13th-Gen Intel Core i9-13900K Review: A Power-Hungry Beast!

The brand new Raptor Lake structure empowers Intel’s new Thirteenth-generation processor lineup, which has been out for some time now. The Core i9-13900K is the highest-end CPU in Intel’s Thirteenth-Gen lineup, and we acquired an opportunity to spend a few weeks with this beastly processor. We’ve got examined the Core i9-13900K underneath numerous workloads and produce you this in-depth evaluation. Compared to final 12 months’s Twelfth-Gen i9-12900K, the brand new Thirteenth-Gen i9-13900K comes with a couple of iterative upgrades like a brand new chipset, extra cores, a better enhance clock, and different issues. In our hands-on evaluation, we’ll talk about these new developments and testing completely different capabilities of the processor. There are additionally efficiency benchmarks that present the Core i9-13900K’s prowess in duties corresponding to content material creation, gaming, and artificial workloads. So with out additional ado, let’s dive proper in!

Intel Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K CPU Evaluation (2022)

What’s New in Intel Thirteenth-Gen Processors

Raptor Lake Structure

The brand new Thirteenth Gen CPUs from Intel are designed on the Raptor Lake structure. The newest Intel Core i9, i7, and i5 processors are created utilizing the 10nm manufacturing course of node, which Intel has branded as Intel 7 (a complicated title for a 10nm node). The brand new structure has been refined for higher effectivity, as per Intel, with the i9 variant getting a better core rely this time round. The Core i9-13900K is constructed on an improved hybrid design, with 24 cores and 32 threads. It is a vital enhance in comparison with the final era’s i9-12900K, which had 16 cores and 24 threads. Moreover, there’s 32MB of L2 Cache on the i9-13900K, in comparison with 14MB on the i9-12900K. The L3 Cache has additionally bumped up, with 36MB of L3 Cache on the i9-13900K versus 30MB on the i9-12900K.

By way of efficiency per watt, which is used to measure how environment friendly the processor’s structure is, Intel claims that their Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K (energy restricted at 65 watts) is ready to match as much as the Core i9-12900K’s efficiency, which wants 241 watts for a similar computing energy.

Clearly, the brand new Raptor Lake structure of Intel’s Thirteenth Gen CPUs is marginally higher and consumes much less energy regardless of using a dated 10nm manufacturing course of. The Core i9-13900K additionally has a larger enhance clock velocity of 5.8GHz, in comparison with 5.2GHz in final 12 months’s i9 CPU. The bottom clock, nevertheless, has decreased by 200MHz to five.0GHz. This has been executed by selection to regulate the efficiency in Turbo Enhance mode.

New Z790 Motherboard Chipset

Alongside the Thirteenth-Gen CPUs, Intel additionally launched new 700-series motherboards, and their chipset brings a number of iterative upgrades. There are solely minor variations between the Z690 and Z790 motherboards, with the latter additionally based mostly on the LGA 1700 package deal as Twelfth-Gen Alder Lake desktop processors.

Additional, Z790 motherboards deliver help for one additional USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port, which boasts a velocity of 20Gbps. Different I/O stays unchanged, and the opposite improve contains extra PCI-E 4.0 lanes. That is nice for operating extra Gen 4 NVMe SSDs. Thunderbolt 4 additionally sees a wider adoption in Z790 boards. There may be higher help for the upcoming NVMe Gen 5 customary as properly.

Nonetheless, one of many essential questions that many Intel fans might need is – Can I exploit Thirteenth Gen on Z690 Motherboard? What about B660 motherboard help?

Sure, the Z690 and B660 motherboards from final 12 months help each Intel Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake and Twelfth-Gen Alder Lake processors. However we propose you affirm the compatibility on the producer’s web site earlier than making a purchase order. Moreover, you would possibly want a BIOS replace earlier than putting in the brand new Thirteenth Gen CPUs.

DDR5 & PCI-E 5.0 Assist

Subsequent, Intel has elevated native help for DDR5 reminiscence to 5600MHz with Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake processors. The Twelfth-Gen Alder Lake supported as much as 4800MHz DDR5 reminiscence. Nonetheless, that is completely different from the motherboard’s most supported RAM frequency, which may go method larger. Beforehand, most Z690 motherboards didn’t come out with an M.2 slot with help for PCI-E 5.0. This has now modified, with extra motherboards supporting the function, making PCI-E 5.0 help in Raptor Lake extra futureproof.

