With just a few days left in the launch, we have a new benchmark of the Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU that delivers the same performance as the Core i9-12900K but at just 80W.
Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU Is Just As Fast As The Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU at 80W
In the latest benchmarks posted by Enthusiast Citizen over at Bilibili Forums, we get to see the Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU being tested within Cinebench R23 in various profiles. The results range from stock, unlimited power, and limited power profiles. But before that, let’s take a quick re-cap of the specs.
Intel Core i9-13900K 24 Core Raptor Lake CPU Specs
The Intel Core i9-13900K is the flagship Raptor Lake CPU, featuring 24 cores and 32 threads in an 8 P-Core (Raptor Cove) and 16 E-Core (Gracemont V2) configuration. The CPU is configured at a base clock of 3.0 GHz, a single-core boost clock of 5.8 GHz (1-2) cores, and an all-core boost clock of 5.5 GHz (all 8 P-Cores). The CPU features 68 MB of combined cache and a 125W PL1 rating that goes up to 250W. The CPU can also consume up to 350W of power when using the “Unlimited Power Mode” which we detailed here.
Coming to the performance benchmarks, the Intel Core i9-13900K scores 38,431 points at stock and that’s on par with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. Using the “Unlimited Power” profile, the score jumps to 40,622 points which is a 6% increase. The leaker also posted another benchmark, this time with the CPU running at a fixed 80W power limit, and scored 27,412 points which is on par with Intel’s Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU.
0
9000
18000
27000
36000
45000
54000
Intel Core i9-13900K (Unlimited Power)
Intel Core i9-13900K (Stock)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (65W Power)
Intel Core i9-13900K (80W Power)
Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU at Stock (Image Credits: Enthusiast Citizen):
Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU at 80W (Image Credits: Enthusiast Citizen):
We also put the scores of our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at stock and power limited to 65W in the chart for comparison. It looks like the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X offers slightly better performance at a much lower power rating. This goes off to show the extremely efficient design that both chips are offering but AMD’s 5nm Zen 4 architecture really shines. Intel’s Raptor Lake Core i9-13900K CPU launches on the 20th of October or this Thursday for worldwide availability along with the Z790 platform.
More benchmarks of AMD’s Ryzen 5 7600X CPU at stock and overclocked configurations have leaked out over at Bilibili.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU Overclocked Up To 5.6 GHz, Benchmarked at Both Stock & OC Configurations
The benchmarks mostly show the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X being tested across a range of benchmarks but the leaker has only focused on single-core performance numbers. There’s no mention of what the test system comprised of but we can guess that the leaker was using an X670E motherboard & DDR5 memory with speeds rated at up to DDR5-6000.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6 Core “Zen 4” Desktop CPU
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X will be the most budget-tier chip of the entire Zen 4 lineup at launch. This will be a 6-core and a 12-thread part that features a high 4.7 GHz base clock and a 5.3 GHz single-core boost frequency. The CPU will also run at a 105W TDP (142W PPT) which is much higher than its 65W predecessor though once again, that’s the sacrifice you’ve to pay to achieve the faster clock speeds. The CPU will carry 38 MB of cache that comes from 32 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 on the die. This chip is going to be priced at $299 US and will be offering a 5% performance gain over the Core i9-12900K in gaming.
AMD Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ Desktop CPU Specs (Official):
CPU Name
Architecture
Process Node
Cores / Threads
Base Clock
Boost Clock (SC Max)
Cache
TDP
Prices (TBD)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
Zen 4
5nm
16/32
4.5 GHz
5.7 GHz
80 MB (64+16)
170W
$699 US
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
Zen 4
5nm
12/24
4.7 GHz
5.6 GHz
76 MB (64+12)
170W
$549 US
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
Zen 4
5nm
8/16
4.5 GHz
5.4 GHz
40 MB (32+8)
105W
$399 US
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
Zen 4
5nm
6/12
4.7 GHz
5.3 GHz
38 MB (32+6)
105W
$299 US
First up, we have the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X in CPU-z where AMD itself showcased a 1% IPC uplift so this is the worst-case showcase for the Zen 4 chip. At stock, the CPU scored 652.8 points, and with an overclock of up to 5.6 GHz, the CPU scored 734.1 points. Next up, we have the Cinebench R23 benchmark where the chip scored 1784 points at stock and 1920 points with a 5.4 GHz overclock. Here, the voltage is shown at 1.296V. That’s a boost of 12.5% with the 5.6 GHz and a boost of 7.5% with the 5.4 GHz overclock.
