Core i9-13900K review: 350 Watt unit (not really)

Intel has long ago abandoned the \"tick-tock\" approach in development, but nevertheless, its echoes can still be caught when the company launches new products.
For example, the Alder Lake, which didn't quite fit this principle and introduced both a new process technology and a new architecture at once, was replaced by the new generation of Raptor Lake, which has clear signs of an intermediate technological step \"optimization\".
This stage became a popular method of processor improvement in the times of Skylake architecture domination and Intel doesn't give it up even today.
But there is an important difference: now the optimization steps are related not so much to the desire to maximize the lifecycle of old designs, as to increase the pace of CPU generation change.Raptor Lake is already the third family of Intel desktop processors since the beginning of 2021, and it would be strange to expect from it any dramatic innovations.
At the same time, Raptor Lake is a far cry from the kind of \"optimization\" the company resorted to when getting Coffee Lake and Comet Lake from Kaby Lake.
This time Intel's approach is much more thorough, and Raptor Lake isn't just Alder Lake with extra processing cores.
For one thing, Raptor Lake does inherit all the main features of Alder Lake.
It's a hybrid processor based on the same principles, built with performance and power-efficient cores with the same microarchitecture as before.
What's more, it's designed for the LGA1700 ecosystem and is fully compatible with older motherboards and supports both DDR5 and DDR4 memory.
On the other hand, Raptor Lake has a significant increase in clock speeds, which is due to improvements in the Intel 7 process technology.
In addition, the new processor has received a doubled number of E-core and, in addition, all of its cores have increased the amount of cache memory on Level 2.Thus, although Raptor Lake can not be called a full-scale upgrade, it has a sufficient set of advantages for both low- and multi-threaded loads.
And that means that from a user perspective, Raptor Lake should be better than Alder Lake literally everywhere: in resource-intensive content creation and processing applications as well as in gaming workloads.
How significant these improvements are from a practical point of view, and we will analyze in this article.⇡#Performance and energy-efficient cores Raptor LakeStarting the search for deep differences between Raptor Lake and Alder Lake, it is worth clarifying that they are produced by the same Intel 7 process technology, that is 10-nm norms (the full name of the technology process - 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin).
Moreover, the cores underlying Raptor Lake, too, can not be called new: it's not even a redesign, but rather what is called the word \"refresh\".
In fact, all internal improvements in the new CPU affect only cache memory and DDR4/DDR5 controller, but do not touch other functional blocks.
In this sense, Raptor Lake could not even be called a new code name, but simply Alder Lake 2.0.However, in the absence of explicit microarchitectural changes, the performance cores of Raptor Lake compared to Golden Cove cores of Alder Lake processors have received a much higher clock speed.
And this is due to evolutionary improvements in the manufacturing process.
While the lithography resolution hasn't changed, Raptor Lake uses an optimized version of Intel's 3rd generation SuperFin transistors with reduced channel resistance.
This allowed Intel engineers to reconsider the dependence of core frequency on their voltage and eventually achieve an increase in clock speeds without a noticeable increase in power supply voltage.
In describing the new relationship, Intel points out that at equal frequency, Raptor Lake can use 50 mV less voltage than Alder Lake, and at equal voltage its frequency can be 200 MHz higher.
Combining these improvements, engineers were able to push the maximum frequency of Raptor Lake's performance cores to 5.8 GHz, 600 MHz more than the frequency limit of Alder Lake! The optimized processor not only enabled higher frequencies, but also increased the transistor budget that was used to increase the number of cores.
While the Alder Lake chip contained eight performance and eight power-efficient cores, Raptor Lake doubled the number of power-efficient cores.
In other words, without changing technology norms, Intel made the first civilian processors with 24 cores (16 of which are energy efficient).
However, all this did not go unnoticed for power consumption and heat dissipation.
While the thermal package of the senior Raptor Lake remained at 125W, the limit of their maximum power consumption had to be pushed to 253W.
And that means

The full specifications of the Core i9-13900KS 6GHz chip were revealed, and it was also up to 39% faster than its predecessor

