Monday, March 28th 2022

12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS Launches as World's Fastest Desktop Processor

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Mar 28th, 2022 09:14 Discuss (60 Comments)

Intel today announced full details and availability for the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS, the world's fastest desktop processor. It delivers up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency—in spec with Intel Thermal Velocity Boost and features Intel Adaptive Boost Technology (Intel ABT) to provide the ultimate gaming experience.

"Intel continues to push the envelope for desktop gaming with the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS processor. Based on Intel's 12th Gen performance hybrid architecture, this processor can hit 5.5 GHz on up to two cores for the first time, giving the most extreme gamers the ability to maximize performance," Marcus Kennedy, general manager of Gaming, Creator & E-sports Segment at Intel.

The unlocked i9-12900KS processor is the ultimate processor for enthusiasts and gamers who want the fastest processor available. With 16 cores (eight Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores) and 24 threads, and up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency, 150 W processor base power and 30 MB Intel Smart Cache for even more gaming power and performance.

Key features and capabilities of the i9-12900KS include:

Up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency with Intel Thermal Velocity Boost.
Intel Adaptive Boost Technology for improved gaming performance by opportunistically allowing higher multi-core turbo frequencies.
16 cores (eight P-cores and eight E-cores), 24 threads, 150 W processor base power, 30 MB Intel Smart Cache, and PCIe Gen 5.0 and 4.0 support.
Up to DDR5 4800 MT/s and DDR4 3200 MT/s support.
Chipset compatible with existing Z690 motherboards with latest BIOS recommended for the best gaming experience.

The i9-12900KS processor allows gamers and overclocking enthusiasts to take performance to the next level.

When It's Available: This special edition processor will be available beginning April 5 with a recommended customer price starting at $739. It can be found at retailers worldwide as a boxed processor and integrated into systems from Intel's channel and OEM partners.

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60 Comments on 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS Launches as World's Fastest Desktop Processor

#26

JustBenching

usinameDoesn't matter, you will hit the termal limit anyway :laugh:

What size radiator did they run on this test :)

#27

usiname

fevgatosWhat size radiator did they run on this test :)

U14S

#28

phill

birdieAnother "no one forces you to buy this CPU"
Another "people who buy such products allow companies to spend money on R&D which will ultimately trickle down to the rest of us so that we will be able to enjoy the same performance for a lot less money a little later"
Another "progress cannot be stopped"

When I see comments like yours I only have disgust and contempt, sorry.

Meanwhile AMD sold their Ryzen 5000 desktop CPUs for insanely inflated prices for over a year and almost no one here on TPU batted an eye. If it's Intel, "oh, an evil corporation".

There's that too :) I just quoting from Jay about the KS models..

I wish it was something better than just a higher binned sample that someone could have had for the same money as their 12900k but instead, lets market it as the fastest ever and put a higher price tag on it..

I wish we lived back in the Core 2 Duo days where things would be bough for sensible money and you could actually overclock them to 50% to 100%+ of their original specs... Never gonna happen again sadly. I never paid for mine as a friend bought me it for me, so I consider myself extremely lucky to have a mate like it and to have a damn good desktop CPU :)

People see words on a forum and loose their noodles, but from where I'm sat, it's just friendly banter as it always should be considered. If people want it whatever the cost they will go spend.. It's not a bad thing as such, but it can be for those looking for a bargain. I think I just Keep Spending on any sort of hardware, but that's my choice and my wish :) Whatever the hardware, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, AMD GPUs, I'm all game :D

#29

TheinsanegamerN

phillThere's that too :) I just quoting from Jay about the KS models..

I wish it was something better than just a higher binned sample that someone could have had for the same money as their 12900k but instead, lets market it as the fastest ever and put a higher price tag on it..

