Intel Finally Unveils its Core i9-13900KS Flagship for $700

With Intel kicking off CES 2023 by announcing (pretty much) the remaining (predominantly non-K) variants from its 13th-gen Raptor Lake series of processors, it did lead to some speculation as to whether the long-rumoured i9-13900KS would be making an appearance or not. – Of source, all the speculation and rumour pointed towards yes. Without Intel confirming anything one way or the other, however, they did keep us guessing!

Well, following one last keynote presentation as they bid farewell to CES 2023, it’s officially here! – Yes, Intel has confirmed the launch and semi-soft release of the highly-anticipated i9-13900KS!

Intel Core i9-13900KS

Essentially representing a beefier version of the existing i9-13900K, the key takeaway information from this new KS variant, at a glance, is that it will feature a pre-binned design with a 6GHz clock speed, across all 8 performance cores, guaranteed out-of-the-box. – Put simply, this processor is going to be fast and (following leaked benchmarks via Videocardz) will likely re-cement Intel’s place as the King (or Queen) of gaming CPUs.

In terms of power, while the TGP is remaining essentially the same, Intel has increased the base power by 25 watts to allow for this additional level of performance. With that being said, however, cooling requirements are clearly going to be a factor of interest and particularly so when those 8 cores are all blazing away at 6GHz.

Features & Price

Although Intel has yet to release the official website for the i9-13900KS (at least, not at the time of writing) they have confirmed the following key specifications consumers can expect:

• Up to 6.0 GHz max turbo frequency with Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost – the first CPU in the PC industry to reach 6.0 GHz without overclocking.
• Intel® Adaptive Boost Technology for improved gaming performance by opportunistically allowing higher multicore turbo frequencies.
• 24 cores (eight Performance-cores and 16 Efficient-cores), 32 threads, 150W processor base power, 36MB Intel Smart Cache and a total of 20 PCIe lanes (16 PCIe 5.0 and four PCIe 4.0 lanes).
• Up to DDR5 5600 MT/s and DDR4 3200 MT/s support.
• Compatible with Z790 and Z690 motherboards, with the latest BIOS recommended for the best gaming and content creation experience.

The only notable downside, depending on your perspective, is that the i9-13900KS is hitting retailers imminently for an MSRP of $700. So, a fair bit more notably expensive than its i9-13900K little brother, but clearly offers a tangible (if not exactly overly exciting based on the above leak) performance uplift.

Worth A Buy?

Until we have thoroughly tested and benchmarked the i9-13900KS (keep your eyes peeled on our website and socials), at the moment, we’re going to refrain from giving you an answer to this question. Based on the leaked performance figures, it will clearly split the community as to whether this apparent modest performance increase is worth the additional $100+ cost, but as above, we’ll be along shortly to give you our full opinion with all those glorious charts.

With that being said, however, Intel has confirmed that the retail rollout is happening now. Albeit, it seems that only a few select retailers have yet been provided with stock meaning that full availability should likely not be anticipated for another 3-5 days, but what we can say with certainty is that the i9-13900KS is definitely here!

Will AMD’s Ryzen 7000X3D processors have a fitting response? It’ll be interesting finding out!

What do you think though? Does the i9-13900KS have your interest? – Let us know in the comments!