For several generations of their desktop processor releases, Intel has made available a selection of high-performance special edition “KS” CPUs that offer a little extra boost over their flagship chip. With a lot of interest, primarily from those looking for the fastest processors, Intel's latest Core i9-14900KS in its 14th generation Core lineup boasts an out-of-the-box turbo clock of up to 6.2 GHz. Represents a very rapid increase with speed. And represents the last processor to end an era as Intel drops the 'i' from its legendary name for future desktop chip releases.

Reaching speeds of up to 6.2 GHz, this sets the Core i9-14900KS as the fastest desktop CPU in the world right now, at least in terms of out-of-the-box frequency. Building on its 'regular' flagship chip, the Core i9-14900, the Core i9-14900KS also uses its refreshed Raptor Lake (RPL-R) 8P+16E core chip design with a 200 MHz higher boost clock speed. . 100 MHz bump to P core base frequency.

This new KS series SKU reflects Intel's drive to offer a faster alternative to its desktop regular K series offerings, and with the Core i9-14900KS, it delivers the best silicon from its Raptor Lake Refresh series. Want more performance available. who can. The caveat is that getting those ridiculous 6.2 GHz clock speeds on the P-Core comes at the cost of power and heat. Pulling a processor above 350W is a challenge in itself, and consumers need to factor that in if they're even considering considering a KS series SKU.

In our previous KS series review, the Core i9-13900KS reached 360 W at its peak, significantly higher than the Core i9-13900K. The Core i9-14900KS, built on the same core architecture, is expected to outperform the Core i9-14900K as well. Our goal is to compare Intel's latest Core i series processors to the best available from both Intel and AMD, and it will be interesting to see how much performance can be boosted from the KS over the regular K series SKU.

Intel Core i9-14900KS: Raptor Lake at 6.2 GHz out of the box

Over the past few years, AMD and Intel engineers have been competing to best each other in various metrics, such as core count, IPC performance, and price. A cocktail of core count and frequency sometimes achieves flagship status by itself, though this is usually reserved for the top SKU of any given CPU family. Intel and AMD usually churn out new silicon to try and beat each other in both metrics, including an abundance of cores with big and bold clock speeds. Over the past couple of years, both Intel and AMD have tested what their silicon can do to outperform their peers, and the Intel Core i9-14900KS is no different in that regard.

So what makes the Intel Core i9-14900KS a special edition SKU? Well, first of all, it has a maximum boost clock speed of up to 6.2 GHz on two of the performance (P) cores. It's fast, pushing Raptor Lake silicon to its limits on ambient cooling methods. Extreme overclockers can go beyond 6.2 GHz, but the key to the KS series is the robust silicon that can handle those overclocks. This does not necessarily mean that all Core i9-14900KS chips will be manually overclocked more than Core i9-14900K chips. Still, using the binning process to polish the weaker silicone for the KS series means you're in a solid position to find a better model.

Outside of the P-Core Dual Core Turbo clock speed bump of 200 MHz on the Core i9-14900K, the two chips are virtually identical, as we saw between the previous generation Core i9-13900KS and Core i9-13900K. Technically, the 14th Gen series is, for the most part, just a refresh of the 13th Gen with a better voltage-to-frequency (V/F) curve, slightly more overclocks on the early 14th Gen K-series chips, and KS. of the. series, industry-leading turbo frequencies that no other company can come close to rivaling.

Another improvement over the Core i9-14900K is a 100 MHz bump in E-core base frequencies, up to 4.5 GHz on the Core i9-14900KS. Both chips have the same 36 MB L3 cache with Intel's UHD 770 integrated graphics. The big difference, tied to the P-core Turbo and higher bump at base frequencies, is a change in TDP rating of 150 W to the base TDP, which is 25 W higher than the base TDP on the Core i9-14900K.

Core i9-14900KS, as shown in CPU-Z.

On top of that is an Extreme Power Profile, which motherboards also implement. This profile has a peak TDP of 320 W, which is naturally higher than the rated 253 W TDP of the Core i9-14900KS, but it also has a capacity of up to 400 A. This is Intel's recommended specification for this chip, but as far as we know Our reporting of instability concerns with Intel's 14th and 13th gen chipspremium Z790 motherboards are very likely to go far beyond these specifications.