Nonetheless, in case you are questioning whether or not Intel Raptor Lake processors help DDR4 reminiscence or not, properly, the reply is sure. The Thirteenth Gen CPUs are appropriate with B660/ Z690/ Z790 motherboards that use DDR4 RAMs, however we suggest DDR5 vs DDR4 reminiscence for builds with i7 and i9 processors.

Intel Thirteenth-Gen CPU Pricing

Intel’s Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake processors can be found beginning at $294 for the Core i5-13600KF. Subsequent up, the Core i7-13700K variant prices $409, whereas Intel has priced the Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K at $589. There are different CPU fashions accessible, just like the KF variants that don’t embody an built-in GPU. AMD’s flagship competitor, the Ryzen 9 7950X, is definitely priced even larger – however is already seeing value drops not too long ago.

So yeah, the Raptor Lake i9-13900K is an costly chip to purchase. Nonetheless, that’s anticipated since it’s the top-end variant appropriate for individuals who need the best-performing {hardware} of their construct. The Core i9-13900K is appropriate for something – rendering, content material creation software program, and high-end AAA gaming too. Esports fans will even purchase it merely for insane FPS output in esports titles.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Specs

Intel Core i9-13900K: What’s within the Field

Contained in the field of an Intel Core i9-13900K processor, you’ll solely discover the CPU itself, and documentation relating to the product. There isn’t a inventory cooler included. You should guarantee that you’ve a succesful cooler that helps the LGA 1700 socket before you purchase this processor. Our evaluation unit got here in a minimal field with the Core i9 label. The retail packing of the processor is barely completely different – but additionally doesn’t embody a inventory cooler. There’s a fancy silver-colored puck concerned, inside which the CPU sits comfortably.

Intel Core i9-13900K Testing Setup Used

• CPU: Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13900K (Evaluation unit offered by Intel)
• CPU Cooler: Lian Li Galahad 360 AIO ARGB CPU Liquid Cooler
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-E GAMING WiFi
• RAM: 32GB (16GB x 2) HyperX FURY DDR5 5200MHz
• GPU: ROG STRIX RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC Version
• SSD: 500GB WD Black SN770 Gen 4 NVMe Storage
• PSU: 1000W Deepcool PQ1000M 80 Plus Gold Energy Provide
• Cupboard: Cooler Grasp MasterFrame 700 Full Tower Case
• Thermal Compound: Cooler Grasp Mastergel Maker

That is the testing setup we’re utilizing to evaluation the Intel Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K processor. Beginning with the motherboard, we’re utilizing a top-of-the-line ROG STRIX Z790-E board that has help for DDR5 RAM and Gen 5 SSDs. Gen 5 PCIe SSD slots are a function we couldn’t discover on many different boards, besides this one. It additionally has wonderful motherboard VRMs, making it able to dealing with high-end CPUs such because the i9-13900K.

The cooling system we’re utilizing in our testing setup is the Lian Li Galahad 360 AIO, because the i9-13900K is a monstrous CPU with as much as 253W energy consumption. We suggest researching and getting a succesful air/water cooler to your private i9 construct. Additional, we’re utilizing 32GB 5200Hz DDR5 reminiscence, which is enough, however quicker DDR5 reminiscence would undoubtedly lead to higher scores. Many of the gaming checks we’ll run shall be CPU sure, although, to showcase the CPU’s gaming prowess.

With the brand new Raptor Lake i9 CPU, customers undoubtedly require a high-wattage energy provide. You’ll be able to check for total compatibility on this website. However we have now used a 1000W unit from Deepcool with an 80 Plus Gold ranking. We’ve got greater than sufficient headroom right here, and we are able to even use the 13900K with an RTX 4080/4090 with this energy provide.

