Intel 13th gen CPUs launch with big boosts – should AMD be worried?
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After months of leaks and speculation, Intel has officially announced its 13th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, giving us (and its rival AMD) a glimpse of what to expect.
Formerly known as ‘Raptor Lake’, Intel’s 13th Gen processors will once again use Intel’s hybrid design, with a mix of Performance cores and Efficient cores, smartly indenting depending on what kind of task you’re using the CPU for, with Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 that helps identify the best performing Performance (P-Cores) cores.
Intel’s previous 12th generation ‘Alder Lake’ CPUs also used this design, but the company claims that this new generation will benefit from more Efficient cores (E-Cores), allowing for more Intel Smart Cache (L3) for improved performance, especially with large data sets and the L2 cache has been increased to speed up data transfer between cache and memory. This could again lead to better performance.
The specifications
Intel 13th Gen Core CPUs support up to 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes and support DDR5 memory up to 5600 MT/s. Unlike rival AMD, which only supports the new RAM standard on its new Ryzen 7000 chips, Intel 13th gen processors will continue to support DDR4 RAM.
Integrated Intel UHD Xe graphics support up to 8K at 60 Hz, or up to four 4K displays at 60 Hz, and there will also be integrated Wi-Fi support for Wi-Fi 6 and the newer Wi-Fi 6E standards.
The flagship Intel Core i9 chips come with 24 processor cores consisting of eight P-cores and 16 E-cores, while the i7 chips come with 16 cores (eight P-cores and eight E-cores) and the i5 chips will ship with 14 cores (six P-cores and eight E-cores).
See the table below for full specifications:
| Intel Core i9K and i9KF | Intel Core i7K and i7KF | Intel Core i5K and i5KF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum turbo frequency [GHz] | Up to 5.8 | Up to 5.4 | Up to 5.1 |
| Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency [GHz] | Up to 5.7 | Up to 5.4 | N/A |
| Performance Core Max Turbo Frequency [GHz] | Up to 5.4 | Up to 5.3 | Up to 5.1 |
| Efficient Core Max Turbo Frequency [GHz] | Up to 4.3 | Up to 4.2 | Up to 3.9 |
| Performance Core Base Frequency [GHz] | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Efficient Base Frequency [GHz] | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| Processor cores (P cores + E cores) | 24 (8P+16E) | 16 (8P+8E) | 14 (6P+8E) |
| Total Processor Threads | 32 | 24 | 20 |
| Intel Smart Cache (L3) Size [MB] | 36MB | 30MB | 24MB |
| Total L2 cache size [MB] | 32MB | 24MB | 20MB |
| Enhanced Intel UHD Graphics powered by Xe Architecture | i9K: Intel UHD Graphics 770 i9KF: no | i7K: Intel UHD Graphics 770 i7KF: no | i5K: Intel UHD Graphics 770 i5KF: no |
Analysis: The pressure is on Intel
The launch of the 13th Gen Core comes at a pivotal time for Intel. While it’s still arguably the industry leader in the CPU space, that lead has been eroded over the years by a resurgent AMD, which has released a range of acclaimed processors.
In fact, just the day before Intel’s 13th-generation announcement, ratings for AMD’s 7000-series CPUs dropped — and AMD continued its winning streak, with both the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X chips getting rare five-star reviews from us. , the latter that we now think is the best processor you can buy right now.
So Intel should really impress us with its 13th generation. There are some interesting differences between the two. For starters, Intel continues with its hybrid design, while AMD sticks to a more traditional approach, which it says gives the performance advantage.
But by supporting cheaper DDR4 RAM and the ability to install 13th generation processors in both the new 700 series motherboards and the older 600 motherboards, Intel is making upgrading to the new CPUs easier and cheaper.
Meanwhile, if you want to use a new AMD CPU, you’ll need to buy new DDR5 RAM and a new motherboard, which can greatly increase the potential price of this upgrade.
It will all come down to price and performance. AMD has hit the ground running with a new generation of processors that perform brilliantly and cost less than their predecessors.
Intel, meanwhile, will sell their flagship Core i9-13900K processor for $589 starting October 20, which is the same launch MSRP of its Alder Lake Core i9-12900K, so the Core i9-13900K will sell for $110 less than AMD’s flagship Ryzen. 9 7950X, but for $40 more than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X.
We won’t know how well these chips perform until we get them in for our full reviews, but the 13th Gen Core CPUs will have to pull out all the stops if they’re to end AMD’s momentum.