Intel Core i9-12900KS with 5.5 GHz appears in new CPU Benchmark

Intel's Core i9-12900KS 5.5 GHz Alder Lake CPU has leaked its initial benchmarks, which show a significant performance boost over the normal 12900K. The Intel Core i9-12900KS scored 2101 points…

By Nivedita Bangari

February 26, 2022

2 min read

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Intel’s Core i9-12900KS 5.5 GHz Alder Lake CPU has leaked its initial benchmarks, which show a significant performance boost over the normal 12900K. The Intel Core i9-12900KS scored 2101 points in single-core tests and 18,969 points in multi-threaded tests, according to the initial benchmarks in the Geekbench 5 database. This is also the first time a desktop CPU has surpassed the 2K mark in the single-core test. The standard Core i9-12900K earns 1998 single-core points and 17,151 multi-core points, implying that the ‘KS’ model, with its increased clocks and TDP limitations, will be 5% and 10% quicker in single-core and multi-core testing, respectively.

The ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F Gaming WiFi motherboard was used in the test system, with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 memory. The Intel Core i9-12900KS is the fastest CPU in this benchmark, outperforming the Ryzen 5000 competitors significantly.

The flagship processor in the 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU family will be the Intel Core i9-12900KS. It will have 16 cores (8+8) and 24 threads (16+8), including 8 Golden Cove and 8 Gracemont cores.

The P-cores (Golden Cove) will have a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.5 GHz with 1-2 active cores and 5.2 GHz with all cores active, while the E-cores (Gracemont) will have a maximum boost frequency of 3.90 GHz with 1-4 busy bodies and up to 3.7 GHz with all cores loaded. L3 cache will be 30 MB on the CPU.

Intel’s biggest difference increased the basic TDP by 25 Watts over the Core i9-12900K to handle the higher frequency. As a result, the 12900KS will have a base TDP of 150W and a maximum turbo power rating of 260W, up to 19W. (vs 241W).

The chip is presently available at ShopBLT with tentative pricing of $780 (Tray) and $790 US (Boxed). The final price will probably be around USD 750, making the ‘KS’ model around USD 150 more expensive than the average ‘K’ variant. Those who desire significant boosts and all-core boost frequencies to break world records will gladly pay for these pre-binned chips, but regular gamers should not see a substantial benefit from the ‘KS’ variant’s higher pricing.