Intel's new Core Ultra processor model nomenclature is significantly different from the Core i7 series that held for 14 generations, since its 2008 debut. The desktop Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor family is led by the Core Ultra 9 285K, which is positioned as a successor to the Core i9-14900K. The choice of numbering the top SKU "285K" instead of something like the "290K," which even caused the top Core Ultra 7 SKU to be numbered the "265K," raises a few questions. The biggest of these is if Intel is creating room for a near-future SKU to go with "295K."

In the classic Intel Core series nomenclature, the digit following the first two, designates a position in the product stack. For example, in the i9-14900K, "14" points to the processor generation, followed by "9" as the top-spec SKU. If you wind the clocks back to the 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake," there was a top-spec Core i9-10900K, but there was also a Core i9-10850K. Both the i9-10900K and the i9-10850K are unlocked 10-core/20-thread parts with identical TDP, set apart only by their stock clock speeds. Could it be possible that the Core Ultra 9 285K is a distant descendant of the i9-10850K, and that Intel's top "Arrow Lake-S" part is the "295K?" Momomo_us recently dug out an inconspicuous Intel Support webpage listing out Core Ultra desktop processors without an included fan-heatsink. This is very likely a typo, but the page mentions a "295K" SKU instead of the Core Ultra 9 285K. This caused us to wonder if the "295K" is being reserved for an i9-14900KS successor.

GIGABYTE Technology announces the launch of its highly anticipated XTREME Prestige Limited Edition series, featuring the Z790 AORUS XTREME X ICE Motherboard and the AORUS GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER XTREME ICE 16G Graphics Card. This exclusive release merges top-tier performance with unparalleled design, catering to the discerning tastes of gaming enthusiasts and collectors alike.

The XTREME Prestige Limited Edition sets a new standard in the realm of gaming hardware. It is crafted to perfection, embracing the latest Current White Gaming Builds trend. Each component showcases white iridescence, accented with crystallized titanium textures and adorned with a 99% Au gold serial plaque, embodying luxury and exclusivity. The series not only dazzles with its aesthetic appeal but also promises exceptional gaming and computing performance.

ASRock proudly announces its new Z790I Lightning WiFi and B760I Lightning WiFi Mini-ITX motherboards. Equipped with a robust 14+1+1 power phase design and an optimized memory layout, these motherboards fully unleash the powerful performance of Intel Core 14th Gen K-series processors. Offering top-tier memory overclocking capabilities for supporting DDR5 8600+ memory modules, they present an excellent choice for gamers and mini-PC enthusiasts seeking the ultimate overclocking performance. The Z790I Lightning WiFi has achieved four overclocking world records on HWBOT.org with the Intel Core i9-14900KS processor. Additionally, the B760I Lightning WiFi received the "Best Motherboard" award at CES 2024 from Tom's Hardware, emphasizing its exceptional design and overclocking capabilities.

ASRock Z790I Lightning WiFi and B760I Lightning WiFi motherboards feature a 14+1+1 Phase 110 A SPS Dr.MOS VRM, outperforming competing ITX offerings. ASRock has custom-designed a composite cooling solution for these boards, including enlarged aluminium heatsinks, heat-pipe, and a MOS fan, delivering robust cooling performance to enhance overclocking capabilities. This superior cooling ensures the processors perform at their peak.

Outpost: Infinity Siege developers recommend underclocking Intel's current and previous flagship desktop processors, the Core i9-14900K and i9-13900K, to prevent the game from crashing. This recommendation goes out to those with a GeForce RTX 4090 paired with either a Core i9-13900K or i9-14900K, we're fairly sure that the recommendation even extends to those with i9-14900KS and i9-13900KS. Team Ranger, the developers of the game, just released their second patch in just a week following the game's launch. In the patch notes, they ask users to use Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), to lower the P-core clock speeds down to at least 5.00 GHz (maximum boost). This development closely follows a February 2024 report which says that game stability issues of high-end "Raptor Lake" processors are linked to power limit unlocks.

