Intel Core i9-13900K: 24 cores, 32 threads at up to 5.8GHz, 253W power

Roar... yeah, you heard it... Intel's new 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs are now getting ready for launch with details on the flagship Core i9-13900K unleashed.

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The new Intel Core i9-13900K will feature 24 cores and 32 threads of Raptor Lake CPU power, with CPU clocks of up to a huge 5.8GHz, and 253W of "Maximum Turbo Power". The 5.8GHz clock speeds are coming to gamers and enthusiasts thanks to Intel's in-house Thermal Velocity Boost technology, while Turbo Boost Max 3.0 clocks will push the Core i9-13900K to 5.7GHz.

Igor's Lab posted the news on Intel's upcoming 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs, with the flagship Core i9-13900K listed with support for DDR5-5600 and DDR4-3200 memory depending on the motherboard you buy. There's up to 128GB of RAM supported, a base 125W TDP that will blow right up to 253W under Maximum Turbo Power.

Intel will be providing integrated graphics on the Core i9-13900K in the form of an Intel UHD Graphics 770, but there's the Core i9-13900KF -- the "F" drops the integrated GPU. Under that, we've got the new Core i7-13700K processor with 16 cores and 24 threads at up to 5.4GHz with Turbo Boost Max, with no additional 100MHz up its silicon sleeve like its big brother in the Core i9-13900K, as the Core i7-13700K doesn't have Thermal Velocity Boost support.

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Intel 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs (expected at launch)

Intel's upcoming Core i7-13700K rocks with its 16C/24T at up to 5.4GHz with the same 125W base TDP, as well as the 253W "Maximum Turbo Power". The Core i7-13700K will be offered in the "F" variant, with the Core i7-13700KF processor featuring no integrated GPU -- the same Intel UHD Graphics 770 as the Core i9 and Core i5 variants -- with the same support for up to 128GB of RAM (as well as support for both DDR5-5600 and DDR4-3200 memory).

• Read more: ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Extreme + Core i9-13900K + $20 cooler @ 6.5GHz
• Read more: Intel Core i9-13900KF 'QS' benched: huge 6.2GHz on water chiller OC
• Read more: Intel Core i9-13900K: 'extreme 350W performance mode' on some mobos

At the bottom, we've got the new Core i5-13600K processor with 14 cores and 20 threads of CPU power at up to 5.1GHz for the P-Core Max Turbo frequency -- no Thermal Velocity Boost, that's a Core i9 thing, and no Turbo Boost Max, that's for Core i9 + Core i7 -- the Core i3 is left with its up to 5.1GHz frequency.

The mid-range Core i5-13600K does have the same 125W base TDP as its fellow Raptor Lake CPU offerings, but the Maximum Turbo Power chills down a bit, lowered to 181W. The same specs are here once again for the "F" variant, with Intel's new Core i5-13600KF dropping the integrated GPU.

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Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs vs 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs

There aren't going to be many differences between Alder Lake and Raptor Lake when it comes to CPU cores, I/O, RAM, etc -- but Raptor Lake will up the ante when it comes to cores and threads on its flagship designs. The Core i9-13900K will have up to 24 cores and 32 threads (split between 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores).

I/O wise, Raptor Lake will have the same 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and the same 4 PCIe 4.0 lanes, while the PCH USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) with up to 4 on the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs, we have up to 5 on Raptor Lake. Yay. DDR5 memory has some changes, with Intel's new Z790 platform and Raptor Lake CPUs supporting up to DDR5-5600 memory, up from the DDR5-4800 memory on Alder Lake. We still have the same DDR4-3200 here, too.

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Intel's current 600-series chipset, versus the next-gen Z790 chipset

Intel's new flagship Z790 chipset compared to the current Z690 chipset, where we've still only got 16 lanes of PCIe 5.0 -- ready for a next-gen PCIe 5.0-capable GPU or to suck up 60GB/sec+ reads on Gen5 AIC RAID cards with Gen5 SSDs -- but we do have some more PCIe lanes fed through the Z790 chipset.

Z690 was feeding up to 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0 while there were 12 lanes of PCIe 4.0 at the ready, while Intel's newer Z790 will feature up to 8 lanes of PCIe 3.0 (down from 16) it will have more PCIe 4. 0lanes (up to 20, from just 12 on Z690). Everything else remains the same for the most part.