An important factor to consider is motherboard vendors and their MCE implementation, which typically provide more power to the chip than Intel specifies to keep its boards ahead of the competition. The Core i9-14900KS is essentially a “special bundle” version of the regular Core i9-14900K. Intel is testing multiple batches of chips capable of reaching 6.2 GHz P-Core Turbo clock speeds without encountering significant errors. Binning is a quality control process that separates weaker chips from more capable silicon, because manufactured chips are not all created equal.

Cooling is perhaps the most important aspect with KS processors, including the latest Core i9-14900KS. To achieve optimal performance, users should use top-of-the-line, high-end cooling solutions, such as custom water cooling loops or even Intel's (now discontinued) Cryogenic Adapted Cooler. Interestingly, EKWB now offers its EK-Quantum Delta TEC D-RGB solution after Intel abandoned cryo-cooling development. This solution will likely be better for the Core i9-14900KS than a traditional AIO CPU cooler. It's not easy to keep a processor cool while drawing 375W, let alone keep it cool for long, so users should consider this.

The Core i9-14900KS is hitting 6.2 GHz on two P-cores as advertised (Core 4 and 5).

That's why the Intel Core i9-14900KS 6.2 GHz P-Core Turbo state relies on Intel's Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) feature. This highest clock speed is not available unless there is sufficient thermal headroom to drive it higher. Otherwise, users who cannot adequately cool the chip for maximum clock speeds are likely to be limited to the original Turbo Boost Max 3.0 frequency of 5.9 GHz, which is the same as the Core i9-14900K and Core i9-14900K. But only 100 MHz above the 5.8 GHz limit. i9-14900KF processors. So, overall, cooling or more than enough cooling can keep things under control when the Core i9-14900KS goes beyond 375-400 W, which is how to take advantage of the extra performance available through higher core clock speeds. Is.

When it comes to choosing between the Intel Core i9-14900KS, which is currently available on Amazon $664, and the regular Core i9-14900 K, which still runs faster at 6.0 GHz than the KS at 6.2 GHz, is available for $545, $119 less than the KS. This price difference between the two chips significantly affects the current economic environment. Paying extra for the Core i9-14900KS guarantees that it's able to handle the extra clock speed given the extra demands on thermals and power, and whether or not the higher performance potential outweighs the cost. That's what we intend to find out in this Core i9-14900KS review.

Before we delve into what is the ultimate review of Intel processors with the iconic Core i series name, we want to address something that came between that review and the one in between. Our review of the Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K, and Core i5-14600K was published last year..

Stability Concerns: Intel Addresses 14th and 13th Gen Issues

Intel has released a statement. Advising users not to use baseline power delivery profiles offered by motherboard vendors through firmware updates. Instead, Intel recommends using the Intel Default Settings to achieve the advertised clock speed without worrying about firmware optimizations, which can cause instability. This has become a hot topic (pun intended) as many users are experiencing instability on 14th and 13th Gen Core series processors even using the default settings provided by motherboard vendors, which we note. do not have Intel default settings.

Intel Default Settings offers a combination of thermal specifications and power capabilities based on the motherboard's capabilities and power delivery, including voltage and frequency curve settings. Intel advises users of the 14th- and 13th-Gen Core series K, KF, and KS SKUs not to use the baseline profiles offered by motherboard vendors.

This raises questions when it comes to testing and reviewing Intel's 14th and 13th gen processors. We're considering our approach to this, as we'll typically test at default motherboard settings with memory set to JEDEC specifications for the particular processor we're testing. For this review, we'll be testing how we normally test, as it fits into the realm of keeping things consistent.

We will continue to look at how and best way to resolve performance issues, especially with Intel recommending the Intel Default settings. We take this as a statement of intent recommending their default specifications, which will undoubtedly affect how we evaluate Intel processors in the future. We will retest Intel processors using Intel default specifications before the launch of the next generation of processors from Intel and AMD.