I wish we lived back in the Core 2 Duo days where things would be bough for sensible money and you could actually overclock them to 50% to 100%+ of their original specs... Never gonna happen again sadly. I never paid for mine as a friend bought me it for me, so I consider myself extremely lucky to have a mate like it and to have a damn good desktop CPU :)

People see words on a forum and loose their noodles, but from where I'm sat, it's just friendly banter as it always should be considered. If people want it whatever the cost they will go spend.. It's not a bad thing as such, but it can be for those looking for a bargain. I think I just Keep Spending on any sort of hardware, but that's my choice and my wish :) Whatever the hardware, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, AMD GPUs, I'm all game :D

The core 2 days? Funny, I seem to remember the core 2 days as intel CPUs being horrendously overpriced....oh yeah, the e8600 was a $285 part. This was also the era of the expensive GPU, remember the 8800 ultra? That was 2007. and it retailed for the equivelant of over $1000. For a GPU with 896 MB of RAM.

I mean yeah, you could buy a midrange part and OC it, but today you can just buy the cheap midrange part and it runs within 5% of the big boy parts 99% of the time. i5 12400 anyone?

lexluthermiesterYour opinion, best kept to yourself.

pot calling the kettle black....

#30

GreiverBlade

birdieMeanwhile AMD sold their Ryzen 5000 desktop CPUs for insanely inflated prices for over a year and almost no one here on TPU batted an eye. If it's Intel, "oh, an evil corporation".

gotta love em these early adopter ... meanwhile my next upgrade (yeah a filthy obsolete 5600X) will cost me less than a i5 12600 (price are dropping i've found it more than often around the 159chf mark which is 100 less than a 12600KF and 81 bellow 12600 msrp (which is a unicorn and will never exist for me )) mmhhh maybe a puny 5800X for 250chf ... why not ... only 10 more than a 12600 MSRP :laugh:

not complaining about anything, no worries, Intel is Intel and is doing Intel things as usual (although they became more childish with the late years, in their PR ) and AMD is AMD and is doing AMD things.
buyers will buy (preferably after early adopter and slight ironing on the issues that the later will see )

nonetheless ... i never saw the 5XXX line inflated (surprisingly given my country) in pricing ... i saw the 5600X in line with the 11600k price (nonetheless given the difference between the two, an overprice of +50 would be considered as fair )

i mean ... even my 3600 is still pretty bang for bucks (if i paid for it, that is ... ) at 150chf, if it struggled with anything i do/play i'd probably consider getting a 5600X faster ... but, who knows, maybe it will drop further once the 3DV and other AM4 refresh come up :D

#31

Fouquin

TheinsanegamerNThe core 2 days? Funny, I seem to remember the core 2 days as intel CPUs being horrendously overpriced....oh yeah, the e8600 was a $285 part.

Really strange that you picked out the E8600 to try to make your point, when there's a whole selection of $1000 chips from that era you could have pointed to. Considering the lower tier Core 2 parts were physically identical silicon to the Extreme Editions for 1/4 or 1/3 the cost, and were delivering "the fastest" performance for the time, those $150-$350 prices aren't as bad as you're making them out to be. Nothing exists in a vacuum, those prices made sense for the meteoric increase in performance that Core 2 brought to the market.

TheinsanegamerNThis was also the era of the expensive GPU, remember the 8800 ultra? That was 2007. and it retailed for the equivelant of over $1000. For a GPU with 896 MB of RAM.

This was also the era of the 8800 GT and later 9800 GTX existing at $300. Cards that knocked on the door of $700-$850 overpriced flagship cards above them with marginal 6-10% differences that the G92 core could absolutely overclock to beat.

#32

Sabotaged_Enigma

Look at that insane processor base power or whatever. I wonder when Intel can finally get back to the stage when it's energy efficient as well as powerful again. Now it just feels their move is desperate.
It can't go long in this way, like what, can you make it to 10 GHz even? It's not a heater anyway. If there's a day when my PC hungers for 1000 W or so, combing CPU and GPU together, I swear I'll customise a water cooling system for them and get rid of all my radiators in my house and use my bloody damn PC to carry me through winter. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

#33

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

btarunrIntel today announced full details and availability for the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS, the world's fastest desktop processor to thermal throttle.

I fixed that for you. :laugh:

#34

mrthanhnguyen

I paid $580 for a binned 12900k sp98 and slap a direct die block on it. For sure it will beat most of the 12900ks in term of perf/$.