That isn’t the case with our testing setup, although. We’ve got paired the Intel Core i9-13900K with our ROG STRIX RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which has been manufacturing unit overclocked. We selected all the opposite elements as per the supply. Additionally, we’re utilizing the WD NVMe Gen 4 SSD for storage, and our CM Grasp Body 700 accommodates the construct itself.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Benchmarks and Efficiency

All our checks carried out on the Core i9-13900K had been carried out with MCE (Multi-Core enhancement) turned off. Intel’s inventory energy limits had been being enforced as properly. Primarily, no motherboard enhancements had been enabled, as these optimizations will range relying on the board getting used. We’ve got aimed to showcase the i9-13900K with minimal publicity to exterior enhancements to focus on its out-of-the-box efficiency. So let’s have a look at the Thirteenth-Gen Core i9 CPUs benchmark scores:

Artificial Benchmarks

The Core i9-13900K first went by means of a sequence of artificial checks. Our goal is to measure the processor’s uncooked efficiency and examine it towards different previous-gen i9 & i7 processors. Moreover, we additionally examined the Core i7-13700K (Beebom unit) to showcase the variations between the flagship i9 vs the i7 variant. For comparability towards AMD, we have now included benchmark scores of the Ryzen 9 7950X, a CPU that instantly competes towards the Intel Core i9-13900K. Lastly, we have now additionally in contrast it to the Ryzen 9 5950X, AMD’s last-gen flagship CPU, which competed with the Twelfth Gen i9 CPU.

i9-13900K: Cinebench R23 Multi-Core

Within the Cinebench R23 Multi-Core check, the Core i9-13900K carried out admirably, scoring 38,071 factors. It leaves the competing Ryzen 9 7950X processor behind by a small margin. Compared, the Ryzen 9 7950X comes near the i9-13900K. However in actuality, the i9-13900K can rating even larger. You can run the i9-13900K on quicker, overclocked DDR5 reminiscence, which might yield barely larger scores. In our testing, we used the HyperX Fury 5200MHz DDR5 reminiscence. We will even stress-test the CPU in a later part of the evaluation.

Evaluating our scores towards the previous-gen’s i9-12900K, the Thirteenth-Gen i9-13900K performs 33% higher in multi-core efficiency. Intel is utilizing the identical 10nm manufacturing course of, however they’ve made iterative design modifications to enhance the CPU’s effectivity. The brand new Raptor Lake CPUs can go significantly quicker than the final era.

By way of clock velocity, the Intel Core i9-13900K hit a most of 5.8GHz on the efficiency cores throughout this check. The P-cores had been all operating wherever from 5.3GHz to five.8GHz. By way of this check, we have now verified that Intel’s promise of 5.8GHz Turbo Frequency is true. The common core clock throughout this check was round 4.7GHz, however that quantity takes the irrelevant clock speeds of E-cores into consideration, that are designed to run at decrease frequencies for dealing with lower-level duties and effectivity functions. The minimal clock velocity of all of the P-cores was 5.3GHz.

i9-13900K: Cinebench R23 Single-Core

Wanting on the identical Cinebench R23 check, however solely on the Single-Core efficiency this time, the Core i9-13900K outclasses all the pieces in sight once more, scoring 2,191 factors. It’s clearly the quickest CPU in single-core efficiency accessible available on the market, outperforming the competing Ryzen 9 7950X, however once more, by a smidge. In actuality, each processors are carefully matched in efficiency, making the shopping for choice complicated for a client.

Intel has a number of turbo-boosting options constructed into the Raptor Lake design corresponding to Thermal Velocity Enhance, Turbo Enhance Max Know-how 3.0, and so forth., and these had been intelligently boosting the CPU’s speeds properly. We noticed 5801.4 MHz being the best frequency throughout this single-core benchmark check. We’re going to overclock the chip in a later part to see if we are able to see 6GHz+ speeds on the Intel Core i9-13900K. Whereas evaluating it towards the final era’s i9-12900K, the most recent Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K scores 9% larger in single-core efficiency.

