The month of main tech releases rolls on and this time Intel takes heart stage. As we speak marks the launch of Intel’s Thirteenth gen processor line-up. We’ve spent a while with each the Core i9-13900K and the Core i5-13600K and are able to share our first impressions on this assessment in progress.
The place’s the total assessment? As a result of a transport delay, our predominant testing motherboard nonetheless hasn’t arrived to us but. MSI was sort sufficient to ship over a Z790 Carbon WiFi for us to start our testing and share this primary entry within the assessment in progress. We’ll be coming again with a full assessment as soon as it arrives, giving us much more time to spend with these CPUs.
They’re spectacular, and Raptor Lake gave AMD’s 7000 collection a run for its cash within the checks we have been in a position to full. Is it sufficient to win the day? Learn on to seek out out.
Specs
Raptor Lake Made Actual
The launch of a brand new processor technology is all the time an thrilling time full of technological developments. Intel’s Thirteenth technology, also referred to as Raptor Lake, feels somewhat extra acquainted than most. It bears an in depth resemblance to final technology’s Alder Lake and comes extra shortly at its heels than we’re used to. Lower than a yr in the past, I used to be writing an analogous introduction to the i9-12900K and i5-12600K assessment, and should you’re acquainted with Intel’s method to that technology, the i9-13900K and i5-13600K are going to really feel like refreshes relatively than utterly new designs.
Like these CPUs, Raptor Lake brings again the hybrid structure which makes use of a mixture of Efficiency cores and Environment friendly cores to intelligently break up up duties. The Environment friendly cores, or E-cores, are designed to deal with lower-intensity duties, like background processors, in order that the Efficiency cores, P-cores, can keep centered on higher-intensity duties like gaming or video rendering. It’s a design that labored remarkably properly final technology to enhance and keep constantly excessive efficiency.
This does current some points in relation to evaluating processors, nevertheless. Whereas older designs allowed for easier one-to-one comparisons of X cores and 2X threads per processor, Raptor (and Alder) Lake shakes that up. The Core i9-9900K, for instance, was an 8-core, 16-thread CPU. It’s modern-day analog, the i9-13900K is a 24 core (8P+16E) and 32 threads. The mathematics and explaining how all of this works to a brand new PC builder isn’t almost as straightforward, however the efficiency is there the place it counts.
However for the entire architectural design it shares, the Core i9-13900K and Core i5-13600K carry some notable enhancements. Each processors have obtained bumps in core rely and frequency, with the i9 leaping from 16 to 24 cores and the i5 from 10 to 14. The i9-13900K now achieves a lift frequency of 5.8 GHz, up from the 12900K’s 5.1 GHz increase velocity. The i5-13600K is a little more modest at 5.1 GHz, up from final technology’s 4.9 GHz.
Each processors have additionally obtained bumps of their shops of L2 and L3 cache. For L3 cache, the 13900K has elevated 6MB and the 13600K is up 4MB, placing them at 36MB and 24MB respectively. L2 cache has been way more dramatically elevated. Every processor’s L2 provide has greater than doubled, coming in at 32MB and 20MB respectively. That’s an enchancment of 10.5MB on the 13600K and 16MB on the 13900K.
PCI Specific lanes are equivalent between the twelfth and Thirteenth gen. If you happen to select to improve to the Z790 platform, which isn’t required, the chipset may also present an extra eight PCIe 4.0 lanes, bringing you to a complete of 28 lanes supplied by the chipset (20 x 4.0, 8 x 3.0) and 20 (16 x 5.0, 4 x 4.0) supplied by the CPU.
These will increase provide measurable outcomes. Based mostly on the specs alone, if the 12900K was near the highest of the efficiency charts, the 13900K scramble even tougher for the primary spot. And, spoiler alert, it completely does, at the very least in our early testing on our short-term check motherboard.
This added efficiency comes at a value: energy and warmth. Whereas each chips have obtained frequency will increase, they’ve additionally had their energy limits raised. The 13900K has a most turbo energy score of 253 watts. That’s an excellent step up from its greatest competitor, the 7950X, which is additionally pretty power-hungry at 230 watts of most socket energy (170W). The 13600K is much less at 181 watts, however that’s nonetheless pretty excessive when you think about that that is “solely” an i5 chip. The bottom energy of every processor is 125 watts however contemplate these a baseline.
There’s a way right here that Intel is brute forcing its option to the highest of the efficiency charts. It’s nonetheless working on an older 10nm node and might’t but leverage the ability effectivity developments of its upcoming Meteor Lake structure. So we have now extra energy and extra frequency.