We also get to see some dual-channel performance benchmarks in the AIDA64 cache and memory benchmark in which the CPU offers around 69.9ns of latency with DDR5-6000 memory and decent gains in memory and cache bandwidth compared to its predecessor. The following charts show the performance stacking up against the competition:
Ryzen 5 7600X (5.4 GHz OC)
Core i9-13900K (5.5 GHz All-Core OC)
Ryzen 5 7600X (5.6 GHz OC)
The leaker states that the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X can achieve frequencies of up to 5.4-5.5 GHz with 1.32V overclocking but requires a decent 360mm AIO cooler. Using this setup and OC config, the CPU can sit at around 92C. He also claims that the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X can hit an overclock frequency of up to 5.4 GHz across all cores and each a score of over 42,000 points which would put it far above the 13900K’s Unlimited Power setting. The CPU was put under a 360mm AIO cooler and resulted in 82C temps with the OC but wasn’t able to pass the AIDA64 stability test under such a configuration.
0
9000
18000
27000
36000
45000
54000
Ryzzen 9 7950X (5.4 GHz OC)
Core i9-13900K (Unlimited Power)
Core i9-13900K (Limited Power)
At stock, both the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel Core i9-13900K CPUs will score similarly but AMD Zen 4 will have a big advantage when it comes to power efficiency over Intel’s Raptor Lake.
The CPU seems to be right on par with Intel’s Core i9-12900K and for $299 US, that’s fantastic news for gamers. AMD’s Ryzen 7000 chips hit retail on the 27th of September so users can enjoy some huge uplifts in the single and multi-core workloads. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X & the Ryzen 5 7600X also appeared in the leaked Geekbench 5 benchmarks a few days ago.
The first gaming and synthetic performance benchmarks of Intel’s Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake 5.5 GHz CPU have been leaked by Extreme Player at Bilibili (via HXL).
Intel’s Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake Is 5% Faster Than Core i9-12900K Alder Lake on Average In Leaked Gaming Benchmarks
The Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU tested in the leaked benchmarks is a QS sample that features 24 cores and 32 threads in an 8 P-Core and 16 E-Core configuration. The CPU carries a total of 36 MB of L3 cache and 32 MB of L2 cache for a combined 68 MB of ‘Smart Cache. It also comes with a base (PL1) TDP of 125W & an MTP of around 250W.
This chip is running around the same 3.0 GHz base and 5.5 GHz boost clocks that we saw in the previous benchmarks by the same leaker. The final chip is expected to hit single-core boost clocks of up to 5.7-5.8 GHz though that remains to be seen till the final variant makes it to the market.
In terms of performance, we have more detailed gaming and synthetic benchmarks with the Intel Core i9-13900K (5.5 GHz) and Core i9-12900K (4.9 GHz) running at their stock frequencies on a Z690 platform with 32 GB of DDR5-6400 memory and a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card. The Core i9-13900K already has a 12.2% clock speed advantage over the Core i9-12900K so it should be faster by default even if the architecture is the same. The extra uplift comes from the increased cache as it gets over a 50% bump (68 MB vs 44 MB).
Intel Raptor Lake Core i9-13900K vs Alder Lake Core i9-12900K Synthetic Benchmarks (via Extreme Player):
The gaming performance was tested in various titles at 2160p, 1440p, and 1080p resolutions. The average performance improvement seems to be around 5-10% across all three resolutions for the Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU versus its Core i9-12900K Alder Lake predecessors. There are only a few cases where the chip showed huge gains. The cache and higher clocks really seem to be benefitting the minimum frame rate with around 25-30% jumps in a few titles such as PUBG, Forza Horizon 5, and up to 70-80% gains in Red Dead Redemption 2.
The same was the case with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D which not only saw average performance go up with its extra 3D V-Cache but the minimum FPS numbers also went up quite a bit thanks to the increased cache. Notably, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D offered a much bigger cache size compared to the Raptor Lake cache bump (vs Alder Lake CPUs).