We see a better distinction in single-core efficiency when evaluating the Core i9-13900K towards the last-gen Core i9-12900K. And for those who have a look at the Thirteenth-Gen i7 chip, it doesn’t rating as excessive because the Thirteenth-Gen i9 within the single-core Cinebench check. Nonetheless, the graph above reveals it’s nonetheless higher than the final era and similar to AMD’s flagship processor.

i9-13900K: GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

Subsequent, we have now the Geekbench Multi-Core check outcomes for the Core i9-13900K. Within the graph above, we are able to see that the Ryzen 9 7950X pulls forward right here, by fairly an honest margin of 2609 factors. In actual fact, even the Ryzen 9 5950X appears to be outperforming the Raptor Lake i7 by a couple of hundred factors. Nonetheless, it’s spectacular to see the Raptor Lake i7 carry out in addition to the last-generation Ryzen 9 flagship. Nonetheless, the best way these benchmarking functions are designed is completely different from software program to software program. So these components account for the scores between these newest era processors from AMD & Intel.

In a single benchmark, AMD might carry out higher, and within the different, Intel could possibly be higher. Nonetheless, artificial numbers on completely different benchmarking functions corresponding to these give us a good suggestion of the uncooked efficiency distinction between the processors. In comparison with the last-gen Core i9-12900K, the scores are about 20% higher on the Core i9-13900K in multi-core efficiency for Geekbench 5.

i9-13900K: GeekBench 5 Single-Core

Shifting on to Geekbench 5 Single-Core benchmark outcomes, we discover the Intel Core i9-13900K being robust once more, being almost 100 factors forward of AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X chip. On this benchmark, it’s clear that Ryzen 9 7950X additionally provides a powerful single-core efficiency, being near the i9 and on par with the i7-13700K. You’ll be able to clearly see that on this artificial benchmark, AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X performs higher in Single Core within the Geekbench 5 check versus the Cinebench R23 check earlier.

Whereas each AMD and Intel’s flagship processors are shut when it comes to efficiency, do do not forget that they carry out otherwise based mostly on the appliance. Each utility takes benefit of each CPU architectures otherwise. The final era’s Core i9-12900K appears to be solely behind by 111 factors, and in apply, it seems that the Core i9-13900K is about 5% quicker in single-threaded efficiency when Geekbench 5 scores. Clearly, the key enhancements of this era have been made within the multi-core division as we are able to see from each Geekbench & Cinebench checks.

i9-13900K: PCMark 10 Prolonged

PCMark 10 is a benchmarking instrument that checks a PC by taking it by means of a number of workloads that vary from testing the graphics capabilities to different duties corresponding to searching, social media, and photograph/ video modifying. It’s a useful gizmo to investigate the overall efficiency of your PC, and a rating above 4500 is the really useful minimal for workplace duties. The Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13900K together with an RTX 3070 Ti has scored 11,731 factors within the PCMark 10 Prolonged check. This implies a Thirteenth-Gen i9-powered PC is greater than sufficient for all the duties examined by PCMark corresponding to video conferencing, spreadsheets, rendering, photograph/video modifying, and all the pieces in between.

Content material Creation Assessments

Subsequent, we took our Core i9-13900K system by means of a sequence of Puget Benchmark checks, that are used to grasp a system’s functionality in Adobe functions. Since a few of the checks are depending on each the GPU and CPU, evaluating them towards different CPUs just isn’t splendid. Nonetheless, we goal to point out you ways properly the Core i9-13900K fares in a number of benchmarks targeted on content material creation.

i9-13900K: Premiere Professional Benchmark

Within the PugetBench Premiere Professional Take a look at, we see a rating of 1,019 factors on the usual check. For the prolonged general check, the CPU scored 944 factors. That is good, and the system had zero hiccups whereas going by means of this intense Premiere Professional check. Intel Core i9-13900K can deal with video modifying functions with ease and eventualities that contain single-threaded efficiency also needs to carry out properly.

i9-13900K: Photoshop Benchmark

Subsequent up, we have now the PugetBench Photoshop Take a look at. We see a rating of 1471 factors general, which is a superb consequence and signifies that the Core i9-13900K can deal with heavy photo-editing workloads fairly properly. Throughout the benchmark, many intensive actions had been carried out on loads of pattern photographs, and the sizes had been enormous too.

i9-13900K: Blender Benchmark

Shifting to the final benchmark for our content material creation checks, we’ll take the Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13900K by means of a render of Blender’s Scanlands demo. The scene was detailed and watching the system render it was fairly the expertise. We set a complete of 100 samples of the Scanlands demo rendered, and our Core i9-13900K system completed rendering it in simply 115.61 seconds. In a later part of the evaluation, we shall be taking the system by means of a render loop in Blender to stress-test the CPU.