As part of the Raptor Lake desktop processor announcement, Intel has confirmed that it plans to eventually release another flagship processor capable of automatically overclocking to 6GHz right out of the box.
Officially, the manufacturer did not disclose the name of this model, but apparently it was about Core i9-13900KS.
The latest major leak about Intel chips confirmed these assumptions and revealed the full specifications of the upcoming select CPU.Image source: VideoCardzCore i9-13900KS is a 24-core processor, which includes eight efficient P-core and 16 energy-efficient E-core.
The processor supports 32 threads.
Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology allows its 1-2 highest performing cores to automatically overclock to 5.8 GHz.
Thermal Velocity Boost technology provides an extra 200 MHz of automatic overclocking to the same 6GHz.
The base frequency of the Core i9-13900KS large cores is also 200 MHz higher than the regular Core i9-13900K, at 3.2 GHz.
At the same time, the power-efficient cores of the KS version operate in the same frequency range - from 2.2 to 4.3 GHz.
Image source: Twitter / @9550proThe Core i9-13900KS rated power consumption increased from 125W to 150W.
However, the maximum power consumption has not changed and stands at 253W.
The chip supports the same memory standards as all other Raptor Lake processor models - DDR4-3200 and DDR5-5600.Shortly after the above leak, the first data about Core i9-13900KS performance in synthetic Geekbench test also appeared on the web.
The processor was tested with ASUS ROG Z790 Maximus Hero motherboard and 32 GB DDR5-7200 RAM.
Image source: GeekbenchDetailed telemetry data from three Geekbench tests indicate that the Core i9-13900KS automatically overclocked on multiple cores to 5893 MHz, but its average clock speed was 5867 MHz.Image source: GeekbenchIn the single-core performance test the processor scored up to 2319 points, and in the multi-core performance test it scored up to 26,774.
So, on average, its single-core performance is 10% better than its predecessor Core i9-12900KS (Alder Lake), and multi-core performance is 39% better.Image source: Geekbanksh Image source: VideoCardzThe Core i9-13900KS is expected to be officially launched in early January, at CES 2023.
It should go on sale during the first quarter of next year.

Intel's processor plans for 2023 have been revealed: Raptor Lake-S Refresh, Sapphire Rapids-WS and special Sapphire Rapids-SP for workstations

