4K Gaming Showdown – i9-9900K Vs i9-9900KS

4K Gaming Performance

It’s clear that Intel did something with their new CPU, giving us the stronger per-core performance that can squeeze that little bit of extra performance. Now, we know that at sub-4K, you’re taking the strain away from the GPU and these CPUs will really fly. However, the people spending big money on the flagship CPU aren’t gaming at 1080p 60 Hz, are they?

Shifting up to higher graphics quality and a more demanding resolution makes gaming hard work for both the GPU and the CPU. Even with the RTX 2080 Ti and the Intel Core i9’s and limited to High and NOT Ultra settings, some games still can’t hit 60 FPS in the benchmarks.

There’s really not much in it though. In Ghost Recon Wildlands and Metro Exodus, there was just 0.1 FPS difference, which tells us its the GPU hitting a limiter more than anything here. So having the faster CPU wasn’t giving me the performance improvement I hoped for.

The biggest improvements came in Battlefield V and Borderlands 3, but even then, it was a few FPS at best. However, faster is faster and it’s clear that if you are wanting the best performance from an Intel CPU, the i9-9900KS is the right choice. However, how many would notice the difference in the real world? Well, that’s debatable. I doubt I could tell them apart in a blind study.