Intel Raptor Lake Core i9-13900K vs Alder Lake Core i9-12900K Gaming Benchmarks (via Extreme Player):
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K Full Gaming Benchmark Performance Breakdown:
One interesting comparison that has been made is the power consumption figures where the Intel Core i9-13900K consumes up to 52% higher in games than the Core i9-12900K and an average of 20% higher power consumption across all three resolutions tested. This means that the next-gen Raptor Lake CPU lineup is going to be more power-hungry than Alder Lake, even in games. The breakdown of average FPS at each resolution is as follows:
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1080p: 4.22% Faster Performance on Average
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1440p: 6.97% Faster Performance on Average
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 2160p: 3.30% Faster Performance on Average
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K All Res Avg – 4.83% Faster
As for the minimum FPS, the breakdown at each resolution is as below:
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1080p: 27.93% Faster Minimum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1440p: 21.83% Faster Minimum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 2160p: 12.82% Faster Minimum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K All Res Min Avg: 20.86% Faster
And finally, we have the maximum FPS breakdown for each resolution as listed below:
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1080p: 6.29% Faster Maximum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1440p: 4.42% Faster Maximum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 2160p: 2.58% Faster Maximum FPS
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K All Res Max Avg: 4.43% Faster
Following are all of these results as compiled by @Harukaze5719:
Breaking down the power consumption figures for each resolution tested, we get the following results for the Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K:
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1080p: 19.1% Higher Power Consumption
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1440p: 19.8% Higher Power Consumption
Intel Core i9-13900K vs Core i9-12900K at 1440p: 26.2% Higher Power Consumption
Intel Raptor Lake Core i9-13900K vs Alder Lake Core i9-12900K Power Consumption (via Extreme Player):
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake-S & 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S Desktop CPU Comparison (Preliminary):
CPU Name
P-Core Count
E-Core Count
Total Core / Thread
P-Core Base / Boost (Max)
P-Core Boost (All-Core)
E-Core Base / Boost
E-Core Boost (All-Core)
Cache
TDP
MSRP
Intel Core i9-13900K
8
16
24 / 32
TBA / TBA?
TBA
TBA
TBA
68 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
Intel Core i9-12900K
8
8
16 / 24
3.2 / 5.2 GHz
4.9 GHz (All Core)
2.4 / 3.9 GHz
3.7 GHz (All Core)
30 MB
125W (PL1) 241W (PL2)
$599 US
Intel Core i7-13700K
8
8
16 / 24
TBA / TBA?
TBA
TBA
TBA
54 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
Intel Core i7-12700K
8
4
12 / 20
3.6 / 5.0 GHz
4.7 GHz (All Core)
2.7 / 3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz (All Core)
25 MB
125W (PL1) 190W (PL2)
$419 US
Intel Core i5-13600K
6
8
14 / 20
TBA / TBA?
TBA
TBA
TBA
44 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
Intel Core i5-12600K
6
4
10 / 16
3.7 / 4.9 GHz
4.5 GHz (All Core)
2.8 / 3.6 GHz
3.4 GHz (All Core)
20 MB
125W (PL1) 150W (PL2)
$299 US
The Intel Core i9-13900K delivered around 10% faster single-threaded and 35% faster multi-thread performance on average versus the Core i9-12900K in the previously leaked benchmarks. Overall, it looks like the CPU will be faster than the Ryzen 9 7950X in workload-specific tasks while being on par in gaming benchmarks. But with AMD releasing its Ryzen 7000 3D V-Cache chips based on the same Zen 4 core architecture later this year, Intel’s gaming crown, if they manage to grab it from Zen 4, will be short-lived.
The Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs including the flagship Core i9-13900K is expected to launch in October on the Z790 platform. The CPUs will be going up against AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPU lineup which also launches in Fall 2022.
AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D has been tested against the Intel Core i9-12900K once more and we will see if DDR5 is enough to keep Alder Lake in lead.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D Retains Gaming Lead In Latest Benchmarks Against Intel Core i9-12900K Despite Alder Lake Running DDR5-6000 Memory
The latest gaming benchmarks for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D are once again published by tech outlet, XanxoGaming. Today is also the day when other media outlets will be posting their own 5800X3D reviews.