#35

Why_Me

noel_fs740 for a pseudo 16 core is a fucking scam, i guess they have to milk it as much as they possibly can before amd slaps them with zen4

Will Zen4 offer both DDR4 and DDR5 or will AMD zombies be forced to purchase DDR5?

#36

Tomgang

I have a difficult choice to make. Do I keep my 5950X with use less power and in these energy crisis times that's important and is a bit slower in games or do I get a 12900KS including a nuclear reactor as I can't afford to pay electric bill for this power hug and some ln2 to cool this chip. Hmmm

I think I will just keep rocking my 5950X. That is fine for my needs.

But for what I know, the 12900KS shut boost up to 5.2 ghz on all 8 p cores and maybe a bit more with overclock if your cooling can handle it. I have seen 5.4 ghz possible but power consumption and heat is off the roof, meaning a serious custom water loop needed.

#37

Why_Me

TomgangI have a difficult choice to make. Do I keep my 5950X with use less power and in these energy crisis times that's important and is a bit slower in games or do I get a 12900KS including a nuclear reactor and some ln2 to cool this chip. Hmmm

I think I will just keep rocking my 5950X. That is fine for my needs.

Why would anyone spend more than $315 USD on a cpu meant for a gaming build?

www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5950X-32-Thread-Processor/dp/B0815Y8J9N
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X $589.99

www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5900X-24-Thread-Processor/dp/B08164VTWH/
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X $448.98

www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-12700F-2-1GHz-6xxChipset-BX8071512700F/dp/B09NPJDPVG/
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.96

#38

noel_fs

I hope we dont have that clusterfuck and there is only ddr5, plus there should be plenty of ddr5 by end of the year. Having ddr4+ddr5 only makes the imc worse and more expensive.

Also, if you can afford to buy a new motherboard and cpu you shouldnt have a big of a problem also buying a new ram kit. And if you really want to keep using your ddr4 kit, dont upgrade then, most people probably have no need to upgrade anyway.

#39

lexluthermiester

Why_MeWhy would anyone spend more than $315 USD for a cpu meant for a gaming build?

To get top performance? Not everyone is an over-clocker so buying a top tier CPU is worth it for some people.

Why do people keep asking this question every time a new top end CPU is released?

#40

Why_Me

lexluthermiesterTo get top performance? Not everyone is an over-clocker so buying a top tier CPU is worth it for some people.

Why do people keep asking this question every time a new top end CPU is released?

The Intel cpu I posted (i7-12700F) doesn't oc so not sure what your point is.

#41

noel_fs

TomgangI have a difficult choice to make. Do I keep my 5950X with use less power and in these energy crisis times that's important and is a bit slower in games or do I get a 12900KS including a nuclear reactor as I can't afford to pay electric bill for this power hug and some ln2 to cool this chip. Hmmm

I think I will just keep rocking my 5950X. That is fine for my needs.

But for what I know, the 12900KS shut boost up to 5.2 ghz on all 8 p cores and maybe a bit more with overclock if your cooling can handle it. I have seen 5.4 ghz possible but power consumption and heat is off the roof, meaning a serious custom water loop needed.

bro if you are have worries about the electric bill there is literally no reason for you to buy a new cpu, especially when you already have a 5950x wtf, there is not gonna be a real fps difference in 4k and in 1080p you will have more than enough fps that at worst case sceneario a 15fps difference wont be even close to noticeable

#42

Tomgang

Why_MeWhy would anyone spend more than $315 USD on a cpu meant for a gaming build?

www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5950X-32-Thread-Processor/dp/B0815Y8J9N
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X $589.99

www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-5900X-24-Thread-Processor/dp/B08164VTWH/
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X $448.98

www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-12700F-2-1GHz-6xxChipset-BX8071512700F/dp/B09NPJDPVG/
Intel Core i7-12700F $312.96

Who said it was only for gaming. My 5950X is used for everything. Converting video, gaming, heavy multitasking, gaming while streaming and video converting at the same time.

But I do agree, 5950X is not a wise choice for gaming only. For that I would recommend a 8 cores cpu with smt/ht for 16 thread in total.

#43

noel_fs

lexluthermiesterTo get top performance? Not everyone is an over-clocker so buying a top tier CPU is worth it for some people.

