While AMD prepares to give Intel a run for its money with the upcoming Ryzen 9 3950X, Intel is strutting its stuff as it keeps a hold on the high-end gaming market by announcing today a Special Edition of the Core i9-9900KS. It launches today, October 30th, and retail prices start at $513.00. It’s Intel’s most-powerful consumer gaming processor to date.
Special Edition Core i9-9900KS CPU
Very similar to the existing Core i9-9900K, except its binned, the Core i9-9900KS has a base clock speed of 4 GHz (up from 3.6 GHz on the 9900K), and a turbo boost of 5 GHz (particularly deft overclockers have managed to reach the fabled 5 GHz with a 9900K).
Alongside, it boasts 16 MB of Intel Smart cache, Z390 socket compatibility, and sixteen threads just like the 9900K, although it does up the TDP demands from 95 W to 127 W and offers forty PCIe lanes. Intel is also flogging it as a prime candidate for some serious overclocking.
For the occasion, Intel is banding about some figures to entice consumers over. The 9900KS is purported to be 27% faster when faced with side by side streaming and gaming, while it boasts 35% more FPS, and edits 4K video 17% faster. Not bad, until you see the comparisons – a three-year-old build and last generation hardware. It’s marketing fluff, so don’t let it sway your decision.
We expect a pretty limited run of the Special Edition Core i9-9900KS, so if interested, we’d recommend jumping in early to avoid disappointment.
Final Word
With the imminent arrival of the Ryzen 9 3950X and its 16-core, 32-thread performance, and lower price range, the timing of the Special Edition Core i9-9900KS may prove its downfall. It’s been pushed out to lure builders waiting on the Ryzen 3950X release, but we aren’t sure it packs enough to convert those on a budget.