AMD’s Ryzen 5000 Desktop CPUs Are An Absolute Steal Right Now: Ryzen 9 5950X 16 Core Available For $539 US, Ryzen 9 5900X 12 Core As Low As $394 US
The previous benchmarks did feature the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D running against an Intel Core i9-12900K CPU but only with DDR4 memory up to 3600 Mbps. The latest benchmarks show us what the performance looks like when the new 3D V-Cache CPU is tested against Alder Lake with DDR5 memory. For this purpose, a set of DDR5-6000 CL40 memory was utilized, and that gives another $ advantage to the red team considering the high prices attached with going the DDR5 route on the Z690 platform. Meanwhile, users can simply run their existing DDR4 kits on the AM4 platform and the CPU upgrade alone will allow for much higher performance.
As for the benchmarks, besides Assassin’s Creed Origins, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D outperformed or managed to stay on par with the Intel Core i9-12900K (Plus DDR5-6000 memory). This is again an impressive showcase of 3D V-Cache offering a bigger performance bump over Intel’s fastest Alder lake CPU for gaming. Another section where 3D V-Cache really helps is the 1% lows which are much higher than what Intel’s Core i9-12900K produces in the same games.
The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is turning out to be a great gaming CPU as far as its price is compared to the Intel flagship, the Core i9-12900K. AMD can have a very disruptive offering as it says its last hurrah to the AM4 platform. It will be available for $449 US when it hits retail on the 20th of April.
Intel is splitting its TDP numbers into two new categories starting with 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs, Processor Base Power (PBP), and Maximum Turbo Power (MTP).
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs TDPs Now Defined As PBP PL1 & MTP PL2, Up To 38% Performance With MTP
The first category is the base TDP of what a CPU processes. Power Level 2 is described as when a CPU is pushed beyond its PBP and is typically caused by the long-term duration of use (also known as Tau of PL2 by vendors of motherboards). It’s also known as when a CPU is overclocked, a feature that enthusiasts tweak and tinker with to see the level they can stress a product before it is unable to work as intended. Because of the needs of those enthusiasts, vendors and manufacturers add that to the descriptions so that consumers have that information ahead of time.
Antonline Offers Pre-Orders on Intel Alder Lake-K CPUs Starting at $319.99 US
Not only is TDP replaced by PBP, but PL2 is now considered the CPUs Maximum Turbo Power. These new terms are now seen on slides from Intel’s marketing information along with other official performance information. With this new nomenclature for CPUs, reviewers are now tasked with making sure to use the proper modes when comparing with alternate solutions, avoiding any confusion from the audience, causing certain CPUs that are high producers to be more favorable.
Twitter user @9550pro found a screenshot from Weibo user Wolfstame. Wolfstame happens to be the Gaming Desktop Product Planning Manager of Lenovo China. The user posted a chart showing the comparison of the new Alder Lake CPU lines in both PL1 and PL2 modes in a Cinebench test—more specifically, the R20 multi-thread benchmark. This information has since been removed from the original poster, possibly due to embargo reasons. What is shown is the level of performance that MTP modes give to all three of the new Intel 12th Gen Core K-series processors.
This information is the closest we have seen to accurate performance since prior to AMD and Microsoft’s L3 latency issues that were plaguing Ryzen CPUs using Windows 11.
Distributers In Pakistan Go Bonkers: Asking Scalped Prices For 4-Year Old Refurbished GPUs, ASUS Sets Insane MSRPs For South Asian Market
When looking at these calculations, we can see that the Intel Core i5-12600K chipset bodes 10% increased performance with PL1=PL2 mode when compared to the standard settings. Intel’s Core i7-12700K CPU has 30% better performance, and the i9-12900K has a staggering 36% better performance when utilizing the MTP mode.
Intel’s newest CPUs are set to release on November 4th, but retailers have already started taking pre-orders last week. Recently, Newegg appeared to have shipped the CPUs prior to the actual embargo date, and they are probably not the only retailer that has made that mistake. Unfortunately, without access to the Z690 motherboard, the chips are unusable until those devices become available.
