Intel Core i9-12900KS has debuted as the new, top-end desktop processor from the chipmaker to take on AMD. Intel claims that its new offering is the “world’s fastest desktop processor” — capable of delivering up to 5.5GHz max turbo frequency. Technically, the Intel Core i9-12900KS is an unlocked version of the existing Core i9-12900K. It has the same 16-core design along with 24 threads that were available on the regular flagship Core i9 processor. However, Intel has upgraded the base power to 150W from 125W available on the Core i9-12900K to deliver a faster clock speed on up to two cores.
Intel Core i9-12900KS price, availability
Intel Core i9-12900KS price starts at $739 (roughly Rs. 56,100), and the new processor will be available from April 5. Details about the India pricing of the Core i9-12900KS will be available at a later stage.
Last year, Intel Core i9-12900K was launched at a starting price of $589 (roughly Rs. 44,700).
Intel Core i9-12900KS specifications
Announced at CES 2022 in January, the Intel Core i9-12900KS is designed as a special edition processor, targeted at enthusiasts and gamers who are looking to “maximise performance” on their PCs. The processor is capable of hitting up to 5.5GHz on up to two cores, which is faster than the maximum clock speed of 5.2GHz available on the regular 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900K processor.
Alongside the new max turbo frequency, the Core i9-12900KS comes with Intel Thermal Velocity Boost technology that helps enable overclocking alongside maintaining the processor’s temperature. The new chip also has Intel Adaptive Boost Technology to improve gaming performance by allowing higher multi-core turbo frequencies, the company said.
Intel has offered its 16-core design on the Core i9-12900KS that brings eight P-cores and eight E-cores — just like the Core i9-12900K.
Intel Core i9-12900KS also includes support for up to DDR5 4800 MT/s and DDR4 3200 MT/s. Further, it is compatible with existing Z690 motherboards and includes support for PCIe Gen 5.0 and 4.0.
By bringing the Core i9-12900KS, Intel is essentially giving professional gamers another choice. The new processor, however, has AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D as a competitor that is coming in April itself. AMD is projecting the new Ryzen model as the “world’s fastest gaming CPU”, though it is claimed to have a maximum boosted clock speed of 4.5GHz, which is less than the 5.5GHz top speed available on the Intel model.
The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, however, comes with a newly designed 3D-stacking V-Cache technology that helps deliver an L3 cache of up to 96MB. This is unlike the Core i9-12900KS that has a 30MB cache.
Having said that, we’re yet to see the real-world performance of both processors to understand how good they could be for their target audiences.
Alongside the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, AMD has the 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X as its top chip that could give a tough fight to the latest Intel processor. The Ryzen 9 model has 16 cores and a maximum clock speed of 4.9GHz, along with 64MB L3 cache and a base power of 105W that can be boosted to up to 142W.