Intel is going to hold a webinar for investors next week, where it will reveal the current plans for various products.
This information has been leaked to the Net ahead of time.
The manufacturer is going to present next year updated consumer Raptor Lake, chips for workstations Sapphire Rapids-WS, as well as special Sapphire Rapids-SP for workstations.
All of the new products will be released over the next five quarters.Image source: IntelJudging from the published presentation slides, the updated Raptor Lake-S Refresh series of consumer processors will be released early in the third quarter of next year, which is less than a year after the first Intel Core 13th generation processor models were released.
Intel Raptor Lake-S Refresh.
Image source: Twitter / @9550proAccording to Intel's consumer processor roadmap, the company will refresh all of its 13th-generation Core models with TDP of 125, 65 and 35 watts.
Notably, the manufacturer has not yet released Raptor Lake processor models with a nominal TDP below 125W at this time.
Their announcement is expected only in early January next year.
Intel chipset roadmapIt is also important to note that for the updated Raptor Lake-S Refresh processors, the manufacturer does not plan to release a new series of chipsets for motherboards.
In other words, all future upgraded Raptor Lake models will be able to run on motherboards with Intel 700-series chipsets.
To date, only the elder Intel Z790 series chipset is available in this series.
Also manufacturer will present chipsets H770 and B760, but in the entry-level segment will remain the already released H610.
Features of Sapphire Rapids-WS (Intel Xeon W-3400)Within Sapphire Rapids-WS platform for workstations Intel will release two series of processors: Xeon W-3400 and Xeon W-2400.
The former will be able to offer from 12 to 56 cores with support for 24 to 112 virtual threads, and will run at up to 4.8 GHz.
These processors will get 30 to 105 Mbytes of L3 cache and will have a TDP rating of 220 to 350 watts.
Intel Xeon W-3400 lineupSome of the Intel Xeon W-3400 processors will have an unlocked multiplier, allowing for manual overclocking.
It will support up to 4TB of 8-channel DDR5-4400 and DDR5-4800 RAM, as well as 112 lanes of PCIe 5.0.
Features of Sapphire Rapids-WS (Intel Xeon W-2400)Xeon W-2400 series will be represented by chips with the number of cores from 6 to 24, which will support from 12 to 48 virtual threads.
They will have 15 to 45 Mbytes of L3 cache memory and will run at speeds up to 4.8 GHz.
The TDP rating of these processor models will range from 110W to 225W.
Intel Xeon W-3400 lineup Part of the Xeon W-2400 series will also get an unlocked multiplier.
These processors will support up to 2TB of quad-channel DDR5-4400 and DDR5-4800 RAM, as well as 64 lanes of PCIe 5.0.
Features of the Sapphire Rapids-SP platform for workstationsSapphire Rapids-SP server-class processors will be represented by a series of 4th generation Xeon Scalable Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze models.
The Xeon Scalable Platinum Series chips will offer 36 to 56 processing cores with support for 72 to 112 virtual threads.
These chips will not have support for Intel Boost Max 3.0 technology, which will be available on Sapphire Rapids-WS workstation models, and therefore will have a maximum clock speed of 3.8 GHz.
This platform will get support for 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes and up to 4TB of DDR5-4800 RAM per CPU slot.
They will have a TDP rating of 300 to 350W.
Intel Sapphire Rapids-SP Workstation (Xeon Platinum 8400)Gold models will offer 8 to 32 cores with support for 16 to 64 virtual threads and will run at clock speeds up to 4.1 GHz.
Those processors will range from 22.5 to 60 Mbytes of L3 cache and have a TDP from 185W to 250W, depending on model.
The amount and standard of supported DDR5 memory, as well as the number of available PCIe 5.0 lanes will be the same as in Platinum models.
Intel Sapphire Rapids-SP for workstations (Xeon Gold 6400)Silver series will feature two CPU models: with 12 and 20 cores, supporting 24 or 40 threads respectively.
Both chips will run at 3.9 GHz.
The processors will get 30 and 37.5 Mbytes of L3 cache, respectively.
Their TDP will be 150 and 165W respectively.
Intel Sapphire Rapids-SP workstation lineup (Xeon Silver 4400 and Bronze 3400)Bronze lineup will feature only one 8-core model, without multithreading support

Intel hasn't enabled DLVR for power efficiency on Raptor Lake, but it could work on future CPUs

Rumors that Raptor Lake processors should get new DLVR technology have been circulating since March last year, but nothing was known about it at the time.
Some time later, Intel registered a patent, which described the purpose of DLVR.
As it turned out, we are talking about Digital Linear Voltage Regulator (DLVR), a new mechanism that improves the energy efficiency of processors.Image source: VideoCardzThe document explained that the digital linear voltage regulator in Intel processors works in parallel with the main one, which is installed on the motherboard.
DLVR can reduce the voltage of the processor and thus reduce power consumption by 20-25%.
At the same time, a 21% reduction in power consumption allows for up to a 7% increase in performance.Image source: VideoCardzAs you know, some of the Intel Core 13th generation processors are already on sale.
However, there is no sign of DLVR technology in them.
Intel hasn't said anything publicly about the new feature either.
However, traces of DLVR were found in fresh versions of ASUS mainboards BIOS for new processors.
It is called CPU DLVR Bypass Mode Enable.
In this case the function itself does not work.
Turning it on or off has no effect.Image source: VideoCardzThe ASUS company's in-house overclocker, a.k.a.
Shamino, has said that the DLVR function is indeed supported on the company's latest motherboards, but Intel has disabled it on Raptor Lake CPUs themselves.
He also added that there is a possibility that future Intel chips will support it.Image source: ASUS ROG ForumsThe wording \"future processors\" draws attention.
The Raptor Lake chips are expected to be the last for Intel's LGA 1700 platform.
Expected after Raptor Lake processors Meteor Lake series will almost certainly require a new processor socket.
On the other hand, rumors that Intel is allegedly working on updated Raptor Lake Refresh chips are starting to appear in the web.
Presumably, they will be able to offer up to 20% lower power consumption compared to the current Raptor Lake models due to the DLVR function.

