Desktop gamers and content creators rejoice — the fastest Intel desktop processor in the world has arrived.
Intel has recently announced the full details of the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS, which the company advertised to be "the world's fastest desktop processor," per its announcement.
The tech company also mentioned that the new processor would soon be available at various retailers worldwide.
Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS Details
The processor has 16 cores consisting of an equal number of Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores (eight each), 24 threads, and a 30MB Intel Smart Cache for gaming power and performance. Although these specifications make the 12900KS and the 12900K the same, the difference between the two is their clock speed. Intel had boosted the 12900KS' clock speed to 150W processor base power by bumping the power from 125W to 150W, per Engadget.
The processor also has a 5.5GHz max turbo frequency with Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost and Intel's Adaptive Boost Technology for improved gaming performance by allowing higher multi-core turbo frequencies.
Marcus Kennedy, general manager of Gaming, Creator, and Esports Segment at Intel, mentioned that the 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS has a performance hybrid architecture that can hit 5.5GHz on up to two cores, giving gamers the ability to maximize performance.
Additionally, the processor is compatible with existing Z690 motherboards with the latest BIOS recommended for the best gaming experience.
Finally, the 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS allows gamers and overclocking enthusiasts to take performance to the next level, presumably by overclocking a computer's CPU.
These specifications mean that the processor is for gamers and content creators who want to fastest processor available.
Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS' Standing with Other Processors
AMD earlier claimed on March 15 that it has the world's fastest processor with the Ryzen 7-5800X3D, with retails at $449 and is coming on April 4. It also has a new 3D V-Cache technology that delivers speeds that could top Intel's Core i9-12900K.
While it is significantly cheaper than what Intel offers and releases a day earlier, The Verge noted that the Ryzen 7-5800X3D only has a maximum boosted clock speed of 4.5Ghz, which is a 0.5GHz slower than Intel's.
Meanwhile, Tom's Hardware's report suggests that the Intel Core i9-12900KS will only give users an 11% higher multi-thread score in Geekbench 5, with a 4% performance boost for single-core results, which could be a detriment for users. However, this single-core result could be due to an unoptimized BIOS.
Thanks to people lucky enough to get their hands on Intel's new processor, WCCF Tech said in their report that the new processor is 15% faster than the Core i9-12900K in 3D Mark CPU Benchmarks, with an average improvement of 16%.
Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS Availability
Intel announced that the Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS would become available on April 5 for $739 at retailers worldwide as a boxed processor and integrated into systems from Intel's channel and OEM partners.
However, some people were lucky to get their hands on Intel's new processor due to retailers' websites selling the processor earlier than expected. These early postings were taken down shortly after.
