Intel Core i9-13900KS announced with the world's first 6.0GHz max turbo frequency

Intel today announced its flagship Core i9-13900KS desktop processor, which is a special edition model of the 13900K. The 13900KS is the world's first desktop processor to hit 6.0GHz max turbo frequency out of the box.

The main difference between the 13900K and the 13900KS is the 200MHz bump on the max turbo clock speed from the already impressive 5.8GHz to 6.0GHz. This is achieved through binned silicon, making sure only the best parts go into making the 13900KS. The 13900KS has a higher base power limit of 150W compared to the 13900K's 125W and while the max turbo limit is the same at 253W, the 13900KS supports the Extreme Power Delivery Profile, which raises the power limit up to 320W to help achieve those higher clock speeds.

While Intel's claims are totally valid, there are several provisos involved to be able to hit that clock speed. While Intel does claim that the limit can be hit with standard consumer motherboards using standard AIO liquid coolers and that the 6.0GHz figure can be achieved without any overclocking, Intel's test video showed the 13900KS only hitting that number on a couple of P-cores for short durations during a 7-Zip benchmark.

This means not only are you not hitting that 6.0GHz across all P-cores, the consistency with which you can hit that figure across even just two cores varies on a number of factors.

Aside from that, the 13900KS is exactly identical to the 13900K in all other specifications, including the E-core clocks and the cache count. However, due to being binned silicon, the 13900KS should perform better under exotic cooling for extreme overclocking. But if that's not your use case, you would be better off with the 13900K instead.

The 13900KS is available today for $699.

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