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU Specs “Rumored”
CPU Name
P-Core Count
E-Core Count
Total Core / Thread
P-Core Base / Boost (Max)
P-Core Boost (All-Core)
E-Core Base / Boost
E-Core Boost (All-Core)
L3 Cache
TDP (PL1)
TDP (PL2)
Expected (MSRP) Price
Core i9-12900K
8
8
16 / 24
3.2 / 5.3 GHz
5.0 GHz (All Core)
2.4 / 3.9 GHz
3.7 GHz (All Core)
30 MB
125W
241W
$599 US
Core i9-12900
8
8
16 / 24
3.2 / 5.2 GHz
4.9 GHz (All Core)
TBA
TBA
30 MB
65W
~200W
$509 US
Core i9-12900T
8
8
16 / 24
TBA / 4.9 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
30 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i7-12700K
8
4
12 / 20
3.6 / 5.0 GHz
4.7 GHz (All Core)
2.7 / 3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz (All Core)
25 MB
125W
190W
$429 US
Core i7-12700
8
4
12 / 20
3.6 / 4.9 GHz
4.6 GHz (All Core)
TBA
TBA
25 MB
65W
~200W
$359 US
Core i7-12700T
8
4
12 / 20
TBA / 4.7 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
25 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i5-12600K
6
4
10 / 16
3.7 / 4.9 GHz
4.5 GHz (All Core)
2.8 / 3.6 GHz
3.4 GHz (All Core)
20 MB
125W
150W
$279 US
Core i5-12600
6
0
6 / 12
3.7 / 4.8 GHz
4.4GHz (All Core)
TBA
TBA
18 MB
65W
~200W
$249 US
Core i5-12600T
6
0
6 / 12
TBA / 4.6 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
18 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i5-12500T
6
0
6 / 12
TBA / 4.4 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
18 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i5-12400
6
0
6 / 12
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
18 MB
65W
~200W
$203 US
Core i5-12400T
6
0
6 / 12
TBA / 4.2 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
18 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i3-12200T
4
0
4 / 8
TBA / 4.2 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
12 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Core i3-12100T
4
0
4 / 8
TBA / 4.1 GHz
TBA
TBA
TBA
12 MB
35W
TBA
TBA
Source: Wolfstame (on Weibo), @9550pro, VideoCardz
The latest Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake flagship CPU benchmarks have leaked out and the QS chips show much faster single-threaded performance than Rocket Lake while offering multi-core performance on par with AMD’s flagship Ryzen 5000 CPUs.
Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake Benchmarks Show Fastest Single-Threaded Performance, Up To 20% Faster Than AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
While we have already seen several benchmarks of the Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU, this is the first time we are getting results from a QS chip that should offer better performance & overall stability. The tests were carried out on a B660 motherboard along with DDR4-3600 memory in Gear 1 mode. The benchmarks were leaked over at Bilibili and spotted by HXL.
Intel Core i7-12700K 12 Core Alder Lake CPU-z Benchmark Leaks Out, Up To 45% Faster Than AMD Ryzen 7 5800X & Core i9-11900K
Intel Core i7-12700K CPU Specifications
The Intel Core i7-12700K CPU will offer 8 Golden Cove cores but cut down the Gracemont cores to 4. This will result in a total of 12 cores (8+4) and 20 threads (16+4). The P-cores (Golden Cove) will operate at a base frequency of 3.6 GHz and a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.0 GHz with 1-2 active cores and 4.7 GHz with all-cores active while the E-cores (Gracemont) will operate at 3.8 GHz across 1-4 cores & up to 3.6 GHz when all cores are loaded. The CPU will feature 25 MB of L3 cache and TDP values are maintained at 125W (PL1) and 250W (PL2).
Before moving over to the performance metrics, it is stated that the Intel Core i9-12900K peaked at 250W in the AVX2 mode stress test while running at 108C temperatures. It looks like Intel has once again given away power efficiency and went with a brute-force approach to tackle AMD’s Ryzen Zen 3 CPUs. It is also stated that there was some problem with Thermal Velocity Boost on the specific B660 motherboard and the max frequency that was achieved is 5.1 GHz (4.9 GHz P-Core & 3.7 GHz E-Core). The performance was evaluated in Windows 11 but the use of better BIOS & DDR5 DRAM would result in slightly better performance.
Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU Power Consumption & Temperatures:
Intel’s CEO: AMD Has Done A Solid Job But Their Lead is ‘Over’ With Alder Lake Consumer & Sapphire Rapids Server CPUs
So coming to the benchmarks, we first have the CPU-z results where the Intel Core i9-12900K is 20% faster in single-threaded and almost on par with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. Remember that AMD’s Ryzen 9 5950X has 33% higher threads than the Intel flagship. In Cinebench R20, the Alder Lake chip once again offers a 20% performance boost in a single-threaded and similar performance in the multi-threaded benchmarks.
This is a very good showcase of the performance that Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs have to offer, especially in the single-threaded department however, those high temperatures and power numbers are something to worry about. The Intel Core i9-12900K is expected to hit retail at around $550 US which should make it $250 US cheaper than the MSRP of the Ryzen 9 5950X & the same MSRP of the Ryzen 9 5900X. It could turn out to be a compelling option but will require lots of high-end cooling and power equipment to handle it.
Intel’s Alder Lake Desktop CPUs will feature both DDR5 and DDR4 memory controllers and 600-series motherboards will also come with DDR5/DDR4 specific options. High-end motherboards will retain DDR5 while the more mainstream offerings will open up DDR4 support too. The Intel Alder Lake CPU lineup is expected to launch in November along with the respective Z690 platform and DDR5 memory kits.
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU Specs “Rumored”
The latest high-resolution pictures of the Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake flagship CPU have been leaked by Yuuki_AnS. The leaker has obtained the latest engineering sample of the chip that was being sold over in the Chinese black market for a starting price of $700 US.
Intel’s Core i9-12900K Alder Lake Flagship CPU Gets High-Res Photos, New Hardware Guided Scheduling Onboard
The pictures give us a bit better glimpse of the Intel Core i9-12900K CPU which is the flagship within the Alder Lake 12th Gen Core lineup and also its 1700 contact pads which will make it compatible with LGA 1700 motherboards. The specific CPU sample is the ‘QX7H’ variant & falls within the ‘ES2’ spec. The side profile pictures show that the PCB on the chip is quite thick and will feature a more rectangular design compared to the square Intel chips we have seen over a decade now.
Aside from the pictures, we managed to get hold of a new slide for the Intel Alder Lake CPUs where the company outlined its brand new HGS+ (Hardware Guided Scheduling+) feature. Intel states that its new core architecture with HGS+ prioritizes and manages the distribution of workloads sending tasks to the best thread for the job, thereby optimizing performance per watt. This feature will be enabled by default (on select SKUs) and no user action is required to activate this technology. The HGS+ feature is a combination of hardware support in the processor and software optimizations in the latest Windows (11) operating system.
This technology shouldn’t be confused with Intel’s Thread Director as that’s another feature set for the Intel Alder Lake CPUs but both Thread Director and HGS+ will work in tandem to optimize the performance of hybrid CPUs like Intel’s 12th Gen processor on Windows 11. You can learn about Intel’s new HGS technology in detail in this article published by UnderFox over at Coreteks.
It is likely that the new HGS+ scheduler only works on Intel Alder Lake 12th Gen CPUs with hybrid core technology. We know certain SKUs will only feature Golden Cove cores so there won’t be that much of a use for HGS+ on those chips.
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Intel Core i9-12900K 16 Core / 24 Thread Desktop CPU
The Intel Core i9-12900K will be the flagship chip in the 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU lineup. It will feature 8 Golden Cove cores and 8 Gracemont cores for a total of 16 cores (8+8) and 24 threads (16+8). The P-cores (Golden Cove) will operate at a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.3 GHz with 1-2 active cores and 5.0 GHz with all-cores active while the E-cores (Gracemont) will operate at 3.90 GHz across 1-4 cores and up to 3.7 GHz when all cores are loaded.
The CPU will feature 30 MB of L3 cache and TDP values are maintained at 125W (PL1) and 228W (PL2). The ‘K’ variant is expected to retail at $599 US while the Non-K variant will retail at $509 US.
Intel’s Alder Lake Desktop CPUs will feature both DDR5 and DDR4 memory controllers and 600-series motherboards will also come with DDR5/DDR4 specific options. High-end motherboards will retain DDR5 while the more mainstream offerings will open up DDR4 support too. The Intel Alder Lake CPU lineup is expected to launch in November along with the respective Z690 platform and DDR5 memory kits.