Why do people keep asking this question every time a new top end CPU is released?

i mostly agree with what you are saying, but i think the point is that nowdays you will get top performance spending 300$ or even less, the only difference will be in some 1080p games

#44

lexluthermiester

Why_MeThe Intel cpu I posted (i7-12700F) doesn't oc

Yes it does. Might not be multiplier unlocked, but they can still be OC'd.

Why_Meso not sure what your point is.

Trying reading my comment again.

noel_fsi mostly agree with what you are saying, but i think the point is that nowdays you will get top performance spending 300$ or even less, the only difference will be in some 1080p games

Anyone paying $750+ on a CPU will very likely be doing their gaming at 1440p, 2160p or even an ultra-wide screen with an equally top end GPU.

#45

Tomgang

noel_fsbro if you are have worries about the electric bill there is literally no reason for you to buy a new cpu, especially when you already have a 5950x wtf, there is not gonna be a real fps difference in 4k and in 1080p you will have more than enough fps that at worst case sceneario a 15fps difference wont be even close to noticeable

Wow relax pall. It was meant as a joke. if I even go for it. It would be a pain in the arse to do so.

I would have to disassemble my pc, sell the old part and get new + the value losses and for what gains?
Not something that would make it worth it.

#46

Why_Me

lexluthermiesterYes it does. Might not be multiplier unlocked, but they can still be OC'd.

Trying reading my comment again.

Anyone paying $750+ on a CPU will very likely be doing their gaming at 1440p, 2160p or even an ultra-wide screen with an equally top end GPU.

Most people imo who purchase that i7 probably don't know about playing with the block multiplier and want plug & play. That $312 cpu beats any Ryzen cpu tmk in gaming.

#47

noel_fs

lexluthermiesterAnyone paying $750+ on a CPU will very likely be doing their gaming at 1440p, 2160p or even an ultra-wide screen with an equally top end GPU.

thats the thing, at 2160p even a 3700x will give you virtually the same fps, literally no reason to buy a $300+ cpu for gaming

#48

lexluthermiester

Why_MeMost people imo who purchase that i7 probably don't know about playing with the block multiplier and want plug & play. That $312 cpu beats any Ryzen cpu tmk in gaming.

This CPU is not targeted at those kinds of users. Top-end CPU's are targeted at top-end buyers, not the masses.

noel_fsthats the thing, at 2160p even a 3700x will give you the same fps

No, it won't.

#49

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

lexluthermiesterNo, it won't.

I was agreeing with you up until this point. At higher resolutions the CPU plays less of a role when it comes to frame rates because frame time is dominated by the time spent on the GPU. I thought w1zz did a review recently using just the E cores and at high resolutions, the difference actually wasn't that bad. Either way, I think the point is that improving CPU performance at higher resolutions and lower frame rates versus higher frame rates and lower resolutions, the CPU will end up playing more or less of a role when it comes to overall performance.

To be honest, I'd buy one of these if I just wanted something fast out of the gate and didn't want to spend any time fiddling with it.

#50

phill

TheinsanegamerNThe core 2 days? Funny, I seem to remember the core 2 days as intel CPUs being horrendously overpriced....oh yeah, the e8600 was a $285 part. This was also the era of the expensive GPU, remember the 8800 ultra? That was 2007. and it retailed for the equivelant of over $1000. For a GPU with 896 MB of RAM.

I mean yeah, you could buy a midrange part and OC it, but today you can just buy the cheap midrange part and it runs within 5% of the big boy parts 99% of the time. i5 12400 anyone?

pot calling the kettle black....

I was only referring to the fact that most of the Core Duo CPUs I had where the Q6600 or the E6600 or even a E2140 or a E4300, most of them weren't considered much but overclock them and away you go :) I think the E2140 I had managed over 3.6GHz which wasn't bad considering its stock speeds was 1.80GHz :) This is a bit more what I'm referring to :)

Overclocking nowadays doesn't seem to be really exist in my opinion. Which is rather sad. I guess if you have a top end CPU, you'd hopefully have a GPU to marry it to so to speak, its whatever you want to do with your system at the end of the day. :)

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12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS Launches as World's Fastest Desktop Processor

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