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- Despite being on an older node and less efficient than AMD, Intel's 13th Gen top-tier Core i9 processor is, in many cases, the fastest CPU on the market. But it's the $100 price difference that favors Intel over AMD, making the Core i9-13900K a better dollar-to-dollar value (so long as you don't count your electric bill).
www.windowscentral.com › hardware › intel-core-i9-13900k-review-cheaper-and-often-faster-intel-is-now-ahead-of-amds-bestIntel Core i9-13900K review: Cheaper and often faster, Intel ...
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Oct 20, 2022 · With the highest CPU test scores we've seen, there’s no question that Intel’s Core i9-13900K is the fastest consumer-oriented CPU you can buy, earning it our Editors' Choice award.
- Analyst
- Intel
- 5
Oct 20, 2022 · You want the best of the best Ending the Ryzen 9 7950X’s short-lived reign, the Intel Core i9-13900K is here to rule the roost. If you need a computer with turbo-charged performance in every...
Oct 19, 2018 · The Bottom Line. Intel's Core i9-9900K mainstream flagship CPU is a spirited performer, no matter what you task it with. If you don't need the RAM bandwidth or PCI Express lanes of Intel's Core...
- Intel
- Turns out, just adding more cores and increasing the power draw is all you need to be the fastest desktop CPU.
- Intel Core i9-13900K: Prices & Specs
- Intel Core i9-13900K: What’s new
- Intel Core i9-13900K: Performance
- Intel Core i9-13900K: Competition
- Intel Core i9-13900K: Should you buy?
Reviews
By Daniel Rubino
published 20 October 2022
(Image: © Daniel Rubino)
Like 12th Gen Intel processors, Intel's 13th Gen processors feature new performance cores (‘P-core’), which do the bulk of the work as they are the most powerful, and efficiency cores (‘E-core’), which handle background operations. This architectural shift makes these newer CPUs very potent for heavy multitaskers, especially if you like to game, stream, and record simultaneously.
The new Core i9-13900K features 24 cores in the form of sixteen E-cores and eight P-cores with 32 threads.
The Core i9-13900K peaks at 5.8GHz turbo while the base speed is 3.0GHz. L3 cache tops at 36MB with 32MB of L2, and the base TDP is 125 watts with an eye-watering 253-watt max TDP.
Being a K-series chip, Intel lets users easily overclock the processor using Intel Speed Optimizer software.
Intel also has the Core i9-13900KF variant, the same as the 13900K minus built-in Intel UHD 770 Graphics.
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Compared to last year’s Core i9-12900K, which was also reviewed, the new Core i9-13900K adds eight more cores increasing the total count from 16 to 24. Those extra cores come in E-cores, while the P-count of eight remains the same. There are also now 32 threads instead of 24.
Max turbo frequency jumps to 5.8GHz from 5.2GHz, with the L3 and L2 cache going from 30MB to 36MB and 14MB to 32MB, respectively.
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Base TDP is the same between both generations at 125 watts, but the new Core i9-13900K is thirstier, hitting 253 watts versus 241 watts.
Pricing and RAM requirements remain the same between Intel 12th and 13th Gen Core i9s at $589 and DDR4 or DDR5 support.
Both chip generations (Intel 12 and Intel 13) can utilize the new Z790 chipset or stick with last year’s Z690. Regarding the difference between the chipsets, the Z790 is more progressive as it adds one extra USB 3.2 (Gen 2x2) connection, up to 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes (compared to 12 with Intel’s 600-series chipset), fewer PCIe 3.0 lanes (up to 8 compared to 16), and the same 16 lanes of PCIe 5.0. However, there are no “speed” advantages with the Z790 over the existing Z690.
For this review, we relied on last year’s MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi chipset for this review, as there are no performance differences between it and the newer Z790 boards.
Cooling was handled with the Corsair H150i Elite Capellix AIO with three 360mm fans placed in the Corsair iCUE 4000X RGB Mid-Tower ATX PC case. For RAM, we relied on the new Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5, which was clocked to 6600MHz via Intel XMP.
The GPU is a GeForce RTX 3080, although it shouldn’t be a factor in our selected benchmarks, which are CPU-dependent.
The results are fascinating.
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Compared to AMD’s flagship Ryzen 9 7950X, the new Intel Core i9-13900K is the fastest processor to date when benching Cinebench, Geekbench, CPU-Z, and Blender (Monster, Classroom). Indeed, in Cinebench 23, the Core i9-13900K came just under 40,000, which is absurd. In our previous review, the Ryzen 9 7950X hit around 36,000, although some online results put it closer to 37,000.
The most apparent alternative to the Core i9-13900K is AMD’s brand-new Ryzen 9 7950X (or less-powerful Ryzen 9 7900X).
The advantage for AMD comes down to wattage used, which peaks at 170 watts (instead of 253 for Intel), and its ability to handle specific tasks like video encoding or compression faster than the Core i9-13900K.
However, Intel wins out on pricing and value, in our opinion.
The Core i9-13900K retails for $589, while the Ryzen 9 7950X is over $100 more at $699. For an extra $40, you could even knab the Core i9-13900KS (~$739) with its covetous 6.0GHz top speed.
$40 for some bragging rights? Sure, why not.
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You should buy this if ...
•You want the fastest CPU (by most measures)
•You want the more affordable option
•You don't want to upgrade your DDR4 RAM
•You're serious about gaming or doing a lot of data crunching
You should not buy this if ...
- Editor-In-Chief
- daniel@windowscentral.com
Pros. Fast multi-threaded performance, and field-leading single-core performance. 6GHz peak boost clock speed. Capable integrated graphics. Same launch price as Core i9-13900K. Cons. Runs...
- Analyst
- Intel
- 2
Dec 31, 2020 · As we'll illustrate, the Core i9-9900K, specifically, draws enough power to make VRM selection an important factor in your motherboard purchase, especially if you plan...
Mar 14, 2024 · Intel's Core i9-14900KS Special Edition processor has the highest clock rate of any desktop PC processor yet, blasting up to 6.2 GHz on two cores and allowing Intel to claim once again that...
