Intel Teases Alder Lake CPU With 5.5 GHz Boost Clock

Intel Alder Lake CPU
Intel Alder Lake CPU (Image credit: Intel/Twitter)

Intel has taken to Twitter to showcase an upcoming 12th Generation Alder Lake processor that flexes a 5.5 GHz boost clock. Although the chipmaker didn't reveal the exact model of the chip, the numbers align with the rumored specifications for the Core i9-12900KS.

The Core i9-12900K is already one of the best CPUs on the market, but the Core i9-12900KS will surely blow it out of the water. The former has a 5 GHz all-core boost clock but varies depending on the workload. The Core i9-12900KS has a 200 MHz or 4% higher boost clock than the current Alder Lake flagship right out of the gate.

What's interesting about Intel's tweet is the hint that the chipmaker hasn't finished tweaking the chip, and 5.5 GHz is the next goal. Of course, it wouldn't be insane to bin for a 5.5 GHz all-core boost clock, but the chip will require serious cooling, such as those thermoelectric CPU coolers that launched with Rocket Lake.

The Core i9-12900K hits 5.2 GHz thanks to Intel's Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. However, according to Intel's screenshot, the Core i9-12900K does 5.5 GHz effortlessly. That's approximately a 6% uplift.

Besides the higher clock speeds and power consumption, the Core i9-12900KS will be identical to the Core i9-12900K. It'll still sport a total of 16 cores, consisting of eight Golden Cove cores with accompanying eight Gracemont cores. The Alder Lake chip will slot into the LGA1700 socket, but motherboards will likely require an update to house the Core i9-12900KS.

The Core i9-12900KS may debut in the first quarter of this year; however, the exact date and pricing remain a mystery.

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.

  • hotaru251
    yet they hide the temp and pwr ....wodner why <_<?
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    hotaru251 said:
    yet they hide the temp and pwr ....wodner why <_<?
    It's a single core on a better binned cpu, temp and power will be mostly the same.
    Also not a single person that cares about high clocks cares about temps and power, just like not a single person that cares about temps and power cares about low clocks.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    hotaru251 said:
    yet they hide the temp and pwr ....wodner why <_<?
    Probably because it's irrelevant for this CPU, as it's the best binned 12900 series SKU. People getting this is probably going to look for records and such. I doubt many people, unless hardcore Intel die-hards, will get it at the premium Intel will be asking. Which I'm wondering how much it'll be. Then again, Microcenter will have it with a good discount soon after launch, I'm sure, lel.

    Regards.
    Reply
  • spongiemaster
    hotaru251 said:
    yet they hide the temp and pwr ....wodner why <_<?
    The 1.381 Core VID that is shown in the screen capture is not comforting.

    The Core i9-12900K may debut in the first quarter of this year; however, the exact date and pricing remain a mystery.

    It's not going to debut in the first quarter this year. I'm going to predict November 4th, 2021 for $589.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    spongiemaster said:
    I'm going to predict November 4th, 2021 for $589.
    was wondering who else saw that
    Reply
  • Neilbob
    Perhaps I'm just too cynical these days but in my mind, for the term 'blow it out of the water' to apply to CPU performance, something more like a minimum 10% increase in clock speeds is required.

    It's a little disappointing that Intel still feels the need to lean so heavily on these sorts of meaningless, willy-waving antics.
    Reply