Gaming Benchmarks

We examined the Intel Core i9-13900K on a complete of 10 video games at 1080p decision. The rationale for that is easy – to point out the CPU’s prowess in gaming, we should use the settings and a decision at which we’re CPU-bound. Within the benchmarks we’re operating, we showcase what’s the finest FPS you may get with this CPU with completely different video games and settings.

We shall be exhibiting the Intel Core i9-13900K’s prowess in esports titles corresponding to Valorant, Apex Legends, and CS:GO first, to find out how interesting the i9-13900K is for aggressive players. After that, we’ll present you the processor’s efficiency in a number of new and older AAA video games.

i9-13900K: Efficiency in Esports Video games

The Intel Core i9-13900K carried out exceptionally properly at each esports title we threw at it. These benchmark numbers present that the CPU is ideal for the use-case of esports fans & aggressive players. In Valorant, a well-liked and new esports title, the i9-13900K scores 590 FPS on Common at 1080p Low settings, and the utmost frames it achieved was 1,075. At 1080p Excessive Settings, the common lowers to 457 FPS, and the utmost FPS stands at 691. At each excessive and low settings, the i9-13900K had minimal body charges above 300.

Shifting on to Counter Strike: International Offensive, the i9-13900K flexed its muscle groups with an common of 911 FPS on 1080p Low, and 733 FPS on 1080p Excessive. We additionally ran the Ulletical’s CS: GO FPS Benchmark right here. In CS: GO, the Core i9-13900K clearly speaks volumes of its skill to output insane FPS numbers. A piece of the check contains going by means of smokes, explosions, and particle results, which slows down most programs rather a lot, and it’s fairly stunning to see the minimal FPS dropping all the way down to 159 proper when the digital camera went by means of the smoke. It looks as if CS: GO continues to be unoptimized for a couple of eventualities as a result of even essentially the most trendy and highly effective Core i9 CPU drops all the way down to 159FPS. An identical drop additionally occurred at Excessive graphics settings.

The final aggressive esports title we examined was Apex Legends. It’s an intensive esports recreation, and the body fee is capped at 300FPS. The principle motive of this check was to grasp how properly can the system preserve near 300FPS within the recreation, particularly throughout sections of the sport, involving leaping from the ship, or once we take main gunfights in lively zones. The i9-13900K carried out admirably right here as properly, with a mean of 287 FPS on 1080p Low and 243 FPS on 1080p Excessive. By way of minimal FPS, the sport hovered above 171 FPS at Low settings and dropped to 115 FPS at Excessive Settings.

i9-13900K: Efficiency in AAA Video games

In AAA video games, the Core i9-13900K processor confirmed its wonderful capabilities in high-refresh-rate gaming. Nonetheless, the Core i9 performs exceptionally properly at many duties, so getting it for strictly AAA gaming alone doesn’t make sense. We suggest the Core i7-13700K or i5-13600K for that function in case your use case is solely centered in the direction of gaming. Nonetheless, in case your use instances contain streaming, being a content material creator, and operating heavy apps, the Raptor Lake i9-13900K CPU does make sense.

We examined a number of AAA video games operating at 1080p Excessive Settings on the Core i9-13900K and included a couple of graphics-intensive titles like RDR 2, Flight Simulator, and extra. Ray-tracing was turned off in all of the checks. Let’s discuss concerning the notable examples within the above benchmark. In Crimson Useless Redemption 2, the i9-13900K manages to ship 126 FPS on common, with a minimal of 58 FPS. Cyberpunk 2077, an intensive title, additionally scores a mean of 141 FPS with its minimal by no means dropping under 113 FPS.

Microsoft Flight Simulator was additionally heavy on the CPU and was in a position to pull 105 FPS on common, with 84 FPS being the minimal, on Excessive settings. All these intensive video games ran properly on a high-refresh-rate display screen and had been pleasurable. Many players are likely to choose excessive body charges over 4K decision, and the Core i9-13900K can absolutely get passable body charges on 1080p decision.

