Intel Launches $699 Core i9-13900KS, the World's First 6 GHz 320W CPU: Available Now

It may not be quite the 30 GHz that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger predicted back in 2002, but Intel's Core i9-13900KS Special Edition processor, which is available on shelves today for $699, is the world's first consumer CPU to run at 6 GHz without overclocking. With a whopping 250W base power specification, it's also now officially the most power-hungry desktop CPU in history — it peaks at 320W in a new Extreme Power Delivery Profile.

Notably, the 13900KS' peak of 6 GHz is 300 MHz faster than the 5.7 GHz for AMD's Ryzen 7000 processors, but AMD has a special series of Ryzen 7000X3D chips that will square off with the 13900KS for the title of the world's fastest gaming CPU.

AMD's competing chips arrive next month, and we fully expect that AMD will sample its chips to the press for review on the as-yet unrevealed launch date. In contrast, Intel sent out its announcement without samples provided to the press in advance, which will naturally lead to speculation that the company doesn't expect the chips to hold the gaming performance lead against AMD's upcoming X3D processors. Additionally, Intel officially positions the 13900KS as the 'world's fastest desktop processor' instead of using the 'world's fastest gaming processor' tag that it has employed for other chips in the past — read into that what you will.

The Core i9-13900KS is functionally identical to the current fastest gaming chip in the world, the 13900K, but the extra 'S' in the name denotes that this is premium-binned silicon that hits 6 GHz on two cores — 200 MHz faster than the 12900K.

The chip also has a 150W Processor Base Power (PBP) rating, which is 25W higher than the 13900K, also making it the world's most power-hungry desktop PC processor at its base TDP. Intel has specified the Maximum Turbo Power (MTP) spec at 253W but has a new Extreme Power Delivery Profile that enables that up to 320W with an ICCMax of 400A. The processor is fully warrantied to run at this peak power consumption.

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Intel recently demoed the chip hitting 6 GHz on two cores with standard off-the-shelf Corsair AIO water cooling, but didn't specify the size of the cooler (the company has clarified that it sees "good performance with a 360mm AIO cooler"). The chip's peak frequency relies on Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) tech, meaning the chip will have to be below a pre-defined temperature (70C) to hit the 6 GHz peak. Naturally, systems with custom watercooling will extract the biggest benefit.

The Intel Core i9-13900K recently took the all-time frequency world record of 8.812 GHz, dethroning the previous record holder, AMD's legendary FX-8370, by 90 MHz. Intel selects its premium-binned 13900K silicon for the 13900KS, so it is guaranteed to be among the very best silicon the company has to offer. That will make the chips very attractive to overclockers, as paying the extra $110 for the KS model improves your odds in the silicon lottery and essentially assures that you're getting a cherry chip (below, we embedded a video of Intel Fellow Guy Therien explaining how binning works). These chips will be available in limited quantities, but Intel hasn't released a firm estimate of how many units will be available.

Intel has been vocal that the company will raise pricing on its CPUs to reflect the inflationary environment, and it has already raised the pricing of its previous-gen 12th-gen CPUs while oddly leaving the new 13th-Gen Raptor Lake at their original pricing — at least for now. As such, the 13900KS is $124 less than the current pricing of the previous-gen Core i9-12900KS, which peaked at 5.5 GHz. For the record, the 12900KS originally debuted at $739, so the $699 price tag for the 13900KS is $40 lower than the debut price of the previous-gen model.

Intel's previous KS models have come in special packaging, but Intel hasn't shared details about the 13900KS yet.  

As an interesting aside, while the Core i9-13900KS's achievement of 6 GHz sets a record for a shipping desktop PC processor, it doesn't quite reach the lofty peaks that were once predicted. As you can see above, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, then the CTO, predicted back in 2002 that processors would hit 30 GHz by 2010. Of course, that was before we began to see the breakdown of some of the fundamental laws, like Dennard Scaling, that has slowed progress tremendously.

However, after years of frequency stagnation and limited core counts, fierce competition between Intel and AMD finds them once again pushing the limits. That's good for all of us, even though it does increasingly come at the cost of prodigious power consumption from both players.

The Core i9-13900KS is available today at retail with a $699 1K unit price (Intel's recommended pricing for volume buyers, but pricing is typically higher in stores at first). You'll also find Intel's new fastest chip in systems from its channel and OEM partners, too. You can expect to see a review here in the coming days. 

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