Intel’s supercharged variant of 14900K CPU spotted with a 6.2GHz boost, but keep an eye on your power bill
Intel’s Core i9-14900KS, a supercharged version of the Raptor Lake Refresh flagship processor, was rumored to arrive early this year, and now we’ve seen another glimpse of this theoretical CPU.
Previously we were treated to a photo of the Core i9-14900KS – a production version of the chip, we should add – and now we have a leak from the OCCT database (a benchmark and stability testing tool).
i9-14900KShttps://t.co/6BuMmqbvmY pic.twitter.com/HentGuDkNCFebruary 13, 2024
As spotted by Benchleaks on X (formerly Twitter), the leak offers the alleged specs of the 14900KS. As previously rumored, the processor is shown with the ability to boost up to 6.2 GHz, which is 200 MHz faster than the existing 14900K flagship.
While we all need to season this appropriately, the new leak once again underlines the existence of the 14900KS, and also indicates that it is a production sample of the silicon. That means a release should in theory be close, but we can’t get carried away with those speculations yet.
Analysis: Intel KS’ing again
So all signs point to a release for the Core i9-14900KS in the near future, which wouldn’t be a huge surprise. After all, Intel has been releasing these ‘KS’ flagship versions for the past two generations (since Alder Lake arrived with hybrid technology – and before that with the 9900KS).
There are certainly those who doubt that Intel might need a ‘KS’ version for this generation, but in any case it is a potential way to generate some more sales among PC enthusiasts who are not afraid of high price tags.
While the prospect of 8 performance cores at 6.2 GHz with a 14th generation chip is appealing at first glance, there are of course reasons to be wary.
For starters, this is going to be hot – the leak shows a CPU reaching almost 410W when pressed, which is an eye-opener. Rumor has it that base TDP will be 150W, compared to 125W for the flagship 14900K (although that base power consumption could be vastly exceeded, as we see in the leak). Be that as it may, that extra 200MHz will come at a price in terms of the power required to drive the extra clock frequency.
The Core i9-14900KS will therefore require serious cooling, and as always with these supercharged flagship variants, it will, as mentioned, be very pricey. That won’t deter the aforementioned enthusiasts, no doubt, but for gamers there will be better choices among the best processors out there – whether that’s a Ryzen 7800X3D, or even a more affordable Ryzen 7700X, which is still an excellent choice for PC -gaming.
The 14900KS’s grunt – if it shows up at all – is probably best used by those tackling heavier tasks or delving into creativity (and gaming too).
Through VideoCardz