The i9-13900K
The Raptor Laking kingpin is powered by 24 (8+16) cores / 32 threads. The performance cores are based on the new Raptor Cove microarchitecture whereas the efficient cores utilize the old Gracemont architecture. The performance and efficient cores are rated at 3.0GHz and 2.2GHz which can go as high as 5.4GHz and 4.3GHz respectively. This CPU is packed with 68MB (36MB L3 + 32MB L2) of cache and consumes up to 253W of power (125W TDP). You can read more about this here.
Test Bench
Today’s test bench is not for leaks, but for a full-fledged review. We have the 13900K paired with an i9-12900KF on the other side for comparison purposes. In terms of RAM, both DDR5-6000 & DDR4-3600 memory are used. Motherboard wise, we see Z690 Taichi Razer Editon and an ‘unnamed’ Z790 motherboard. The CPUs are paired with AMD’s RX 6900XT and a top-of-the-line NZXT Kraken X73 AIO cooler cools this test bench.
Performance
1) Cinebench
Starting off, we have these CPUs tested across various versions of Cinebench (15,20,23). On average, Raptor Lake is 13% faster than Alder Lake in Single-core testing. ECSM then benchmarked only the efficient cores to show their performance. To our surprise Raptor Lake is yet again 14% faster than last-Gen despite not receiving an architectural upgrade. Multi-core performance wise, we see an on-average 1.48x performance increase between both generations. Do bear in mind, this is the unlimited power mode where the 13900K consumes upwards of 350W.
2) Multi-Threaded Summary (Across 21 Different Prgorams)
If we sum up all the tests conducted, then the i9-13900K 41.78% faster than last-Gen across multi-threaded workloads. The only test where it fails to show improvements is Photoworxx being on-par with the 12900K.
3) Gaming Benchmarks
Synthetic tests don’t show much and the real test for a CPU begins with e-sports titles such as CS : GO. The i9-13900K is 13% faster against Alder Lake (DDR5). In DDR4 testing, the 13900K is still ~11% faster than its last-Gen counterpart. In Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, we see the 13900K pull ahead by a 6% (DDR4+DDR5 Combined). This is still impressive because SOTTR is a AAA game where we more often than not are GPU-bound. Forza Horizon 5 sees the least difference in performance where the increment is no more than just 2 FPS, which is barely noticeable. ECSM after extensive testing came to this conclusion;
Summary
All in all, the improvements are decent for a generational leap. Besides, these numbers are competitive for AMD’s Zen4. Now the only thing left is the pricing. We expect Raptor Lake to cost more than last-Gen, however, slightly cheaper than AMD’s offerings. All credit goes to ECSM for the hardwork put into these tests. Give their post a read here.
