Intel's Core i9-11900 which is an upcoming 8 Core Rocket Lake Desktop CPU has leaked out by HXL. The processor is a very early engineering sample that has been tested on the Intel 400-series board platform which more or less confirms that 11th Gen CPUs will be backward compatible on existing LGA 1200 socket motherboards.
Intel Rocket Lake Core i9-11900 8 Core Desktop CPU Tested on Z490 Platform, Leaked Benchmarks Show Early ES Chip With 4.4 GHz Boost Clock, Single-Threaded Performance On Par With Intel's 5.3 GHz Core i9-10900K
The Intel Core i9-11900 is one of the many Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs that will be featured in the 11th Gen lineup. We actually had a post on all of the models which you can read here. As for this particular chip, the Core i9-11900 is the lower TDP variation of the Core i9-11900K. It features 8 cores, 16 threads and will feature clock speeds rated at 1.8 GHz base, 4.4 GHz boost (1-core), and 3.8 GHz (all-core boost).
The main difference between the Core i9-11900K and the Core i9-11900 will be the clock speeds which are a result of the lower TDP. The Intel Core i9-11900K will rock the full 125W (PL1) TDP & Intel's Core i9-11900 will rock a more reasonable 65W (PL1) TDP. The Core i9-11900 will end up around 120-125W when it boosts to its max frequency while the Core i9-11900K will feature max TDP figures of up to 250W.
Intel 11th Gen Rocket Lake Desktop CPU Lineup Specs (Preliminary):
| CPU Name | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock (1-Core) | Boost Clock (All-Core) | Cache | Graphics | TDP (PL1) | TDP (PL2) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-11900K(F) | 8 / 16 | 3.50 GHz | 5.30 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 125W | 251W | $539 US (K) $513 US (KF) |
| Core i9-11900(F) | 8 / 16 | 2.50 GHz | 5.20 GHz | 4.70 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 65W | 224W | $439 US $422 US (F) |
| Core i9-11900T | 8 / 16 | 1.50 GHz | 4.90 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 35W | 115W | $439 US |
| Core i7-11700K(F) | 8 / 16 | 3.60 GHz | 5.00 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 125W | 251W | $399 US (K) $374 US (F) |
| Core i7-11700(F) | 8 / 16 | 2.50 GHz | 4.90 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 65W | 224W | $323 US $298 US (F) |
| Core i7-11700T | 8 / 16 | 1.40 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 16 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 35W | 115W | $323 US |
| Core i5-11600K(F) | 6 /12 | 3.90 GHz | 4.90 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 125W | 224W? | $262 US (K) $237 US (KF) |
| Core i5-11600 | 6 /12 | 2.80 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 65W | 154W | $213 US |
| Core i5-11600T | 6 /12 | 1.70 GHz | 4.10 GHz | 3.50 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 35W | 92W | $213 US |
| Core i5-11500 | 6 /12 | 2.70 GHz | 4.60 GHz | 4.20 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 65W | 154W | $192 US |
| Core i5-11500T | 6 /12 | 1.50 GHz | 3.90 GHz | 3.40 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 32 EU (256 Cores) | 35W | 92W | $192 US |
| Core i5-11400(F) | 6 /12 | 2.60 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 4.20 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 24 EU (192 Cores) | 65W | 154W | $182 US $157 US (F) |
| Core i5-11400T | 6 /12 | 1.30 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 3.30 GHz | 12 MB | Intel Xe 24 EU (192 Cores) | 35W | 92W | $182 US |
The CPU was tested on an MSI Z490I motherboard and the fact that it was able to run on the board confirms that Intel will allow backward compatibility of Rocket Lake 11th, Gen CPUs, on existing 400 series motherboards. There will also be 500-series motherboards to accompany the launch which as per our report arrive a whole two months earlier than the Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs. With that said, let's look at how the Core i9-11900 fares within benchmarks.
In CPU-z, the chip scores 582.1 points in the single-core and 5262 points in the multi-core tests. The Intel Core i9-10900K is the current flagship and boosts up to 5.3 GHz scores an average of 584 (1T) points while the Core i7-10700K scores 558 points. The Rocket Lake CPU is 4% faster than the Core i7-10700K and on par with the Core i9-10900K. Do note that both Comet Lake chips have clocks that exceed 5.0 GHz while the Rocket Lake chip has a 16-18% max clock speed deficit versus those chips. This definitely shows the impressive IPC gains that even the 65W Rocket Lake chips have to offer while the 125W parts will be exceeding those figures with ease.
Update: An updated benchmark has also been found by @OneRaichu which shows an even higher score for the Intel Core i9-11900. Here, the chip scores 597.3 points in single & 5686.2 points in the multi-threaded tests. The updated score puts the Core i9-11900 at a 7% lead over the 10700K and a 2% lead over the 10900K in single-core tests. The chip also ends up faster than the Core i7-10700K which has a higher all-core boost clock in multi-threaded tests.