It really works — and for gaming, these frequency bumps pay dividends as you’ll see under — however you’ll want a strong CPU cooler to essentially maintain these chips in examine. The 13900K often hit 100C in our testing, even with our 360mm Corsair H150i Elite LCD CPU cooler. Its excessive TDP calls for a high-performance liquid cooler. The 13600K offers you extra wiggle room, however these should not chips to make use of with a single-tower air coolers. They will and can throttle, particularly the 13900K, which is cash wasted on efficiency you’ll by no means see. Plan accordingly.
However, with all of that in thoughts, Intel has a compelling proposition right here. The Core i9-13900K is positioned straight in opposition to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. AMD’s flagship at the moment retails for $699+. The 13900K runs scorching, however at solely $589, it’s in a spot the place it actually doesn’t have to be good to be an attractive purchase.
The Core i5-13600K falls between the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X and manages to really feel like an distinctive selection in opposition to both of them. It has way more cores and threads than the 7600X for under $20 extra. It nonetheless has extra cores than the 7700X and clock speeds that come shut (inside overclock territory) for $80 much less. Both method, that 13600K is wanting good.
Intel can be breaking the mildew by persevering with help for the Z690 platform alongside the brand new Z790 chipset. The brand new chipset presents extra PCIe lanes and improved reminiscence help, but when you have already got a Z690 motherboard, you’ll be able to slot in certainly one of these new CPUs without having to improve your complete PC. Each platforms may also provide continued choices for DDR4 and DDR5 reminiscence, so that you gained’t want to right away soar out and purchase a brand new package. Meaning extra potential financial savings, on high of decrease CPU value.
All in all, whereas the structure is acquainted, Intel has executed an excellent job of creating this an fascinating technology all the identical.
Let’s discuss efficiency.
Intel Core i9-13900K and Core i5-13600K – Gaming Benchmarks
As I discussed on the high of this assessment, our new benchmarking platform hasn’t arrived but, however there was no method we have been going to go away these chips within the field whereas we waited. We couldn’t go too deep with out that platform, however for launch, we needed to just remember to had some core gaming benchmarks to whet your whistle whereas we look forward to the mainboard and testing to finish.
Right here’s the way it carried out.
Check Benches:
AMD Check System #1: MSI X670 MEG Ace Motherboard, Corsair H115i RGB Platinum AIO, Corsair DDR5-6000 Vengeance RGB Reminiscence (32GB), Nvidia RTX 3090, Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB, Corsair HX-1000i Energy Provide, Home windows 11 (absolutely up to date).
AMD Check System #2: Gigabyte X570 AORUS Grasp Motherboard, Corsair H115i RGB Platinum AIO, Corsair Vengeance Professional RGB DDR4-3600 (64GB), Nvidia RTX 3090, Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB, Corsair HX-1000i Energy Provide, Home windows 11 (absolutely up to date).
Intel Check System #1: MSI Z790 MPG Carbon WiFi, Corsair iCUE Elite LCD 360mm, Corsair DDR5-6000 Vengeance RGB Reminiscence (32GB), Nvidia RTX 3090, Samsung 970 Professional NVMe 1TB, Corsair HX-1050 1050 Watt Energy Provide, Home windows 11 (absolutely up to date).
Intel Check System #2: ASUS Z490 Maximus XII Excessive, Corsair iCUE Elite LCD 360mm, G.Talent TridentZ Royal DDR4-3600MHz 32GB DRAM Equipment, Nvidia RTX 3090, Samsung 970 Professional NVMe 1TB, Corsair HX-1050 1050 Watt Energy Provide, (absolutely up to date).
Breaking this down, the 13900K averaged 5% quicker than the 12900K throughout these seven video games, 8% quicker than the Ryzen 9 7950X, and 15% quicker than final technology’s 5950X.
The 13600K, then again, averaged 6% quicker than the last-gen 12600K and the Ryzen 5 7600X. It was 5% quicker than the Ryzen 7 7700X.
For pure gaming, these numbers positively level to the 13900K being a brand new chart topper. It will fluctuate throughout video games, after all, and the opposite parts in your system. However should you’re searching for the most effective, and are in a position to cool it, the 13900K can positively commerce blows with AMD’s flagship and internet some spectacular leads on sure video games.
Last Ideas (For Now)
Gaming efficiency is just one small factor to assessing a brand new processor technology, so we will’t draw any conclusions but. We’ll work diligently to finish the checks as quickly as the brand new motherboard for this technology arrives, however the Intel’s Thirteenth-gen is off to a promising begin. Now to see the way it fares in actual world and artificial benchmarks.
The product described on this article was supplied by the producer for analysis functions.
