Intel's upcoming flagship processor Core i9-12900KS promises to offer record performance due to its 'up to' 5.5 GHz boost, but that performance will come at the expense of record power consumption. According to a new leak from @momomo_us, the CPU will consume up to 260W, a record for Intel's mainstream desktop platforms. The CPU will be available in early March, according to a U.S. retailer.
Intel's Core i9-12900KS features high-performance Golden Cove cores clocked at 3.50 GHz to 5.50 GHz and will have a processor base power (PBP) of 150W, which is already 25W higher than the regular Core i9-12900K. Unsurprisingly, the i9-12900KS will also have a higher maximum thermal power (MTP) that stretches up to 260W in max turbo mode, according to @momomo_us, who typically fetches data from various hardware makers. By contrast, the regular model comes with an MTP of 241W.
Intel uses its so-called Enhanced Thermal Velocity Boost (ETVB) technology, which will be exclusively available on this chip, to hit the high clocks. Intel's ETVB is yet another (sixth, to be more precise) adaptive boost level for the company's consumer chips. Although it is reasonable to expect ETVB to be a superset of the company's regular Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) technology (which raises core frequencies when all cores are active and the CPU's temperature is below 70 Celsius), we do not know any particular details about ETVB. Meanwhile, increased MTP can point to voltage increases.
260W is without any doubt higher than 241W and is clearly a record for stock mainstream CPUs. But a 7.8% MTP increase may not be that significant for a special edition processor designed solely for enthusiasts who have expensive motherboards and high-performance liquid cooling systems.
| Price | Cores | Threads | P-Core Base/Boost | E-Core Base/Boost | TDP / PBP / MTP | DDR4-3200 | L3 Cache | |
| Core i9-12900KS | ? | 8P + 8E | 16 Cores / 24 Threads | 3.5 / 5.5 GHz | ? | 150W / 260W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 30MB |
| Core i9-12900K / KF | $589 (K) - $564 (KF) | 8P + 8E | 16 Cores / 24 Threads | 3.2 / 5.2 GHz | 2.4 / 3.9 GHz | 125W / 241W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 30MB |
| Core i7-12700K / KF | $409 (K) - $384 (KF) | 8P + 4E | 12 Cores / 20 Threads | 3.6 / 5.0 GHz | 2.7 / 3.8 GHz | 125W / 190W | DDR4-3200 / DDR5-4800 | 25MB |
One should keep in mind that while Intel's PBP (power level 1) and MTP (power level 2) are well documented, the actual power consumption with high-end motherboards may be considerably higher. Motherboard makers normally set extremely high TDP limits for a rather long time, and as long as the CPU doesn't hit its TDP limit, it can work at increased frequencies and draw as much power as needed. This allows maximum performance, but also means that the CPU can consume considerably more power than the MTP rating. Keeping in mind that some LGA1700 motherboards can deliver around 1000W to a CPU, one can only guess about the real power consumption of some chips.
As reported earlier this week, Intel's Core i9-12900KS boxed version (BX8071512900KSP5) and tray version (CM8071504569915) are available for preorder for $791.74 and $780.79, respectively, at Bottom Line Telecommunications. The same retailer sells the Core i9-12900K up for $628.05, so the Core i9-12900KS is 26% more expensive. The retailer says that the earliest ETA data for the CPU is March 3, 2022.
