Intel today announced its flagship Core i9-13900KS desktop processor, which is a special edition model of the 13900K. The 13900KS is the world’s first desktop processor to achieve a maximum turbo frequency of 6.0 GHz.
The main difference between the 13900K and the 13900KS is the 200 MHz increase on maximum turbo clock speed from the already impressive 5.8 GHz to 6.0 GHz. This is achieved through trashing the silicon, making sure only the best parts go in. in the making of the 13900KS. The 13900KS has a higher base power limit of 150W compared to the 13900K’s 125W and while the max turbo limit is the same at 253W, the 13900KS supports the Extreme Power Delivery Profile, which raises the power limit up to at 320W to help achieve those higher clock speeds.
While Intel’s claims are totally valid, there are several conditions for being able to reach that clock speed. While Intel claims that the limit can be reached with off-the-shelf consumer motherboards using standard AIO liquid coolers, and that the 6.0GHz figure can be reached without any overclocking, Intel’s test video showed that the 13900KS achieved that number only on a pair of P-cores for short durations during a 7-Zip benchmark.
This means that not only do you not hit that 6.0GHz on all P-cores, but how consistently you can hit that figure on even just two cores varies based on a number of factors.
Other than that, the 13900KS is exactly identical to the 13900K in all other specs, including E-core clocks and cache count. However, due to the trashed silicon, the 13900KS should perform better with exotic cooling for extreme overclocking. But if that’s not your use case, you’d be better off with the 13900K.
The 13900KS is available today for $699.
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