Pre-Binned Rocket Lake CPUs Go On Sale: 5.1 GHz Core i9-11900K at $879

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Binned and ready to go

11th Generation Rocket Lake Processor
11th Generation Rocket Lake Processor (Image credit: Intel)

As with every generation of Intel processor, Silicon Lottery has started selling pre-binned Intel 11th Generation Rocket Lake chips. These processors are perfect for consumers who don't want to play the silicon lottery and are willing to pay a small premium to get a guaranteed overclock.

Silicon Lottery currently offers pre-binned Core i5-11600K and Core i9-11900K processors. The company has also listed the Core i9-11900KF, but it's seemingly sold out. Silicon Lottery backs its pre-binned parts with a limited one-year warranty that's eligible for a one-time replacement.

The highest-binned Core i9-11900K sells for $879.99, 63.3% over Intel's MSRP. This particular chip offers a 5.1 GHz boost clock across all eight Cypress Cove cores. In comparison to the Core i9-11900K's default specifications, Silicon Lottery's version offers a 6.2% higher all-core boost clock at the expense of a 63.3% premium.

On a different note, the fastest Core i5-11600K in Silicon Lottery's portfolio operates with a 5 GHz all-core boost clock. It represents a 8.7% upgrade but with a 29.8% higher price tag.

Intel 11th Generation Rocket Lake CPU Specifications

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ProcessorPriceMSRPCores / ThreadsBinned All-Core Boost (GHz)Default All-Core Boost (GHz)
Core i9-11900K 5.1 GHz$879.99$5398 / 165.14.8
Core i9-11900K 5.0 GHz$699.99$5398 / 165.04.8
Core i9-11900K 4.9 GHz$619.99$5398 / 164.94.8
Core i5-11600K 5.0 GHz$339.99$2626 / 125.04.6
Core i5-11600K 4.9 GHz$259.99$2626 / 124.94.6
Core i5-11600K 4.8 GHz$249.99$2626 / 124.84.6

However, the odds might not be too bad for consumers that want to take their chances at the silicon lottery. According to Silicon Lottery, 100% of Core i9-11900K samples can hit 4.9 GHz across all cores. Even 73% of the samples got to 5 GHz without hiccups. However, only 29% could do 5.1 GHz.

As for the Core i5-11600K, a 4.8 GHz all-core boost clock was possible on 100% of the samples, while 4.9 GHz was achievable on 81% of the chips. Only the top 17% Core i5-11600K samples managed to peak at 5 GHz though.

There's one missing detail with Silicon Lottery's statistics though, and that's the sample size. Without that value, you can't really assess on the precision of the company's results. At a first glance, the odds do look favorable.

Unlike previous occasions, Silicon Lottery doesn't have any plans to offer its delidding service for Rocket Lake processors. Given the risks that are involved with delidding Rocket Lake chips, it's understandable why Silicon Lottery is hesitant to put Rocket Lake under the knife.

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Zhiye Liu
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.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • lazyabum
    Back to the Great Computer Divide of the 70's - 90's. Guess the Capitals had enough of Retail Consumers > Corporations.
    Reply
  • Haha
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    However, the odds might not be too bad for consumers that want to take their chances at the silicon lottery. According to Silicon Lottery, 100% of Core i9-11900K samples can hit 4.9 GHz across all cores. Even 73% of the samples got to 5 GHz without hiccups. However, only 29% could do 5.1 GHz.
    If 100% of their 11900K samples hit 4.9 GHz and 73% hit 5.0 GHz, then that means by buying one from them for $620, you are paying a big premium for one of the 27% worst-overclocking 11900Ks. By buying a random one at retail, chances are in your favor that it would overclock better. And even at the processor's $540 suggested pricing, it was widely considered to be a terrible value with mixed performance compared to its predecessor due in part to the reduction of cores, effectively making it nothing more than a binned i7.
    Reply
  • usiname
    27% of all can hit 5.1Ghz? Unbelievable, all of their review kits with $500 motherboard, high end 360 AIO hit 5.1-5.2 and all fanboys was ready to pass 5.3 with $100 B550 board and $40 cooler. At least that was the plan to beat Zen 3 for cheaper and now they wont pass 5ghz, how sad, only if they know that Intel already give all binned samples for reviews
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    usiname said:
    27% of all can hit 5.1Ghz? Unbelievable, all of ther review kits with $500 motherboard, high end 360 AIO hit 5.1-5.2 and all fanboys was ready to pass 5.3 with $100 B550 board and $40 cooler. At least that was the plan to beat Zen 3 for cheaper and now they wont pass 5ghz, how sad, only if they know that Intel already give all binned examples for reviews
    I think you meant B560. They would definitely have trouble getting those processors to run on a Ryzen motherboard. : D

    In any case, Silicon Lottery's overclocking numbers are not necessarily directly comparable to those found in reviews, since they may err on the side of stability a bit more than the typical reviewer. They are probably slightly understating the maximum clock rates they could push to account for uncertainties of the hardware their customers will be pairing the processors with.
    Reply
  • MasterMadBones
    usiname said:
    27% of all can hit 5.1Ghz? Unbelievable, all of their review kits with $500 motherboard, high end 360 AIO hit 5.1-5.2 and all fanboys was ready to pass 5.3 with $100 B550 board and $40 cooler. At least that was the plan to beat Zen 3 for cheaper and now they wont pass 5ghz, how sad, only if they know that Intel already give all binned samples for reviews
    Silicon Lottery tends to stay relatively safe with the voltages, because they can't accont for the cooling solutions that their customers use. It's likely that a majority of samples can reach 5.2 GHz with higher voltages.
    Reply
  • JDLifeMasters
    Well and good you get a pre binned/pre-tested cpu that touches 5GHz. However, after spending $800 to $700, nothing changes the fact that a home business is unable to afford one the customer service of a reputable and established vendor. Furthermore, a used cpu, there is no guarantee that handling/testing was pristine and performed without damage.

    I recently had a problem with the RocketLake, I could not get it to boot, even after testing it on 3 different motherboards.

    Overnight, it back to Silicon Lottery, the respond I got threw me off: “The CPU has been physically damaged by an end user. An SMD has been knocked off which will prevent proper functionality. This is not something covered under our warranty.”
    How the SMDs fell off is beyond me?! This is not my first rodeo, I’ve been building systems the last 3 decades since the pentium and pentium pros. I am extra careful when handling any components. The point is, that if I had purchased the processor from an established vendor, it would have been replaced, in a heartbeat, like the 2 motherboards I returned?!

    I spent $700/$800 for an open box used cpu from a 3rd party vendor, with no customer support what so ever; it’s junk today. I am getting a new replacement, an i9-11900K and only paying $449 sealed box and secured for returns if defective, vs $800 with no guarantees and absent of defect coverage/support.

    I would never purchase a used or pre tested processor again, definitely not for more that it’s actual market price for any speed, not from Silicon Lottery. I thought I was supporting a small business to begin with, but the home business does not protect me. I would suggest that reviewers should warn fans and readers of the pit falls when dealing with a no name, no coverage, no protection home business.

    Caveat emptor,
    Reply