A brand new benchmark of Intel’s Core i9-12900K Alder Lake-S Flagship Desktop CPU has popped up within the Puget System benchmark database along with the first entry of ASUS’s upcoming ROG STRIX Z690-E Gaming WIFI motherboard.
Intel Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU Benchmarked With ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-E Gaming WIFI Motherboard, Faster Than AMD Ryzen 9 5950X And i9-11900K
Two entries for the Intel Core i9-12900K Desktop CPU were made within the Puget Systems data-base. Based on the new benchmarks, this chip looks to be a qualification sample with much higher clock speeds than what we have seen on early engineering samples. The CPU was tested on ASUS’s ROG STRIX Z690-E Gaming WIFI motherboard which is part of the next-gen ROG lineup & this entry seems to be made by accident by someone at ASUS’s HQ. The test setup was running 64 GB DDR5-4800 (2 x 32 GB) memory and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card on the Windows 10 OS.
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Coming straight to the performance numbers, the Intel Core i9-12900K scored 1575 points which put it ahead of the Core i9-11900K in the same benchmark. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X scores an overall 1581 points whereas the Intel Core i9-11900K scores 1548 points. The Intel Core i9-11900K is an 8 core chip whereas the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X features 16 cores which means this benchmark (After Effects 0.93.2) isn’t really optimized for high-core count processors. But this is the 2nd leaked benchmark that shows the Core i9-12900K sitting ahead of the Ryzen 9 5950X.
Despite all, the Core i9-12900K coming close to the Core i9-11900K and Ryzen 9 5950X in its current state is a big feat. We have to remember that Alder Lake CPUs, even in QS state, won’t deliver full performance capability until they receive proper BIOS and OS support. We have previously seen this with Intel’s Rocket Lake chips which didn’t receive proper BIOS support till a few days prior to their launch. Furthermore, Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs are based on a hybrid architecture & will require extensive updates through Windows 11 to fully unlock their performance and multi-threaded core potential.
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A crucial element to this was announced by Intel during its Architecture Day 2021 & is known as ‘Thread Director’. It is a hardware-based scheduler that finally has visibility into the type of threads being scheduled. The technology would first be available in Alder Lake CPUs where it will work with Windows 11 to prioritize tasks to the various cores based on their nature. For the first time, a hardware scheduler can send background tasks to the small cores and performance-requiring tasks to the performance cores.
Intel Core i9-12900K 16 Core / 24 Thread Desktop CPU
The Intel Core i9-12900K will be the flagship chip in the 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU lineup. It will feature 8 Golden Cove cores and 8 Gracemont cores for a total of 16 cores (8+8) and 24 threads (16+8). The P-cores (Golden Cove) will operate at a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.3 GHz with 1-2 active cores and 5.0 GHz with all-cores active while the E-cores (Gracemont) will operate at 3.90 GHz across 1-4 cores and up to 3.7 GHz when all cores are loaded. The CPU will feature 30 MB of L3 cache and TDP values are maintained at 125W (PL1) and 228W (PL2).
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU Specs “Rumored”
CPU Name
P-Core Count
E-Core Count
Total Core / Thread
P-Core Base / Boost (Max)
P-Core Boost (All-Core)
E-Core Base / Boost
E-Core Boost (All-Core)
Cache
TDP
Price
Intel Core i9-12900K
8
8
16 / 24
TBA / 5.3 GHz
5.0 GHz (All Core)
TBA / 3.9 GHz
3.7 GHz (All Core)
30 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
Intel Core i7-12700K
8
4
16 / 20
TBA / 5.0 GHz
4.7 GHz (All Core)
TBA / 3.8 GHz
3.6 GHz (All Core)
25 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
Intel Core i5-12600K
6
4
12 / 16
TBA / 4.9 GHz
4.5 GHz (All Core)
TBA / 3.6 GHz
3.4 GHz (All Core)
20 MB
125W (PL1) 228W (PL2)
TBA
The Intel Alder Lake Desktop CPUs are expected to launch in Q4 2021 and will be the first mainstream consumer platform to utilize PCIe5.0 and DDR5 technologies along with a new hybrid architecture approach, something that Microsoft has optimized for its Windows 11 operating system.
