The new Intel Core i9-13900KS is similar to the 12900KS and 9900KS that got here earlier than it – it is a “particular version” CPU out of the field, it is positively boxed silicon, however for probably the most half simply means it sooner and costlier. How a lot sooner and the way rather more costly, we’ll discover out quickly…
By now, you are most likely conversant in the flagship Core i9-13900K, so it will not be lengthy earlier than you get your fingers on the KS. The Thermal Velocity Boost rated frequency has been elevated from 5.8 GHz to six GHz, and the P-Core base frequency has additionally been elevated from 3 GHz to three.2 GHz, which will increase the bottom TDP from 125 watts to 150 watts, whereas the utmost turbo energy stays unchanged at 253 watts. Now you are up to the mark.
The base clock has elevated by 7%, and the height working frequency has elevated by 3.5%. In truth, we forgot one small element, the worth. Currently, Intel is charging $600 for the usual 13900K, and the brand new KS model is $699, which is 17% greater than a attainable 5% or so improve in efficiency.
Usually we provide you with fairly just a few app and recreation benchmarks, however as you are about to see, there’s little or no distinction between the Ok and KS fashions relating to efficiency. So as a substitute of wanting on the identical sorts of outcomes time and again, we sped up the method and diminished the variety of software benchmarks and skipped many of the particular person recreation outcomes for the ten recreation common.
We examined the Core i9-13900KS with an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420mm AIO and a Thermal Grizzly CPU Contact Frame, which actually boosted the all-core clock in comparison with be quiet! Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm AIO We often check with out touching the body, we are going to present you these outcomes later. Our system additionally has a GeForce RTX 4090, Windows 11, and resizable BAR enabled for all configurations. let’s begin……
clock pace
Before we get into the blue bars, a have a look at the all-core conduct in Cinebench R23. On common we see a bundle of 280 watts with a peak of 300 watts, which permits for a median clock frequency of 5480 MHz. For reference, the 13900K has the identical bundle energy figures, however solely maintains a frequency of 5330 MHz, making the KS mannequin about 3% sooner.
Interestingly, when operating the single-core Cinebench R23 check, we noticed a typical working frequency of 5580 MHz, with occasional random and really temporary spikes to 5985 MHz.
Now, the largest drawback with the 13900KS is surprisingly, surprisingly…energy and warmth, the identical points that have been with the 13900K and 12900K earlier than it. After operating an all-core workload for just a few seconds, the 13900KS peaked at a minimum of 100c, at which level core throttling was triggered, decreasing bundle energy from 300 watts to 260 watts.
Use quietly! The Pure Loop 2 FX 360mm AIO, 13900KS runs at 5370 MHz on common, which is simply 40 MHz greater than the 13900K as each are thermally throttling in our checks. But as talked about earlier, the Arctic 420mm AIO with the CPU contact body allowed the 13900KS to maintain a clock pace of 5480 MHz, and that is after biking Cinebench R23 for an hour.
Given that that is solely a 3% improve over the 13900K, and most of the people within the 13900KS will wish to improve their cooling techniques, we figured it could take advantage of sense to benchmark with the Arctic Liquid Freezer and Contact Frame, so let’s try this.
benchmark
Here’s the Cinebench R23 rating, obtained after a 10-minute loop. The 13900KS solely improved by 5% over its unique rating, scoring 40789 factors and was 7% sooner than the 7950X.
We additionally anticipate a 5% improve in single-core efficiency over the 13900K, or a 6% improve when utilizing sooner DDR5-7200 reminiscence.
The beneficial properties in Adobe Photoshop are minimal. The 13900KS supplied solely a 3% efficiency enhance, scoring 1665 factors in comparison with the 1612 factors supplied by the unique 13900K.
Blender Open Data outcomes are disappointing, efficiency improved by 1%. Equipping the 13900KS with DDR5-7200 offers you a headroom of as much as 3%, so the sooner reminiscence makes the largest distinction on this check.
vitality consumption
The solely spectacular side of the 13900KS thus far is energy consumption, and whereas the Core i9 components of this technology do not draw a lot, we get some further efficiency over the 13900K at no actual energy value.
Higher high quality binned silicon is ready to run at barely decrease voltages, ensuing within the numbers we see right here. Compared to the 7950X, although, the i9 half had about 40% extra whole system utilization, which is actually dangerous because the Ryzen 9 processor was 12% sooner on this check.
