Update: We have exclusive pre-release testing of the Core i9-9900KS here.
A Redditor that goes by the FR33_L35T3R alias purportedly managed to pick up the Intel Core i9-9900KS before its official launch and overclocked the special edition chip to 5.2 GHz.
Although Intel has stated that the Core i9-9900KS will hit the shelves this month, the chipmaker hasn't listed a specific date. Supposedly an unidentified Czech Republic store listed the octa-core part by mistake, which allowed the Redditor to buy it prematurely. The store has taken down the listing to avoid any future purchases.
The Redditor paired the Core i9-9900KS with the Asus ROG Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) and a pair of Patriot DDR4-2666 memory modules. He did not specify the type of cooling used, but judging by the temperatures, it's possible a CPU air cooler was employed.
As a quick reminder, the Core i9-9900KS has a 4 GHz base clock and 5 GHz all-core boost clock. The novice overclocker pushed his chip to 5.2 GHz on all eight cores by just increasing the core and cache voltage to 1.36V.
The overclocked Intel Core i9-9900KS scored 5,356 points in Cinebench R20. In our own Core i9-9900K tests, the current -9900K put up a score of 4,984 points at stock. When overclocked to 5 GHz to behave like a stock Core i9-9900KS, the processor scores 5,266 points.
If we look at the result, the Core i9-9900KS performs roughly around 5.7% faster than a regular Core i9-9900K - at least in Cinebench R20. At 5.2 GHz, the Core i9-9900KS pushes the difference to 7.5%. Compared to the stock clocks, we're looking at a 1.7% gain.
B&H Photo previously listed the Core i9-9900KS for $559.99, which commands a $70 premium over the original Core i9-9900K. We're already halfway through the month, so it won't be long before Core i9-9900KS starts popping up everywhere.