AMD's flagship desktop processor, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, saw an impressive retailer-level price-cut, sending its street-price down to $565 on Newegg, or nearly $135 (19%) below its launch price of $700. The processor is listed at $595, but a $30 discount coupon sends the price down to $565. It's not just Newegg, even Amazon US has the chip listed at $591, with a $26 discount coupon sending it down to $565. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is about 1% slower than the 7800X3D at gaming, but is still about as fast as the Core i9-14900K at gaming; and its 8 additional "Zen 4" cores helps shore up productivity performance over the 7800X3D.

Price-cuts to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D can be seen as a move to greet last week's launch of the Intel Core i9-14900KS, an enthusiast-magnet for its up to 6.20 GHz clock-speeds, and overclocking headroom; but in our testing, the new chip barely beats the Ryzen 7 7800X3D in gaming; although is 2% faster than the regular i9-14900K at both gaming- and productivity.

ASRock announces that its 700/600 series motherboards support the newly released Intel Core i9-14900KS processor with a new BIOS version to fully unleash its powerful performance. Consumers only need to update to the latest BIOS version to seamlessly experience enhanced gaming performance and productivity. ASRock will continue to update the BIOS for its 700/600 series motherboards. Consumers can update to the latest BIOS version through the ASRock official website or the Live Update & APP Shop, thus fully enjoying the extreme performance offered by the Intel Core i9-14900KS processor.

To download the latest BIOS, visit the support section in the product page of your motherboard model. Start here.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced that an international group of elite overclockers has set four world records with an ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard featuring the new Intel Core i9-14900KS processor. Along with the ASUS overclocking team, overclocking expert Elmor pushed this processor to a dazzling 9117.75 MHz. Safedisk used the same setup to achieve three additional world records: PiFast completed in just 6.79 seconds, SuperPI 1M finished in 3.768 seconds, and PYPrime 32B finished in 97.596 seconds.

The ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard family is the ultimate choice for enthusiasts and overclockers seeking style and power in their gaming setup. The motherboards are built to help the world's most talented overclockers shatter barriers on their way to new records. In the past few years, the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard was used to push a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K processor past the 9 GHz barrier for an impressive world record, and the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore was used to push the 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900KF to 9043.92 MHz.

Intel today launched the Core i9-14900KS Special Edition desktop processor, which forms the company's new flagship product in the desktop segment. The Core i9-14900KS is based on the same "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon as the i9-14900K, and offers an 8P+16E core configuration. What's new is that Intel has increased clock speeds for both the P-cores and E-cores. The P-cores now boost up to 6.20 GHz, a 200 MHz increase over those of the i9-14900K; while the E-cores boost up to 4.50 GHz, a 100 MHz increase. But these tiny speed bumps aren't what make the i9-14900KS special. It's the 320 W Extreme Power Delivery Profile, something the regular i9-14900K lacks. On select Intel Z790 and Z690 motherboards with two 8-pin EPS power connectors, the processor is able to draw large amounts of power to hold onto its high boost frequencies. Intel also made the i9-14900KS from the highest bins of the "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon.

The Core i9-14900KS comes with a 3.20 GHz base frequency for the P-cores. Each of the 8 "Raptor Cove" P-cores comes with 2 MB of dedicated L2 cache. The 16 "Gracemont" E-cores are arranged in four E-core clusters. Each cluster shares a 4 MB L2 cache among its four cores. The 8 P-cores and 4 E-core clusters share a 36 MB L3 cache. The processor comes with a base power value of 150 W—25 W higher than the 125 W of the i9-14900K. Its maximum turbo power is still 253 W, and is engaged on platforms capable of Intel Performance Power Delivery Profile. It's only with some of the more premium motherboards that the 320 W Extreme Power Delivery Profile is engaged. The Core i9-14900KS is a Special Edition SKU, meaning that it may not be available in all the markets where the i9-14900K sells. Intel is pricing this chip at $690, a $100 premium over the i9-14900K, though interestingly, $50 cheaper than what its predecessor, the i9-13900KS, launched at.

