Intel announced the release of a new i9-12900KS processor of 12and generation at 5.5 GHz from April 5. While this one isn’t cheap, it’s very, very fast. Aimed at gamers and people who like to overclock CPUs, the unlocked i9-12900KS features 16 cores, evenly split between performance cores and efficiency cores, 24 threads on performance cores, 150W base power , a 30 MB L3 cache and a maximum turbo frequency of 5.5 GHz.
Intel will hold an event on April 5, but revealed today that pricing will start at $739. It will be “the fastest desktop processor in the world” according to the company. “Based on the hybrid performance architecture of the 12and generation from Intel, this processor can reach 5.5 GHz on up to two cores for the first time,” said Marcus Kennedy, general manager of games, creators and eSports at Intel.
The Core i9-12900KS is a special unlocked version of the Core i9-12900K, which was announced in October and costs around $610. According to AnandTech, the KS version slightly improves the frequencies available on the K version’s efficiency and performance core. The processor is expected to cost more when it hits the market. Parts retailer Newegg revealed last week that the KS version is priced at $799.99.
Monstrous features
One of its main rivals will be AMD’s recently announced Ryzen 7 5800X3D desktop processor with 8 cores but 64MB of L3 cache. It will be available on April 20, for prices that should be more modest.
Other features Intel has listed so far include support for PCIe Gen 5.0 and 4.0, support for DDR5-4800 and DDR4 3200, integrated Intel UHD 770 graphics, and a chipset compatible with existing Z690 motherboards with the latest BIOS. Intel has released full specs for the i9-12900KS here, but will likely reveal more at its April 5 event.
The processor will be sold alone or integrated into computers.
Source: ZDNet.com