The Intel Core i9-13900KS Raptor Lake is the flagship desktop processor from team-blue, specifically engineered to deliver top-tier gaming and application performance. Being a Special Edition variant, availability may be limited compared to the standard i9-13900K in certain regions. This new i9-13900KS model is tailored for the meticulous PC enthusiast seeking the best Raptor Lake silicon bins, featuring a fully unlocked processor with the highest power limits. This allows users to pursue overclocking or benchmark records, while also offering gamers the fastest stock frequency processor on the market.
The Core i9-13900KS utilizes the same “Raptor Lake-S” architecture as the i9-13900K and maintains an identical core configuration of 8 performance cores (P-cores) and 16 efficiency cores (E-cores), comprising 8 Raptor Cove P-cores and 16 Gracemont E-cores. However, the key distinction lies in the enhanced clock speeds, particularly for the P-cores. The maximum boost frequency of this processor reaches 6.00 GHz, surpassing the 5.80 GHz of the standard i9-13900K. Additionally, the Turbo Boost 2.0 frequency has been increased by 100 MHz, now at 5.6 GHz, up from 5.5 GHz. The base frequency for the i9-13900KS has also seen a modest increase of 200 MHz, bringing it to 3.20 GHz. While the maximum boost frequency for the E-cores remains at 4.30 GHz, the base frequency for the E-cores is slightly elevated on the i9-13900KS, now at 2.40 GHz compared to the 2.20 GHz of the i9-13900K.
The slight frequency bumps may appear insignificant, but they seem to have a notable impact on the power specifications, at least theoretically. The processor’s base power has been increased to 150 W, in contrast to the 125 W of the i9-13900K. Interestingly, the maximum turbo power remains at 253 W. Although Intel does not officially mention it in the specifications, specifically on its ARK product information page, the i9-13900KS features a 320 W maximum turbo power mode called “Extreme Power Delivery Profile,” which is automatically activated in the motherboard BIOS, establishing itself as the unofficial maximum turbo power value for the processor. These elevated power limits result in improved boost frequency sustainability compared to the i9-13900K, which defaulted to 253 W.
The specifications of the new Core i9-13900KS remain unchanged. Each of the 8 P-cores is equipped with 2 MB of dedicated L2 cache, while each of the four E-core clusters shares a 4 MB L2 cache among its 4 cores. The P-cores and E-core clusters share a 36 MB L3 cache, as well as the same Xe LP-based UHD 770 integrated graphics. Additionally, it features a memory controller that supports both DDR5 and DDR4 memory types, along with on-the-fly DRAM overclocking, a feature absent in competing Ryzen 7000 processors. The processor offers 16 PCI-Express Gen 5 lanes, primarily allocated to the PCI-Express Graphics (PEG) slot. The CPU-attached NVMe slot operates at PCIe Gen 4 speed, but motherboard manufacturers have devised methods to incorporate Gen 5 NVMe slots by reallocating lanes from the PEG slot, without impacting the performance of even the fastest RTX 4090.
The Raptor Lake microarchitecture signifies Intel’s last monolithic client processor silicon, which adds a unique aspect to this review. Upcoming Intel processor generations are anticipated to adopt chiplet designs. Raptor Lake is poised to deliver exceptional gaming performance due to its high-IPC P-cores, alongside impressive multi-threaded productivity capabilities from its E-cores. Intel has set the price of the Core i9-13900KS at, reflecting a increase over the standard i9-13900K. However, as this is a Special Edition SKU, we have observed inflated prices for this chip. Availability of the 13900KS is limited, with some retailers listing prices exceeding. For the purposes of this review, we are utilizing a price point of , as this is attainable with some effort.