Be sure to check out the TechPowerUp Review of the Core i9-14900KS.The launch press-deck by Intel, along with its first-party performance claims, follows.

Select MSI motherboards from the MPG and MEG series that support Intel's Extreme Power Profile, feature a UEFI Firmware setup program option called "P-core Beyond 6 GHz+." This is a set of overclocking presets by MSI, designed to work with select Intel KS-series processors. Apparently the BIOS MSI released to support the upcoming Core i9-14900KS, comes with this option along with several settings that can get two of the eight P-cores to boost to 6.40 GHz—200 MHz higher than Intel's maximum boost frequency for the chip.

The other presets presented by this MSI BIOS option includes five choices—"6.3/5.9 GHz," "6.4/5.9 GHz," "6.2/5.8 GHz," "6.3/5.8 GHz," and the ultimate "6.4/5.8 GHz." Here, the first frequency mentioned in the setting is the maximum that the P-cores will hit using the Thermal Velocity Boost algorithm, for its two best performing cores, provided the cooling is optimal. The second frequency in the setting label is the maximum the P-cores will reach using the Turbo Boost Max 3.0 algorithm. Each of the five presets have been tested by MSI on the i9-14900KS under a cooling setup that permits the processor to achieve the top-rated speed using Thermal Velocity Boost. If the Core i9-13900KS is anything to go by, the i9-14900KS may require you to be ready with the best possible cooling setup to run the processor even at its stock speeds.

Pricing of Intel's upcoming enthusiast-segment desktop processor, the Core i9-14900KS, has been confirmed to be $749, according to a MicroCenter listing. This price is identical to what the company asked for the previous generation i9-13900KS and i9-12900KS. As a Special Edition SKU, the i9-14900KS may not be available in all markets you'd normally find the i9-14900K in, also the chip is expected to have higher cooling- and power requirements. Based on the "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon, this 8P+16E core processor is expected to come with maximum boost frequencies of 6.20 GHz, and generally better overclocking headroom than the regular i9-14900K. The Core i9-14900KS is expected to go on sale this Thursday, March 14, 2024. Whether it beats the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D at gaming is the $749 question we'll answer soon.

As of two days ago, the NVX System Integrators store (via Carousell Singapore) has allowed customers to pre-order the oft-leaked Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU—a S$1059 (~$794 USD) spend secures a "BX8071514900KS" Special Edition retail package for in-store pick only. Another pre-release discovery arrives courtesy of the ever vigilant tech watcher; momomo_us—SE Computer, a store located in the bustling streets of Kowloon, Hong Kong, has listed the incoming flagship Raptor Lake Refresh part with a price of HK$5500 (~$709.70 USD). An accompanying image appears to be a placeholder, since warehouse leaks have displayed "Special Edition" text on Intel's signature blue retail boxes.

Privileged members of the overclocking community are already playing around with Intel's selectively-binned 14th Gen Core processor—but mere mortals will have to wait patiently for an official retail rollout. VideoCardz has spent part of their weekend doing detective work—several early store listings point to a possible March 14 commencement. The graphics card news specialist has scoured online entities across Asia, France and Canada for price comparison purposes: "it appears that the KS 'Special Edition' variant is set to cost 19 to 30% more than the K variant. Pricing varies depending on the size of the retailer, where the offer was placed, and the region it is being sold." They thoroughly recommend that potential customers avoid pre-ordering the Intel Core i9-14900KS—asking prices could stabilize post-launch, and e-tailers rarely sell through the first batch of niche "KS" CPUs.

Intel may be launching its enthusiast-segment desktop processor, the Core i9-14900KS Special Edition next week, but the chip is already in the hands of several elite overclockers, such as Pakhtunov from OCN. Once he got his hands on one of these, Pakhtunov wasted little time in de-lidding the chip, cleaning it up, grabbing some pics, before throwing it back in the arena for some before-and-after comparisons.