So the thirteenth gen Core i9 sequence is a catastrophe for productiveness by way of energy consumption, and whilst you can restrict energy consumption, it does restrict efficiency, giving the 7950X a much bigger efficiency benefit.
recreation benchmark
Time for some gaming benchmarks, however there isn’t any good strategy to break the information, so right here it’s: the 13900KS is 1.3% sooner than the 13900K in Hitman 3 at 1080p and the RTX 4090.
That mentioned, for those who use DDR5-7200 reminiscence, you may get a “larger” 4% enhance, whereas leaving the 13900K as DDR5-6400, you would possibly see a 1% return with the 7200 for each CPUs.
We’re a 1.5% efficiency enhance over the 13900KS for Horizon Zero Dawn, whereas utilizing DDR5-7200 reminiscence boosts efficiency an additional 2% to 218 fps.
In Cyberpunk 2077, the 13900KS offered a 1% efficiency enhance from 217 to 219 fps, which does not really feel like an enormous distinction. That does make the DDR5-7200 achieve look fairly substantial at 228 fps, a 4% enchancment, so in comparison with 2 fps, that is form of good.
Riftbreaker is a benchmark the place Intel does effectively, for instance the 13900K is 2% sooner than the 7700X, though right here the 13900KS solely gives an additional share, so 2fps extra. The greatest benefit right here seems to be the sooner DDR5-7200 reminiscence, as the additional bandwidth offered a powerful 11% efficiency enhance to 229 fps.
FPS mad CSGO gamers can take pleasure in a 20 fps enhance at 1080p with the RTX 4090, that is a 4% improve, nevertheless it’s a giant consequence for the 19300KS, and for those who go for the DDR5-7200 reminiscence you possibly can double it Boosted to 544 fps.
Before we have a look at recreation common efficiency, this is a brand new tackle our CPU check with A Plague Tale: Requiem. Here, the 13900K averaged 120 fps, simply 3% slower than the 7700X. However, the 13900KS was capable of match the 7700X after which with DDR5-7200 reminiscence we extracted an additional 3% efficiency.
11 recreation common
Looking on the 11-game common, the Ryzen 7700X and Core i9-13900K are neck and neck, as talked about. So a 2% improve on the 13900KS means it’s 2% sooner than the 7700X. All heaps and energy are elevated by a median of two%. Then utilizing DDR5-7200, which the 7700X cannot, the 13900KS is 5% sooner.
Then for these , this is the 1440p information, and the 13900KS is 2% sooner than the 13900K beneath these GPU-limited check circumstances, so it is moot.
what we discovered
We weren’t impressed after we reviewed the 13900K just a few months in the past, in order you’d anticipate, we weren’t impressed with the KS variant. It mainly takes all of the digital properties of the unique machine and doubles it, leading to mainly no further efficiency, however a value premium.
You’re paying for boxed silicon so after all these particular version processors are designed for excessive overclockers we guess avid overclockers usually so for those who assume it is price paying a 17% premium for , we guess that is tremendous, however for everybody else, it does not make sense in any respect – we expect the identical goes for the common 13900K.
Generally talking, the Ryzen 9 7950X is a bit cheaper, however these financial savings are eaten up by the price of the motherboard. Ryzen chips do provide superior productiveness, although, typically delivering greater efficiency at considerably decrease energy consumption. Memory value does not matter since you will not and should not be paired with DDR4 reminiscence.
The 7950X most likely desires to run at 95c, nevertheless it does not throttle and is well stored at that temperature with a base cooler, whereas the 13900K desires to exceed 100c with a 360mm AIO, so tends to throttle. The Core i9 half will even dissipate extra warmth on your case and if that sounds trivial to you – belief me it is not – I recreation with the 12900KS and it is an actual ache so I’m canceling this yr later.
For gaming although we want a Ryzen 7 7700X or a extra environment friendly model of the 7700 (you can too go beneath voltage or use the 7700X’s Eco mode) these are extra energy environment friendly components that provide 13900K like efficiency for beneath $400 . Then once more, if gaming is your major concern, you would possibly as effectively wait till the Zen 4 3D V-Cache components hit the market subsequent month and see what they’ve to supply.
The Core i9-13900KS is a dumpster hearth of processors, and at $699, most producers ought to ignore it. At the correct value, this might be an amazing product and also you simply must restrict its energy for extra cheap working temperatures, but when that is what you are going to do, the 13900K makes extra sense. Without excessive overclockers, it is a powerful journey.