Older titles corresponding to Grand Theft Auto V, Metro Exodus, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider all noticed nice body charges. In GTA V, the Core i9-13900K managed 180 FPS on common. Equally, Metro Exodus scored 251 FPS on common. In each these video games, the minimal FPS was round 33, and the sport stuttered barely when that occurred. It may be a problem due to the hybrid Raptor Lake design that has P-Cores & E-Cores, however disabling the E-Cores nonetheless gave us the identical outcomes.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Testing Turbo Frequency, Working Stress Assessments

Intel advertises the Core i9-13900K to have a Max Turbo frequency of 5.8GHz. The aim of this check is to confirm the corporate’s declare and discuss how Turbo Boosting works. Intel has many options constructed into Raptor Lake like Thermal Velocity Enhance and Turbo Enhance Max 3.0, nevertheless it additionally manages the frequencies of its P-Cores (efficiency cores) and E-Cores (effectivity cores) otherwise, relying on the duty at hand.

We’re additionally stress-testing the i9-13900K on this part, to see how the processor performs throughout prolonged, heavy hundreds. The temperature noticed throughout these prolonged hundreds are mentioned within the subsequent part.

We ran the Cinebench Multi-Core check a number of occasions to see how a lot the efficiency dropped. Within the artificial benchmark part of the evaluation, we noticed that the i9-13900K scores 38,071 factors. After a few runs carried out consecutively, the rating dropped to 36,804 factors, which is a 3.3% discount. On its P-Cores, Intel’s Core i9-13900K maintained 5.50 GHz to five.80 GHz frequency throughout all of the Cinebench checks. With this, we affirm that the i9-13900K does attain its marketed turbo frequencies usually and performs properly even throughout consecutive hundreds.

We additionally ran a Blender render loop check in our benchmark. The Core i9-13900K carried out properly right here too, with all P-Cores hitting 5.8GHz when there was thermal headroom and the minimal frequency was 5.3GHz. Because of this after rendering in Blender continuous for over half an hour, the Core i9-13900K nonetheless maintains its marketed turbo frequencies relying on the chip’s temperature, and stays above 5GHz for essentially the most half.

Lastly, we ran a state of affairs of stress testing Prime 95. It is a stress check that makes use of a CPU to its full potential, by stressing each a part of it. It’s used to point out the worst-case state of affairs and can completely check the bounds of your cooler. We had been utilizing a Galahad 360 AIO because the i9-13900K has a Excessive TDP. On this state of affairs, the i9-13900K managed to hit the turbo frequency of 5.8 GHz a number of occasions, however the minimal frequency dropped to 4.7GHz. Principally, for those who take the i9-13900K by means of an unrealistic load of Prime 95, it would begin throttle and begin working underneath 5GHz, however in different instances of stress testing the CPU, we didn’t see the processor drop under 5.3GHz.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Throttling & Temperature Testing

Whereas stress-testing the Intel Core i9-13900K, we keenly saved an eye fixed on the temperatures & turbo frequencies to entry how a lot the CPU throttles. In HWInfo, the app confirmed that the CPU is in truth thermal throttling by means of all of the stress checks. Nonetheless, we have now confirmed earlier that the Core i9-13900K does preserve its clock speeds fairly properly. The one level the place the CPU had thermal throttled to the purpose of sub 5GHz speeds, was throughout the Prime 95 worst-case state of affairs stress check.

As for the temperatures, the i9-13900K noticed 97 levels Celcius at most throughout the Cinebench R23 Render Loop. In Blender, the utmost CPU temperature did attain 98 levels Celcius. After it hit this temperature, the CPU rapidly throttled barely however maintained frequencies above 5GHz. However in Prime95, we noticed the CPU badly thermal throttling and hitting the T junction (most temperature allowed) of 100 levels Celcius usually. Previous to our testing, we knew that the i9-13900K might go to 100-degree Celcius, however we are able to affirm that paired with an enough cooler and on inventory settings, the Core i9-13900K is usually a nice performer with little to no throttling points.

