They test before everyone else: Two well-known leakers have reviewed Intel’s new top CPU even before the official unveiling. This is how good Intel’s Core i9-13900K is.
There is actually a clear procedure for the launch of new processors: First come leaks about features and performance, then the manufacturer introduces the new hardware, and then at release time tests are published by independent reviewers who check and rank the actual performance.
But why wait when you can publish a test before the official unveiling? The two well-known leakers Enthusiastic Citizen and OneRaichu have done just that. Over the weekend, they jointly published the first all-round review of Intel’s new top-of-the-line Core i9-13900K CPU, which is not expected to be released until next month, along with 12 other retail models.
The first test of the Core i9-13900K is more than just hot air.
Both leakers have been known for their mostly quite accurate predictions and assessments in the past, which is why the review of the processor can be taken quite seriously.
And apparently the two have not even violated Intel’s guidelines with the test. Only reviews that use a new motherboard with a Z790 chipset are embargoed by Intel.
However, the leakers used an older Z690 motherboard for their test and thus, technically speaking, adhered to Intel’s guidelines. A test with a Z790 chipset will follow at a later date.
In addition to the motherboard, both older DDR4 RAM and the newer DDR5 RAM were used for the review. The latter clocked at a rate of 6000 MT/s – and thus moved above the natively supported clock of 5600 MT/s.
The Intel Core i9-13900K in the first test: strong performance in multi-threading
It should come as no surprise that the Core i9-13900K can beat its predecessor in both single- and multi-thread performance. But how high the multi-thread performance actually turns out to be. Thanks to the increase of the small E-cores designed for multitasking from 8 to 16, the i9-13900K achieves an average increase of 42 percent with unlimited power consumption. In single-thread applications, a solid 12.5 per cent more is possible.
Of course, the gaming performance of the CPU is particularly relevant for gamers. In most games, the graphics card is the limiting factor. Nevertheless, in individual titles and at low resolutions, the processor can also provide the FPS upper limit.
For example, in Counter Strike: Global Offensive, which was tested by the leakers. At Full HD to QHD resolution, between 11 and 14 percent more FPS are possible here, depending on the RAM used. In addition, low outliers (the bottom 0.1 percent) are raised significantly thanks to the larger cache.
The catch? To achieve the better performance, the Core i9-13900K also requires more power. Under load, the processor requires up to 253 watts, in Unlimited Power Mode this value even rises to 343 watts.
In addition, gamers should only benefit from the plus to a small extent. The results in Counter Strike are a rare scenario, hand-picked for the test. And the increase from 670 to 760 FPS (FHD, DDR5) achieved in the benchmark should hardly be noticed even by the most sensitive gamers.
How do you see the whole thing? Were you surprised by the results of the test? Or does the Core i9-13900K meet your expectations? And how trustworthy do you think the results of the two leakers are? Drop us a line in the comments