With its stock integrated heatspreader (IHS) in place, a Cinebench 2024 load sees a boost frequency on the P-cores of 5.90 GHz, in which the processor draws a staggering 376 W (as reported by the motherboard's ACPI to software); and a temperature of 85°C, when cooled with a Deepcool LS720 SE 360 mm AIO CLC. With the IHS removed, and at the same 5.90 GHz clocks and Cinebench 2024 load, sees the temperatures drop to 75°C, and power-draw to 366 W. The story repeats with the more brutal Y-cruncher stress test. The original chip with the IHS in place, and a 5.90 GHz boost on the P-cores, pulls a staggering 432 W, and 89°C temperatures. Remove the IHS, and the temperature drops to 82°C, with 409 W package power. It's worth noting here, that with the IHS removed, Pakhtunov used a liquid-metal TIM application between the die and the cold-plate.

Intel is reportedly launching its new enthusiast-segment desktop processor, the Core i9-14900KS, on March 14, 2024. The i9-14900KS is marked by Intel as a Special Edition product, meaning that it may not be available in all the markets that you'd otherwise find the regular i9-14900K in; and the processor has higher system- and cooling requirements to achieve its advertised performance levels. Given that Intel priced the previous generation i9-13900KS and i9-12900KS at $740, we don't expect pricing of the i9-14900KS to be any different.

The i9-14900KS is based on the same "Raptor Lake Refresh" silicon as the i9-14900K, but from better bins. It should come with higher overclocking headroom, and better performance out of the box. This is because Intel has dialed up the maximum boost frequencies by 100-200 MHz on both the P-cores and E-cores. The P-cores now boost up to 6.20 GHz using the Thermal Velocity Boost algorithm, whereas the i9-14900K boosts up to 6.00 GHz. With its launch just over a week away, retail boxes of the i9-14900KS are already beginning to leak from sources among brick-and-mortar retailers. Once such source in Vietnam grabbed these snaps of the processor box.

The existence of Intel's upcoming Core i9-14900KS processor has been confirmed by a series of insider leaks and premature retail listings—an "alleged" example was photographed and appeared online right at the start of 2024. French e-tail listings produced evidence of two packages—a traditional retail box version, and a barebones tray option for OEM purposes. Earlier today, the I_Leak_VN social media account uploaded proof of a single "Special Edition" box sitting in an unnamed Vietnamese warehouse—it is not immediately clear whether units have reached retail facilities, or have just arrived on Southeast Asian shores. The embargo-busting post seemingly corroborates global insider information/whispers about distribution networks receiving stock—possibly in preparation for a rumored mid-March launch. VideoCardz believes that Vietnamese customers will be paying roughly $765 a pop—30% pricier than the current cost of 14th Gen Core flagship ownership.

A handful of Canadian online stores were a good source of pre-release "Raptor Lake Refresh" information in 2023—that tradition continues into the new year, with DirectDial publishing Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU specifications. This premature listing was highlighted by momomo_us, everyone's favorite PC hardware sleuth—prior to this week's discovery, they tracked down two Core i9-14900KS packages in France. The upcoming special edition flagship Raptor Lake Refresh SKU is expected to launch midway through next month—DirectDial's product page mentions that the item is a "New Arrival," with its status listed as "backordered." The BX8071514900KS part code also appeared on PC21 France's online store—confirming that both places will be offering Intel's retail packaged version. Canadian customers could be paying CA$1005 (~$740 USD) on launch day—the French leak outed a possible initial price of €768.34 (~$828 USD).

Intel's 14th Gen Core i9-14900KS is a "Tetracosa-core (24-Core) 3.20 GHz Processor" according to the DirectDial listing—basic specifications appeared online earlier in the month, so there are no big surprises here: 36 MB L3 Cache, 32 MB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processing, 6.2 GHz Overclocking Speed, Socket LGA-1700 and an Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics solution. The i9-14900KS's Thermal Design Power (TDP) max. spec is listed as 150 W, while its Thermal Specification is set at a maximum of 212°F (100°C). A mid-February HKEPC report put the spotlight on leaked OCCT results—the test unit was tracked with a 409 W maximum package power draw at stock speeds—the processor's PL2 power limit was unlocked via BIOS tweaks. High-end PC enthusiasts expected to Team Blue to unveil the selectively-binned special edition SKU at CES 2024—based on past traditions—but their Core i9-14900KS remained under wraps. We hope to see an official unveiling in March.

