The Core i9-10850K Could Cost $450, But We Don't Know If You Can Buy It

Intel 10th Generation Comet Lake-S Processor

Intel 10th Generation Comet Lake-S Processor (Image credit: Amazon)

Digital Storm (via @momomo_us) has started to offer the Intel Core i9-10850K as an option for the company's custom built PCs. However, the question still remains whether the deca-core processor is an OEM-exclusive chip or not.

As you can tell, the Core i9-10850K wasn't part of Intel's 10th Generation Comet Lake-S launch, and we only know about the processor's existence from previously leaked Geekbench 5 submissions. It now appears that Digital Storm has expelled all doubts of the Core i9-10850K's existence, though. 

Like other Comet Lake-S processors before it, the Core i9-10850K is product of Intel's 14nm process node. The 10-core, 20-thread processor first surfaced with a 3.6 GHz base clock and 5.2 GHz boost clock. Digital Storm has the processor up with the same clock speeds. The company's specifications seemingly confirm our suspicion that the Core i9-10850K is nothing more than a Core i9-10900K with a 100 MHz slower base clock and without the Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) feature.

Intel 10th Generation Comet Lake-S Core i9 Specifications

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ProcessorCores / ThreadsBase Clock (GHz)TBMT 3.0 Clock (GHz)TVB Clock (GHz)L3 Cache (MB)GraphicsTDP (W)Pricing
Core i9-10900K10 / 203.75.25.320Intel UHD Graphics 630125$488 - $499
Core i9-10900KF10 / 203.75.25.320N/A125$463 - $474
Core i9-10850K10 / 203.65.2?20Intel UHD Graphics 630?Row 2 - Cell 8
Core i9-1090010 / 202.85.25.220Intel UHD Graphics 63065$439 - $449
Core i9-10900F10 / 202.85.25.220N/A65$422 - $423
Core i9-10900T10 / 201.94.6N/A20Intel UHD Graphics 63035$439

Despite the lower base clock and lack of TVB, the Core i9-10850K's performance appear to be right up the same alley as the Core i9-10900K in Geekbench 5. The majority of the Core i9-10850K's specifications are already out of the bag, except for the chip's TDP (thermal design power).

The current speculation is that the Core i9-10850K's entire conception is to bring a processor that's comparable to the Core i9-10900K's performance, but with lower cooling and power requirements. The Core i9-10900K is rated for 125W, but the Core i9-10850K's value is still unknown.

Intel Core i9-10850K (Image credit: Digital Storm)

Digital Storm doesn't explicitly expose the pricing for the Core i9-10850K. However, the company states that it costs $42 to upgrade to the Core i9-10900K. Here's where we'll need to speculate a little bit. We're unsure if Intel's pre-built partners get processors at a special price. For the sake of discussion, we'll just the Core i9-10900K's MSRP as a reference.

According to Intel, the Core i9-10900K's MSRP is between $488 and $499. Therefore, the Core i9-10850K could sell for $446 or $457, depending on which limit you're using for the calculation. Assuming that the Core i9-10850K isn't just aimed at OEMs, it's fair to say that the processor can retail for around $450. As it happens, this would also indicate that Intel's TVB feature costs $50.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • mac_angel
    you called in an octa-core
    Reply
  • watzupken
    While the estimated MSRP is better than the 10900K, I believe that may be the tray price? Retail price is going to be higher by default, and if we account for any shortage in supply, its not likely to see it at USD 450.
    Reply