Understand that the temperature information represented by the processor is for the hottest core, so when the PC says the CPU Temperature is 98 levels Celcius and even 100 levels Celcius, it might imply that just one or two of the cores are at that temperature. That is precisely what we noticed – the CPU throttles itself barely throughout intensive hundreds, by dialing the frequency down for the most well liked cores by about 200MHz to 500MHz, after which the common temperature of your complete CPU drops to an affordable degree. When there’s overhead, the CPU boosts once more and lets a couple of of its finest cores maintain as much as 100-degree Celcius temperatures, for a brief time period.

We made a graph chart representing the core clock frequency of the i9-13900K, in relation to its temperature. This may reply questions corresponding to how the CPU performs close to the temperature limits, and the way badly the core clock speeds drop whereas it’s throttling.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Normal, Gaming, and Idle State Temperatures

The Core i9-13900K has an idle temperature vary of 35 levels Celcius to 45 levels Celcius. Whereas enjoying an intense recreation like Flight Simulator, the CPU went to 91 levels Celcius, which is an effective temperature contemplating Intel has mainly made 100 levels Celcius the brand new 95-degree Celcius. Thermal throttling occurs at a strict margin, but when the CPU just isn’t working above 95 levels Celcius, Intel will use that chance to ensure the CPU is utilizing turbo speeds on as many cores as potential. Additionally, for many titles that don’t use the CPU as closely as Flight Simulator, the temperature of i9-13900K was round 60 levels Celcius at most.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Energy Consumption

The Core i9-13900K is a high-TDP CPU with a base energy of 125W. Intel has set the max turbo energy at 253W, and the aim of this check is to confirm the ability consumption ranges of Core i9-13900K by observing it throughout completely different states.

As you’ll be able to see above, the Intel Core i9-13900K breaks the ability restrict and goes to 276.6 W at most throughout a steady load Blender check. In different eventualities and all through our testing, we noticed the processor enhance past 253W a number of occasions and straight up ignoring the ability limits set.

However after a deeper look, it’s often Intel’s Thermal Velocity Enhance accountable for this uncommon energy consumption. The function appears to investigate the ability overhead whatever the enforced limits and accordingly boosts the CPU above 253W for a brief interval. Principally, the CPU is following the foundations of principally staying underneath 253W, however Intel’s boosting applied sciences usually makes use of any thermal and energy overhead for squeezing in additional efficiency.

We examined the entire PC utilizing an influence monitor to precisely analyze the full wattage being pulled by means of {the electrical} socket whereas operating the PC. Throughout idle state, the PC pulled round 100 watts and goes as much as 105.9 watts whereas utilizing the PC usually. Whereas stress testing the CPU, the PC pulled 340-380W. After this, the final check we ran was stress testing the CPU & GPU, and the PC was pulling 600-630 Watts in that state of affairs.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Overclocking Take a look at Outcomes

The Intel Core i9-13900K already has a excessive energy restrict of 253W on inventory settings. Within the earlier part, we noticed the chip’s turbo boosting options already push past the stock-defined energy limits. Folks have been in a position to overclock the i9-13900K and gotten loopy clock velocity numbers, so we wished to see how properly our Core i9-13900K unit will be overclocked with the Galahad 360 AIO. At this level, any additional cooling efficiency is appreciated, because the CPU is operating within the 90-degree Celcius area with a high-performance 360mm Liquid Cooler, and we want tons of headroom for overclocking.

By enabling Multi Core Enhancement (MCE) within the BIOS, ASUS mechanically adjusted how far the all-core enhance can go as per remainder of the system specs and thermal overhead. Along with this, we unlocked the ability restrict, so it was not capped at 253W. ASUS AI Overclock was additionally turned on, and the CPU was tweaked with all enhancements accessible on our Z790 motherboard. Beforehand, to remind you, no motherboard enhancements had been turned off and the CPU was examined at Intel’s inventory outlined energy limits.

Proper off the bat, the Core i9-13900K began seeing a better idle temperature of 40° C to 50° C, and the CPU appeared to the touch turbo speeds rather a lot with temperature spikes even whereas making an attempt to begin functions. By way of energy consumption, as a substitute of the standard 20W common and 50W most on idle, the overclocked Core i9-13900K began to usually hit wherever from 50-70W throughout regular duties and really hardly ever stayed round 30W.