We are likely to see even more Intel Core i9-14900KS pre-release leaks as its rumored mid-March launch window approaches—hardware sleuth, momomo_us, has spent the weekend following any Team Blue breadcrumb trails. Their latest discovery points to "BX8071514900KS" and "CM8071504820506" product codes, and two listings on PC21 France's web shop. Intel seems to be offering its upcoming limited edition Raptor Lake Refresh über-flagship unit in two different guises—the first being a traditional boxed package, and the second appears to be a tray option (for system integrators). As pointed out by VideoCardz, it is not unusual to see OEM parts reach retail channels—similar cases have leaked in the past. The no frills tray choice: "offers a more cost-effective option for users who don't require fancy packaging or bundled coolers, making it a budget-friendly choice for the new CPU."

The Core i9-14900KS is far from being a wallet friendly prospect, yet the untimely listings indicate that the OEM option shaves off a grand total of €16 (~$17.25) when lined up against its fancy boxed sibling. The French retailer states that both items are on order, with zero stock in their warehouses. The boxed Core i9-14900KS seems to cost €768.34 (~$828) including taxes, while the tray variant's entry indicates a charge of €752.62 (~$811), with VAT factored in. These leaked prices are subject to change—perhaps the current figures are based on a distributor's pre-launch estimation. PC21 France does not display any pricing for the already released Core i9-14900K and 14900KF SKUs, but VideoCardz has checked other retail listings in the country—they reckon that the gulf between "K" and "KS" is €146 (best case scenario).

Intel's 14th Generation "Raptor Lake Refresh" processor series debuted in "enthusiast" SKU form last October—Team Blue's official product unveiling was less than surprising, since multiple SKUs and specifications had been leaked throughout mid-to-late 2023. The true top-of-the-pile Intel Core i9-14900KS SKU was first linked to a possible announcement at January's CES trade show, but did not appear in any of last year's leaked product lists. Team Blue proceeded to introduce its 14th Gen "mainstream" 65 W SKUs to the crowd in Las Vegas, but the leaked Core i9-14900KS model did not pop up, contrary to tipster claims—Intel had a history of presenting "KS" variants during January showcases.

Industry experts reckon that the current Raptor Lake Refresh flagship—Core i9 14900K—is getting some extra time in the spotlight, before its inevitable dethroning courtesy of a "Special Edition" sibling. BenchLife has reached out to its cadre of insiders, following yesterday's reports of a "gargantuan 409 W maximum package power draw." The alleged top dog 14th Gen Core part is perhaps only a month away from launch, as leaked by industry moles: "According to our reliable sources, Intel plans to launch the Intel Core i9 in mid-March 2024. 14900KS is a limited edition processor with a clock speed of 6.2 GHz, but we cannot confirm whether it will be sold to a specific system vendor or a specific channel."

Intel's upcoming limited edition desktop processor for overclockers and enthusiasts, the Core i9-14900KS, comes with a gargantuan 409 W maximum package power draw at stock speeds with its PL2 power limit unlocked, reports HKEPC, based on an OCCT database result. This was measured under OCCT stress, with all CPU cores saturated, and the PL2 (maximum turbo power) limited set to unlimited/4096 W in the BIOS. The chip allows 56 seconds of maximum turbo power at a stretch, which was measured at 409 W.

The i9-14900KS is a speed-bump over its predecessor, the i9-13900KS. It comes with a maximum P-core boost frequency of 6.20 GHz, which is 200 MHz higher; and a maximum E-core boost frequency of 4.50 GHz, which is a 100 MHz increase over both the i9-13900KS and the mass market i9-14900K. The i9-14900KS comes with a base power value of 150 W, which is the guaranteed minimum amount of power the processor can draw under load (the idle power is much lower). There's no word on when Intel plans to make the i9-14900KS available, it was earlier expected to go on sale in January, along the sidelines of CES.