The Core i9-12900KS, Intel’s flagship Gen Alder Lake CPU, is rumoured to be getting a new pre-binned variant. According to Videocardz, a pre-binned variant of the standard Core i9-12900K CPU is in the works, dubbed Core i9-12900KS. The ‘S’ stands for the special edition, and Intel has released a few in the past, the most recent being the Core i9-9900KS.

Since that chip was released in 2019, Intel has gone two generations without releasing a new pre-binned chip. Also, since Silicon Lottery has closed its doors, the only way to get binned CPUs is to buy a large quantity and sort them yourself. This pre-binned variant, which would offer better chip stability for higher clocks, appears to be aimed at the niche overclocking market.

Intel Core i9-12900KS 16 Core / 24 Thread Desktop CPU

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 cores and 8 Gracemont cores.

The P-cores (Golden Cove) will have a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.3 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 active cores and up to 3.7 GHz with all cores loaded. The CPU will have 30 MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 125W (PL1), but it is unclear whether the PL2 rating of 241W (MTP) will remain the same or will exceed 250W. 30 MB of L3 cache would be among the other features.

The Intel Core i9-12900K has an MSRP of $589 in the United States, therefore we may expect the Core i9-12900KS to be considerably more expensive. Keep an eye out for this chip at CES 2022, along with a slew of other announcements, so stay tuned on January 4th.

Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Desktop CPU Specs “Preliminary”

CPU Name	P-Core Count	E-Core Count	Total Core / Thread	P-Core Base / Boost (Max)	P-Core Boost (All-Core)	E-Core Base / Boost	E-Core Boost (All-Core)	L3 Cache	TDP (PL1)	TDP (PL2)	Expected (MSRP) Price
Core i9-12900KS	8	8	16 / 24	3.2 / 5.2 GHz	5.2 GHz	2.4 / 3.9 GHz	3.7 GHz	30 MB	125W	TBC	TBC
Core i9-12900K	8	8	16 / 24	3.2 / 5.2 GHz	5.0 GHz	2.4 / 3.9 GHz	3.7 GHz	30 MB	125W	241W	$599 US
Core i9-12900	8	8	16 / 24	2.4 / 5.1 GHz	TBA	1.8 / TBA GHz	TBA	30 MB	65W	~200W	TBA
Core i9-12900T	8	8	16 / 24	TBA / 4.9 GHz	TBA	TBA	TBA	30 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i7-12700K	8	4	12 / 20	3.6 / 5.0 GHz	4.7 GHz	2.7 / 3.8 GHz	3.6 GHz	25 MB	125W	190W	$419 US
Core i7-12700	8	4	12 / 20	2.1 / 4.9 GHz	TBA	1.6 / TBA GHz	TBA	25 MB	65W	~190W	TBA
Core i7-12700T	8	4	12 / 20	TBA / 4.7 GHz	TBA	TBA	TBA	25 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12600K	6	4	10 / 16	3.7 / 4.9 GHz	4.5 GHz	2.8 / 3.6 GHz	3.4 GHz	20 MB	125W	150W	$299 US
Core i5-12600	6	0	6 / 12	3.3 / 4.8 GHz	4.4 GHz	N/A	N/A	18 MB	65W	~200W	TBA
Core i5-12600	6	0	6 / 12	3.0/ 4.6 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12500T	6	0	6 / 12	TBA / 4.4 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i5-12400	6	0	6 / 12	2.5 / 4.4 GHz	4.0 GHz	N/A	N/A	18 MB	65W	~150W	TBA
Core i5-12400T	6	0	6 / 12	TBA / 4.2 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	18 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i3-12300	4	0	4 / 8	2.5 / 4.4 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	65W	~100W	TBA
Core i3-12200T	4	0	4 / 8	TBA / 4.2 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	35W	TBA	TBA
Core i3-12100	4	0	4 / 8	3.3 / 4.3 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	65W	~100W	TBA
Core i3-12100T	4	0	4 / 8	TBA / 4.1 GHz	TBA	N/A	N/A	12 MB	35W	TBA	TBA