Delidded Core i9-14900KS hits intense 409 watts, runs 10C cooler — beheaded chip gets tested before March 14th launch

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By Matthew Connatser
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That's without Hyper-Threading though.

A delidded Core i9-14900KS.
(Image credit: pakhtunov)

Overclocker Pakhtunov, who earlier leaked the default clock speeds and voltages for Intel's upcoming Core i9-14900KS, has successfully delidded one and was able to bring down load temperatures by up to 10 degrees Celsius (via VideoCardz). The CPU wasn't even close to thermal throttling after the delid and application of liquid metal, though there's a bit of a catch that puts an asterisk over Pakhtunov's thermal testing.

The Core i9-14900KS is expected to launch on March 14 with a 6.2 GHz boost clock and a 5.9 GHz all-core clock on the P-cores. With a maximum TDP of potentially 420 watts, the 14900KS is expected to run super hot and require excellent cooling. Of course, another option is to remove the IHS (or lid, hence delid) from the CPU, replace the stock thermal paste with a high-performance conductor like liquid metal, and then put the IHS back on. This is what Pakhtunov did with his pre-launch chip.

However, Pakhtunov didn't run the 14900KS at stock settings for this thermal testing. Instead, he locked the P-cores to 5.9 GHz (the same as the all-core boost frequency) and turned Hyper-Threading off. His reasoning for disabling Hyper-Threading was "my AIO is choked on stock 5900 with full 32 threads... Have no idea why on earth hwinfo displays 60W more with the same settings after delidding." The AIO cooler he's referring to is a 360mm DeepCool LS720SE; a more robust liquid cooler may take better advantage of Hyper-Threading.

So, while this wasn't a default 14900KS, the results were still impressive. Prior to the delid, the 14900KS ran at 85° C in Cinebench 2024 and 89° C in y-cruncher. With the delid and liquid metal applied, this dropped to 75° and 82°, respectively. Power consumption also decreased from 376 watts in Cinebench 2024 and 432 watts in y-cruncher with the stock IHS to 366 watts and 409 watts after the delid. Hotter processors run less efficiently, so decreasing temperatures can decrease power even if frequency and performance remain the same.

Unfortunately, since Hyper-Threading was disabled, it's hard to compare Pakhtunov's Cinebench 2024 scores to most 14900K scores. However, since the frequency uplift is relatively small, it's unlikely the 14900KS will smash records. Because of this, the 14900KS isn't expected to be great for value as it will likely retail for $700 or so, similar to previous Special Edition CPUs.

Matthew Connatser
Matthew Connatser

Matthew Connatser is a freelancing writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes articles about CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and computers in general.

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11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Amdlova
    That powerrrrrr... my pc at idle 30w (case) full gaming 283 watts with monitor and sound.
    That cpu is good for winter or make tea.
    Reply
  • Notton
    "Delidded Core i9-14900KS hits intense 409 watts, runs 10C — beheaded chip gets tested before March 14th launch"

    That title makes it sound like it runs at 10C at 409 watts, which isn't what happened.
    Reply
  • rluker5
    Amdlova said:
    That powerrrrrr... my pc at idle 30w (case) full gaming 283 watts with monitor and sound.
    That cpu is good for winter or make tea.
    Depending on the GPU a 14900ks system may also use 30w idle and the CPU will use far less power gaming than the running cinebench and y-cruncher that the power consumption numbers came from.

    Also HT is off so that helps with temps significantly. Maybe even 10c.
    Reply
  • The Historical Fidelity
    There is a typo in this article, the 14900ks does not have thermal paste under the IHS, it has an indium based solder.
    Reply
  • watzupken
    Idle power should be fine because it’s using the e-cores, and unlikely for all e-cores to be active. But I see no reason for this chip even for an enthusiast. This chip is technically no different from a 13900KS to begin with, and without delidding, it is impossible to maintain those clock speed, be it single or multi-core load. Just shows that Intel is trying too hard to maintain their performance lead when it’s drawing as much power as a RTX 4090 that includes other components like power hungry GDDR6X VRAM, board and components on the card.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    watzupken said:
    Idle power should be fine because it’s using the e-cores, and unlikely for all e-cores to be active. But I see no reason for this chip even for an enthusiast. This chip is technically no different from a 13900KS to begin with, and without delidding, it is impossible to maintain those clock speed, be it single or multi-core load. Just shows that Intel is trying too hard to maintain their performance lead when it’s drawing as much power as a RTX 4090 that includes other components like power hungry GDDR6X VRAM, board and components on the card.
    Well technically it will be clocked 200Mhz higher than the 13900ks at the same max 253W power draw, the 14900k already was at 407W under heavy "overclock" as well.
    It won't be a 5.9Ghz all core CPU under heaviest loads like in this article.
    Intel doesn't need this to maintain anything since AMD didn't come out with anything new...they just do it for the same reason that silicon lottery used to do it, it makes money because it sells.
    Just because ryzen catches on fire if you try to go above stock clocks doesn't mean that nobody should go above stock clocks.
    Reply
  • artk2219
    Amdlova said:
    That powerrrrrr... my pc at idle 30w (case) full gaming 283 watts with monitor and sound.
    That cpu is good for winter or make tea.
    Reply
  • Argolith
    TerryLaze said:
    Well technically it will be clocked 200Mhz higher than the 13900ks at the same max 253W power draw, the 14900k already was at 407W under heavy "overclock" as well.
    It won't be a 5.9Ghz all core CPU under heaviest loads like in this article.
    Intel doesn't need this to maintain anything since AMD didn't come out with anything new...they just do it for the same reason that silicon lottery used to do it, it makes money because it sells.
    Just because ryzen catches on fire if you try to go above stock clocks doesn't mean that nobody should go above stock clocks.
    You could try to hide your bias at least a little, but I guess that's hard when you're shilling a heaping pile of crap that needs twice the power to still be behind a 7800X3D and costs stupid amounts of money for no reason other than "muh gigahertz moar higher".
    Reply
  • bit_user
    TerryLaze said:
    Just because ryzen catches on fire if you try to go above stock clocks doesn't mean that nobody should go above stock clocks.
    Source?
    Reply
  • fireaza
    The Historical Fidelity said:
    There is a typo in this article, the 14900ks does not have thermal paste under the IHS, it has an indium based solder.
    I was about to say "wait, did Intel go back to paste again?!". Is liquid metal really that much more efficient then solder?
    Reply