Intel announces Core i9-13900KS, the first processor capable of 6GHz

Launching at $699, the Core i9-13900KS is $110 more expensive than its immediate successor, the Core i9-13900K, with only a 200MHz gain in Turbo mode. Only possible in Turbo mode, the maximum frequency of 6GHz can be sustained on two of the 24 available processing cores.

The main difference between the 13900K and 13900KS is the 200MHz increase in Turbo frequency from 5.8GHz to 6.0GHz. Far from indicating a major innovation, the speed boost is achieved by selecting the most successful chips on the manufacturing line, i.e., further increasing the power limits. Thus, the 13900KS gets a base power consumption label of 150W (up from 125W on the non-S model), and an “Extreme Power Delivery Profile” that raises the Turbo mode power limit to 320W (up from 253W on the non-S model).

Considerably more expensive, more power inefficient, and with temperatures requiring at least an AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooling system, the Core i9-13900KS claims the title of fastest gaming processor. But this could only be a temporary victory for Intel, as rival AMD is preparing Ryzen 7000 X3D, new versions of its flagship processors augmented with the already famous 3D V-Cache technology. Already demonstrated with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor for the AM4 platform, the technology can deliver considerable performance leaps in RAM-intensive applications (e.g. PC games) while keeping power consumption and operating frequencies unchanged or even reduced. According to technical specifications provided by AMD itself, the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D rival has a TDP consumption of only 120W and boost frequency of 5.7GHz.