The Best Gaming Processors with Excessive Consumption - Intel Raptor Lake Reviews

Intel Raptor Lake processors started selling today, and with it, many technology sites and bloggers published reviews of the new products.\tThe Raptor Lake family differs from the Alder Lake family with an increased number of power-efficient E-core, higher clock speeds, and larger Layer 2 and Layer 3 caches.
Specifically, the Core i9-13900K offers 8 P- and 16 E-core, 3.0-5.8 GHz, 36 Mbytes of L3 cache, 253W MTP and is priced at $589.
The mid-sized Core i7-13700K has 8 P- and E-core each, 3.4-5.4 GHz, 30 Mbytes of L3 cache, MTP 253W and a price of $409.
And the specs of the younger Core i5-13600K look like this: 6P + 8E, 3.5-5.1 GHz, 24 Mbytes L3, MTP 181W and $319.\t\t\t\tWhen getting acquainted with the Raptor Lake, reviewers unanimously noted the high performance of the new products.
In multi-threaded applications, the Core i9-13900K outperforms the Core i9-12900K by 45%, and in gaming its performance is 20% better.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTom's Hardware Tom's Hardware As a result, the Core i9-13900K is about 10-15% faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X and 5-10% faster than the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in games.\t\t\t\t\t\tTechPowerUp That said, the Core i9-13900K and Ryzen 9 7950X perform about the same in multi-threaded content creation applications.\t\t\t\t\t\tTechPowerUp At the same time, almost all reviews note that Raptor Lake has significant consumption and high temperatures even when using very powerful cooling systems.
For example, it can consume up to 275W in multi-threaded loads, and up to 320W in stress tests with AVX2.
However, gamers are unlikely to encounter such consumption - the average consumption of the Core i9-13900K in games is about 140W.\t\t\t\t\t\tComputerbase.de In addition, some reviewers have noticed that the Core i9-13900K can be used quite effectively at reduced power consumption and underwinding.
For example, the processor hardly loses any gaming performance when capped at 125W, although it slows down in content creation applications by about 15%.\t\t\t\t\t\tder8auer Computerbase.de The journalists were more impressed than the Core i9-13900K by the inexpensive Core i5-13600K.
It lags behind the Core i9-13900K in games by a few percent and therefore is faster than any AMD processors, including flagship models.
At the same time, its average gaming consumption is only 85W, and peak consumption in resource-intensive applications does not exceed 155W.
Separately, reviewers pointed out that unlike Ryzen 7000, new Intel releases are compatible with old motherboards under LGA 1700 and can run not only with DDR5, but also with DDR4-memory.Detailed reviews of Core i9-13900K and Core i5-13600K can be found at websites: Igor'sLAB, Tom's Hardware, TechPowerUP, Techspot and others.

Intel Core i9-13900K overclocked to 8812.85 MHz, an all-time CPU frequency record

