Intel Core i9-12900KS listed at Newegg for $799
The previous unknowns of the Core i9 have now been confirmed.
Share this article...
WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
The Intel Core i9 12900KS listed at $799. Newegg is one of the biggest PC part retailers in the US, and today it added the Core i9-12900KS to its inventory. Much of the CPU’s specifications have been clouded in mystery until now, such as price and TDP.
Want to know what our top picks for the best Intel CPUs are? We have an article for that, or maybe the best 12th gen motherboard article will intrigue you?
The Core i9-12900KS has a rather impressive list of specifications:
- P-cores: 8
- E-cores: 8
- Threads: 24
- E-core clock speed: 2.5 / 4.0 (GHz)
- P-core clock speed: 3.4 / 5.5 (GHz)
- L2 cache: 14MB
- L3 cache: 30MB
- Base CPU power: 150W
- Max turbo power: 241W
- iGPU: UHD770
A tweet from one of our favourite leakers @momomo_us confirms:
There are some impressive specifications there, specifically the maximum boost frequency on the performance cores. The maximum we have seen so far is 5.2GHz and that speed belonged to the 12900K. The 12900KS, however, manages a massive 5.5GHz clock speed.
Performance cores aren’t the only cores seeing a boost though. On average we are seeing 100MHz faster efficiency cores over the 12900K. Newegg however, claims that all this power comes at a 241W cost, not 250W as we previously thought.
E-cores and P-cores
If you’re new to intel’s 12th generation CPUs, things are a little different this time around. Briefly, CPU cores are split into E cores (efficiency) and P cores (performance). These cores do exactly what they say on the tin. Some cores are designed for efficiency and some performance, it’s up to the operating system to decide which core a task needs.
Only the P-cores are hyperthreaded, that’s why you can see some 16 core 24 thread CPUs out in the wild.
The aim was to increase power efficiency but still maintain that hard-hitting performance we have come to know from Intel, and it’s safe to say that Intel succeeded.
Final word
This early Newegg listing may suggest a release date in close proximity. We don’t have a confirmed or even a suggested release date yet but we will confirm as soon as we do.
The Core i9-12900KS listed at $799, which is $210 more than the original i9-12900. Will it be worth the eye-watering price tag? Only time will tell. This CPU is definitely high end and may be the best choice for users wanting the best out-of-the-box performance.
