Update: We have exclusive pre-release testing of the Core i9-9900KS here.
Update 9/30/2019 12:33pm PT:
B&H Photo Video has listed the Core i9-9900KS for $559.99. The US retailer sells the regular Core i9-9900K for $489.99, which means potential buyers will have to pay a $70 premium for the cherry-picked chip that can do 5 GHz on all cores, while the Core i9-9900K can only do 4.7 GHz on all cores.
Original article 9/27/2019 10:30am PT:
Mwave, a well-known Australian online computer and accessories retailer, has listed Intel's Core i9-9900KS processor, which is scheduled to ship next month. Intel hasn't revealed the processor's price tag, but Mwave's listing gives us a general idea of what we can expect.
By now, you should be more than familiar with the specifications for the Core i9-9900KS. If not, the Core i9-9900KS is a special-edition octa-core, 16-thread based on the original Core i9-9900K. It rocks a 4 GHz base clock and 5 GHz boost clock across all eight cores. For comparison, the Core i9-9900K has a 4.7 GHz all-core boost clock. Intel has lifted the processor's TDP (thermal design power) up to 127W for the chip to hit the advertised numbers. Other than the clock upgrades, the Core i9-9900KS is your typical Coffee Lake Refresh (CFL-R) chip that's produced with Intel's 14nm++ process node.
Before we dig into the pricing, it's important to remember that computer hardware prices outside of the U.S. are typically higher. We also cannot rule out the possibility that listed prices could be simple placeholders. The real pricing will be revealed in October when the processor officially hits the shelves.
The Core i9-9900KS seemingly sports the BX80684I99900KS part number. The Australian store put up the Core i9-9900KS for 899 AUD (Australian Dollars), which approximately converts to $670. Hardware detective momomo_us has managed to find the Core i9-9900KS at a U.S. retailer with a $603.66 price tag.
Both listings seem to agree that the Core i9-9900KS will likely have a retail price in the range of $600, which is $105 more a standard Core i9-9900K that's currently selling for $495 on Newegg. At the end of the day, the Core i9-9900KS is merely a highly-binned variant of the Core i9-9900K. The $100 premium sounds reasonable for those who don't want to play the silicon lottery to get a 5 GHz octa-core chip that they can boast to their friends.
Anything premium demands a premium in price.
There is not a single 9900k that won't do 5.0 all core now, with a simple multiplier change. This chip is the FX 9xxx series all over again, and should not exist. It is not worth it's asking price, period.
https://siliconlottery.com/pages/statistics
And their asking price for a guaranteed 5Ghz one is $580 ,as far as I know they are a profitable company meaning that there are people that do disagree with you.
If you need the speed the extra cost is reasonable.
https://siliconlottery.com/collections/all/products/9900k50g
Also, SL's limit of only using 1.3V for their 5.0 GHz binned chips seems kind of arbitrary.
Exactly where are you getting this "25% faster clocks" number from?
9900K and KF have a 3.6GHz base clock. 9900KS has 4.0. That's 11.1% faster clock.
9900K and KF have a 5.0GHz boost clock for 1-2 cores. 9900KS is the same.
9900K and KF have a 4.8GHz boost clock for 3-4 cores. 9900KS keeps the 5.0GHz speed. So, only 4.2% faster clock.
9900K and KF have a 4.7GHz boost clock for 5-8 cores. 9900KS keeps the 5.0GHz speed. So, only 6.4% faster clock.
In terms of actual real-world performance, you get less total performance increase than you do in clock-rate increase.
And, for $600, you get that paltry bit, but wait, there's more! It's also got an "official" TDP of 127W. And we've learned about how reliable Intel's official TDP declaration is compared to the real world for at least the 8th and 9th generation chips.... and all for only 20% more money!! Whatta deal!
This chip is for people with more money than brains.
I was answering to logainofhades who claimed that intel doesn't get it and that intel's premium isn't worth it,well against AMD's best product the kfc will be at least 25% faster in clocks...guaranteed to run at 5Ghz in most if not all workloads.
First of all we don't know how much more it will be for sure, $600 is just a guess right now, but even if it is 20% more price for 11% better base and 6% better turbo that's 17% better performance for 20% more money.
So is any chip above a 2c/4t because you can run anything you want with that and anything more is just a luxury making things "smoother" or faster or whatnot.
Yes this chip is not for the normal person looking at emails and facebook.
It has no competitors.