The new Intel Core i9-13900K flagship processor went on sale today and set a new all-time overclocking record of 8.8 GHz.
Thus, the previous record, held for 8 years, was broken.
The new achievement probably won't last that long.Image source: HWBOT / ElmorThe previous world record for the highest CPU overclocking frequency was set in 2014.
That CPU turned out to be the AMD FX 8370, released the same year.
At that time, the chip was overclocked on a single core to a frequency of 8722.78 MHz.In all the time past, none of the presented Intel processors could not even come close to the previous record overclocking representative of the ancient AMD FX series.
That all changed with the release of the new Raptor Lake series processors, the flagship of which can automatically overclock up to 5,8 GHz on 1-2 cores out of the box.The leaks of recent months clearly hinted that the Core i9-13900K has a huge potential for overclocking.
It was obvious that the processor was capable of conquering higher clock frequencies.
But few expected that the new chip which just went on sale would immediately set a new world overclocking record.An enthusiast with the nickname Elmor from Sweden entered into the HWBOT database his result of an extreme overclocking experiment with the Core i9-13900K using liquid nitrogen.
The overclocker managed to overclock the chip on a single core to a frequency of 8812.85 MHz, which is an absolute world record.
The ASUS Z790 ROG Maximus APEX motherboard was also used in the test system.
Source image: CPU-Z ValidatorNo less interesting detail is the fact that the last 12 years in setting new world records win systems based on ASUS motherboards, which will be a separate reason to be proud of this Taiwanese manufacturer.

Intel says Core i9-13900K is on average 11% faster than AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in games

According to Intel itself, the new Raptor Lake series Core i9-13900K processor is on average 11% faster than the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in games.
One of the VideoCardz reader shared photos from Intel presentation, anticipating the upcoming release of chips, where in particular the performance of new 24-core flagship processor was concerned.Image source: IntelThe slides showed Intel Core i9-13900K performance was compared directly with the direct competitor Ryzen 9 7950X.
So, the new Intel chip was up to 22% faster in games, compared to AMD's solution.
For example, such a difference can be expected in The Riftbreaker game.
In this case, if we talk about the average difference in performance, it is about 11% in favor of the Intel chip.
Intel Core i9-13900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in games.
Image source: VideoCardz / IntelOn another slide shown, Intel showed the performance of the Core i9-13900K in various applications.
PugetBench, Procyon, AutoCAD/AutoDesk were selected for the tests.
According to Intel, in half of the tests between the two flagships there is parity in performance.
In Photoshop, Intel's new product is slower by 3% than AMD's processor, while in AutoDesk/AutoCAD design programs, on the contrary, it is 4% and 16% faster.
Intel Core i9-13900K vs AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in software.
Source image: VideoCardz / IntelIt should be noted that the information on what conditions and with what PC components the above tests were conducted, is not yet available.
Intel Core 13th generation processors will be available for sale on October 20.
On the same day, the first independent reviews of these chips should appear.

Core i9-13900KF processor overclocked to 6.2GHz single-core using conventional liquid cooling

Raptor Lake's flagship 24-core Core i9-13900KF processor was overclocked to 6.2GHz, but only one core, but using only a conventional unattended (AIO) liquid cooling system.
Picture courtesy of Overclock.net.Source image: VideoCardzThe flagship 24-core Core i9-13900KF Raptor Lake processor is officially allowed to automatically overclock one of its cores to 5.8GHz with Thermal Velocity Boost technology.
The suffix \"KF\" in the model name indicates that the chip lacks integrated graphics.When overclocking the CPU to 6.2GHz, a Corsair iCUE H150I RGB Elite liquid cooling system was used as well as a Thermal Grizzly contact frame to protect against socket and poor waterblock contact with the chip cover.
The test system also contained an ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 APEX motherboard, a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics gas pedal and G.Skill DDR5-6000 memory modules with CL36 delays.
Intel Core i9-13900KF overclocking.
Source image: CodyeThe system after overclocking was tested in Cinebench and 3DMark synthetic tests.
In the single-core benchmark Cinebench R23, the processor showed a score of 2352 points after overclocking.
This allowed it to rank 13th in HWBOT's single-core performance ranking.
The user also reported that the processor scored 41,940 points in the multi-core performance test.
Intel Core i9-13900KF overclocking.
Image source: CodyeThe owner of the Core i9-13900KF notes that despite being able to overclock the chip to 6.2GHz on a single core, the processor temperature did not rise above 75°C when using the aforementioned coolant.
The Core i9-13900KF was overclocked at 1.474V.
The enthusiast also added that he was limited in time, so he has not yet conducted thorough tests on the processor.
At the same time, standard overclocking profiles of ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 APEX motherboard were used in the experiment.