Intel Core i9-13900K Breaks Several Overclocking Records: Fastest Desktop CPU?

Intel recently announced its latest flagship desktop gaming CPU -- Core i9-13900K with more cores and higher clock speeds in contrast to the Intel Core i9-12900K. During Intel Creator Challenge Finale, enthusiasts successfully overclocked the Intel Core i9-13900K using liquid nitrogen, achieving a peak clock speed of 8.2 GHz.

Allen 'Splave' Golibersuch has officially overclocked the Intel Core i9-13900K using liquid nitrogen (LN2), where a single core was able to achieve a peak clock speed of 8.2GHz, while the rest of the cores were also running at 5.7 to 6.3 GHz clock speed.

This makes the Intel Core i9-13900K one of the fastest mainstream processors, which has outdone CPUs like the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and even the Intel Core i9-12900K, which have achieved a peak clock speed of 7.47GHz, and 7.9GHz according to HWBot.

Overclocker Splave was able to increase the clock speeds by 41 percent when compared to the official claimed figures. This is an output of Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) technology, which allows the primary CPU core to run at a much higher clock speed when compared to the rest of the cores.

So, Is It The Fastest Desktop CPU?

No, it's actually not. That medal still lies with the older AMD FX 8370 with a peak clock speed of 8.7GHz. However, in the last few years, Intel has been churning out CPUs that offer much higher single-core clock speeds when compared to the AMD Ryzen, which seems to be focused on delivering multi-core performance over higher clock speeds.

Should You Care?

If you are an overclocking enthusiast, then the Intel Core i9-13900K does look like a great CPU to get, especially considering the fact that it costs a lot less than the Intel Core i9-12900K. However, do note that you won't be able to attain and maintain these clock speeds using an AIO, hence, most users won't be able to get any benefits from the peak recorded clock speed of a CPU.

However, the Intel Core i9-13900K already has a max turbo frequency of 5.8GHz, which makes it a pretty fast processor, especially when it comes to single-core performance-dependent tasks like gaming.

Via