Whereas overclocked, the general energy consumption throughout an prolonged load of Blender revealed that the CPU is solely boosting extra actively, however nonetheless doesn’t go above 276 W, similar to at inventory settings. Furthermore, after overclocking, larger voltages are utilized to all cores to extract higher frequencies. If there’s any thermal overhead, the CPU will use round 300W throughout turbo energy mode, however for that, you want the suitable situations, and a fair higher cooler than the 360mm AIO we’re utilizing.

By way of clock velocity, the Core i9-13900K did break the 6GHz barrier after overclocking. The utmost frequency it achieved was 6.2 GHz, which is an incredible feat to see in our testing, however there’s a catch right here. We’ll now talk about the overclocked i9’s efficiency, and it’s fairly disappointing. After the overclocking course of, our Intel Core i9-13900K carried out worse than in inventory mode. Whereas the core clocks had been larger, each single benchmark from the content material creation Puget Bench to artificial checks like Cinebench had been all scoring about 5-10% decrease in comparison with inventory scores. So yeah, it reveals how power-hungry the processor will be.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Ultimate Settings For Common Customers & Energy Saving Mode

The Intel Core i9-13900K runs finest when the consumer has configured it based on their cooling capability. That is an incredible CPU able to operating at solely 65W whereas nonetheless performing in addition to the last-generation i9-12900K. Conserving that in thoughts, it could possibly carry out properly with strict energy limits. Overclocking the i9 would possibly provide you with adverse outcomes based mostly on the remainder of your system. Probably the most splendid option to run the processor is to restrict its energy to round 200-250 watts. It additionally depends upon how good your cooler is. With the suitable settings, the CPU will run cooler and turbo in a secure method while lowering energy consumption.

There may be additionally a ‘Energy Saving Mode’ accessible on numerous motherboards. Enabling it’s going to make the CPU underperform barely, however with an enormous stability in temperatures. We suggest turning it on in case your CPU is operating at unreasonable temperatures. Until, your cooler can deal with the inventory settings, and in that case, you need to persist with them. You may also restrict the CPU’s energy with Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility, or by means of the BIOS on Home windows 11.

Thirteenth-Gen Intel Core i9-13900K: Is it Value Shopping for?

Intel’s Raptor Lake Thirteenth Gen Core i9-13900K is a monstrous CPU with a starvation for energy and top-of-the-line cooling options. For the suitable use instances that may make the most of the sheer computing energy available, we expect it’s price it. If we discuss productiveness workloads, each second counts in a piece atmosphere. Small iterative variations in render occasions could make a giant change within the complete time saved by a content material creator.

So, we undoubtedly suggest the Core i9-13900K for workstation use instances, however the Core i5-13600K/ i7-13700K additionally ship loads of energy for intensive gaming. You’ll be able to decide them up over the i9-13900K to your gaming-focused builds. Nonetheless, many aggressive players and esports fans can put money into the Thirteenth-Gen i9 processor to keep away from any throttling points. And properly, as we noticed within the benchmark outcomes, the FPS output in aggressive titles is solely insane.

Intel Core i9-13900K: Professionals and Cons

Intel Core i9-13900K: Scorching and Hungry Flagship Processor

Though Intel is but to play catch with AMD on the manufacturing entrance, Workforce Blue has confirmed its would possibly with the top-of-the-line Thirteenth-Gen Raptor Lake i9-13900K. With each era, Intel manages to ship sizeable efficiency enhancements with their CPU. Regardless of the roadblocks, Intel has additionally proven a significant leap in effectivity, however one can’t ignore how scorching and hungry the processor runs. Furthermore, regardless that the Core i9-13900K comes with the identical socket, it’s not an iterative improve in any way. Intel has clearly managed to ship a winner with the Thirteenth-Gen Core i9-13900K, providing class-leading efficiency for each gaming and productiveness use-cases. So in case you are trying to put collectively a high-end construct, you can’t go incorrect with the i9-13900K or its sibling, the i7-13700K. What are your ideas on Intel’s newest processors? Tell us within the feedback under.