Intel Core i9-11900 Rocket Lake CPU Leaked Benchmarks
Moving on to the multi-threaded benchmarks, the Core i9-10900K scores 7386 points while the Core i7-10700K scores 5661 points. Here, the Intel Core i7-10700K ends up 9% faster than the i9 Rocket Lake Desktop CPU while the Core i9-10900K leads much ahead owing to its 10 cores & 20 threads. The Intel Core i7-10700K once again has a much higher boost clock stability of 4.7 GHz versus the 3.8 GHz all-core boost of the Core i9-11900. Even with almost a 1 GHz difference, the Core i9-11900 coming this close to the Core i7-10700K shows a good sign for Intel's 11th Gen CPU family.
Here's Everything We Know About The 11th Generation Desktop CPUs
Intel's Rocket Lake-S desktop CPU platform will feature support on LGA 1200 socket which made its debut with the 10th Gen Comet Lake-S CPUs although on 400-series motherboards. The Intel Rocket Lake-S processors will be launching primarily for the 500-series motherboards but it has been confirmed that LGA 1200 motherboards will offer support for Rocket Lake-S CPUs, especially given the fact that PCIe Gen 4.0 is a prominent feature of Z490 motherboards which would only be enabled with the use of Rocket Lake-S desktop CPUs. Motherboard makers, especially ASUS will be paying extra attention in incorporating hardware-level integration of PCIe Gen 4 on their Z590 line of motherboards versus their Z490 lineup as we pointed out here.
Main features of Intel's Rocket Lake Desktop CPUs include:
- Increased Performance with new Cypress Cove core architecture
- Up to 8 cores and 16 threads (Double Digit IPC Gains Over Skylake)
- New Xe graphics architecture (Up To 50% higher Performance Than Gen9)
- Increased DDR4 3200 MHz Memory Support
- CPU PCIe 4.0 Lanes (Available on Z490 & Z590 Motherboards)
- Enhanced Display (Integrated HDMI 2.0b, DP1.4a, HBR3)
- Added x4 CPU PCIe Lanes = 20 Total CPU PCIe 4.0 Lanes
- Enhanced Media (12 bit AV1/HVEC, E2E compression)
- CPU Attached Storage or Intel Optane Memory
- New Overclocking Features and Capabilities
- USB Audio offload
- Integrated CNVi & Wireless-AX
- Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G)
- 2.5Gb Ethernet Discrete LAN
- Discrete Intel Thunderbolt 4 (USB4 Compliant)
The architecture for Rocket Lake CPUs is said to be Cypress Cove which is reportedly a hybrid between the Sunny Cove and Willow Cove design but will feature Xe Gen 12 GPU architecture. Intel's Core i9-11900K will be the flagship CPU offering in the lineup and expect more info on it soon.
Intel Mainstream CPU Generations Comparison:
| Intel CPU Family | Processor Process | Processor Architecture | Graphics Architecture | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | Platform | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Lake (12th Gen) | Intel 7 | Golden Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 16/24 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2021 |
| Raptor Lake (13th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen) | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 24/32 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Meteor Lake | Intel 4 | Redwood Cove (P-Core) Crestmont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 22/28 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Arrow Lake | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Arrow Lake Refresh | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe1 (Alchemist) | 24/24 | LGA 1851 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2026 |
| Lunar Lake | TSMC N3B | Lion Cove (P-Core) Skymont (E-Core) | Xe2 (Battlemage) | 8/8 | Mobile Only | LPDDR5X | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
| Panther Lake | Intel 18A | Cougar Cove (P-Core) Darkmont (E-Core) | Xe3 (Battlemage) | 16/16 | Mobile Only | LPDDR5/LPDDR5X | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2025 |
| Raptor Lake Next | Intel 7 | Raptor Cove (P-Core) Gracemont (E-Core) | HD 700 Series | 20/24 | LGA 1700/1800 | DDR5 / DDR4 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2027 |
| Nova Lake | Intel 18A | Coyote Cove (P-Core) Arctic Wolf (E-Core) | Xe3 (Battlemage) Xe3P (Celestial) | 52/52 | LGA 1954 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0 | 2027 |
| Razor Lake | Intel 18A? | Griffin Cove (P-Core) Golden Eagle (E-Core) | TBA | TBA | LGA 1954 | DDR5 | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2027 |
| Titan Lake | TBA | Copper Shark (Unified) Golden Eagle (E-Core) | TBA | TBA | Mobile Only | LPDDR6? | PCIe Gen 5.0? | 2028 |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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