Energy (PBP) ranking, which is 25W increased than the 13900K, additionally making it the world’s most power-hungry desktop PC processor at its base TDP.
Intel not too long ago demoed the chip hitting 6 GHz on two cores with normal off-the-shelf Corsair AIO water cooling, however did not specify the scale of the cooler. The chip’s peak frequency depends on Intel’s Thermal Velocity Enhance (TVB) tech, that means the chip must be under a pre-defined temperature (70C) to hit the 6 GHz peak. Naturally, techniques with customized watercooling will extract the largest profit.
The Intel Core i9-13900K not too long ago took the all-time frequency world report of 8.812 GHz, dethroning the earlier report holder, AMD’s legendary FX-8370, by 90 MHz. Intel selects its premium-binned 13900K silicon for the 13900KS, so it’s assured to be among the many absolute best silicon the corporate has to supply. That can make the chips very engaging to overclockers, as paying the additional $110 for the KS mannequin improves your odds within the silicon lottery and basically assures that you just’re getting a cherry chip (under, we embedded a video of Intel Fellow Man Therien explaining how binning works). These chips will probably be accessible in restricted portions, however Intel hasn’t launched a agency estimate of what number of items will probably be accessible.
Intel has been vocal that the corporate will elevate pricing on its CPUs to replicate the inflationary atmosphere, and it has already raised the pricing of its previous-gen Twelfth-gen CPUs whereas oddly leaving the brand new Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake at their unique pricing — not less than for now. As such, the 13900KS is $124 lower than the present pricing of the previous-gen Core i9-12900KS, which peaked at 5.5 GHz. For the report, the 12900KS initially debuted at $739, so the $699 price ticket for the 13900KS is $40 decrease than the debut worth of the previous-gen mannequin.
Intel’s earlier KS fashions have are available in particular packaging, however Intel hasn’t shared particulars in regards to the 13900KS but.
As an fascinating apart, whereas the Core i9-13900KS’s achievement of 6 GHz units a report for a delivery desktop PC processor, it would not fairly attain the lofty peaks that have been as soon as predicted. As you may see above, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, then the CTO, predicted again in 2002 that processors would hit 30 GHz by 2010. In fact, that was earlier than we started to see the breakdown of a number of the elementary legal guidelines, like Dennard Scaling, that has slowed progress tremendously.
Nevertheless, after years of frequency stagnation and restricted core counts, fierce competitors between Intel and AMD finds them as soon as once more pushing the bounds. That is good for all of us, regardless that it does more and more come at the price of prodigious energy consumption from each gamers.
The Core i9-13900KS is accessible at present at retail with a $699 1K unit worth (Intel’s beneficial pricing for quantity patrons, however pricing is often increased in shops at first). You will additionally discover Intel’s new quickest chip in techniques from its channel and OEM companions, too. You’ll be able to anticipate to see a overview right here within the coming days.