Last year, Intel introduced its Raptor Lake CPU family as a part of a refresh under the 14th Gen branding. The lineup mostly retains the same core configurations besides one SKU while being mostly a clock lift update which is reminiscent of what Intel has done in the past. A +200 MHz clock speed is about as much as you would expect from the lineup. The company hoped that this would be enough to tackle the AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs, especially the newer X3D parts which are gaining a lot of recommendations within the gaming segment due to their impressive performance, pricing & efficiency.
But since Intel has simply upped the clock speeds without utilizing any new technologies (process, 3D V-Cache tech, etc), the extra performance would come at a thermal and power cost. So it's time to see what Intel's 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs have to offer. Following is what you should expect from the Intel 14th Gen CPU lineup:
Intel 14th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs Features:
- Same Architecture as Raptor Lake (Raptor Cove P-Cores + Gracemont E-Cores)
- Same Process Node as Raptor Lake (Intel 7 aka 10nm++)
- Higher Clock Speeds Beyond 6.0 GHz
- Support For Faster DDR5 Memory DIMMs
- Much Higher Power Consumption (Close To 300W)
- Compatibility With Existing LGA 1700 / 1800 Socket Motherboards
For this review. Intel sent us the Core i9-14900KS CPU which is the top of the line chip which retails for $699 US.
Intel's Raptor Lake-S desktop CPU platform features support on the LGA 1700 socket which is also used by the Alder Lake CPUs. You can find various motherboards under the 700 & 600 series that support the latest chips. There are refreshed designs with which you don't require a BIOS upgrade to support 14th Gen chips such as the Aorus Master X and then there are older designs that also support the chips but require a BIOS upgrade.
Another interesting thing to talk about the Z790 PCH is its process node and dimensions. The Z790 PCH is based on the 14nm node and measures at 98mm2 which is slightly larger than the Z590 PCH featured on LGA 1200 socket motherboards.
Intel Desktop Platform Chipset Comparison
| Chipset Name | Arrow Lake-S (ARL-S) PCH / 800 Series (Z890) | Raptor Lake-S (RPL-S) PCH / 700 Series (Z790) | Alder Lake-S (ADL-S) PCH / 600 Series (Z690) | Rocket Lake-S (RKL-S) PCH / 500 Series (Z590) | Comet Lake-S (CML-S) PCH / 400 Series (Z490) | Coffee Lake S (CFL-S) PCH / 300 Series (Z390/H370, B360, Q370, H310) | Coffee Lake S (KBL-R) PCH / Z370 Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 7nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 22nm |
| Processor | 24C, 20C, 14C, 12C, TBD) | 24,16C,12C,10C,6C,4C | 16C,12C,10C,6C,4C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 10C, 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C, 4C, 2C (Full corporate/consumer SKU stack at launch) | 8C, 6C, 4C (6 Consumer SKUs at Launch) |
| Memory | Up To DDR5-6400 (Native) | Up To DDR5-5600 (Native) Up To DDR4-3200 (Native) | Up To DDR5-4800 (Native) Up To DDR4-3200 (Native) | Up To DDR4-3200 (Native) | Up To DDR4-2933 (Native) | Up To DDR4-2666 (Native) | Up To DDR4-2666 (Native) |
| Media, Display & Audio | eDP / 4DDI (DP, HDMI) Display Capabilities | eDP / 4DDI (DP, HDMI) Display Capabilities | eDP / 4DDI (DP, HDMI) Display Capabilities | DP 1.2 & HDMI 2.0, HBR3 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON) 12-bit AV1/HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP With USB Audio offload SoundWire Digital Audio Interface | DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP SoundWire Digital Audio Interface | DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP SoundWire Digital Audio Interface | DP 1.2 & HDMI 1.4 HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 2.0a w/LSPCON) HEVC & VP9 10-bit Enc/Dec, HDR, Rec.2020, DX12 Integrated Dual-Core Audio DSP |
| I/O & Connectivity | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ 7 BT CNVio) with Gig+ Integrated SDXC 4.0 Controller Thunderbolt 4.0 | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ 7 BT CNVio) with Gig+ Integrated SDXC 4.0 Controller Thunderbolt 4.0 | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ 7 BT CNVio) with Gig+ Integrated SDXC 4.0 Controller Thunderbolt 4.0 | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20G) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi6E/ BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 Controller Thunderbolt 4.0 (Maple Ridge) | Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2 Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 Controller Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) w/ DP 1.4 | Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Integrated Intel Wireless-AC (Wi-Fi / BT CNVi) Integrated SDXC 3.0 Controller Thunderbolt 3.0 (Titan Ridge) w/ DP 1.4 | Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Thunderbolt 3.0 (Alpine Ridge) |
| Storage | PCIe 5.0 (CPU Lanes), 8x SATA 3.0 | Next-Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 5.0 (CPU Lanes), 6x SATA 3.0 | Next-Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 5.0, 6x SATA 3.0 | Next-Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 4.0, 6x SATA 3.0 | Next-Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 | Next Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 | Next Gen Intel Optane memory PCIe 3.0, 6x SATA 3.0 |
| Max PCH PCIe Lanes | Up To 24 (Gen 4) | Up To 20 (Gen 4) Up To 8 (Gen 3) | Up To 12 (Gen 4) Up To 16 (Gen 3) | Up To 24 (Gen 3) | Up To 24 (Gen 3) | Up To 24 (Gen 3) | Up To 24 (Gen 3) |
| Max CPU PCIe Lanes | Up To 20 (Gen 5) Up To 4 (Gen 4) | Up To 16 (Gen 5) Up To 4 (Gen 4) | Up To 16 (Gen 5) Up To 4 (Gen 4) | Up To 20 (Gen 4) | Up To 16 (Gen 3) | Up To 16 (Gen 3) | Up To 16 (Gen 3) |
| Max USB Ports | Up To 5 (USB 3.2 Gen 2z2) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 5 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 4 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 3 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x1) Up To 10 (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 10 (USB 3.2) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 10 (USB 3.1) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) | Up To 10 (USB 3.0) Up To 14 (USB 2.0) |
| Security | Intel TET Intel Boot Guard | N/A | N/A | N/A | Intel SGX 1.0 | Intel SGX 1.0 | Intel SGX 1.0 |
| Power Management | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C10 & S0ix Support for Modern Standby | C8 Support |
| Launch | 2024 | 2022 | 2021 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
LGA 1700 Socket - 14th, 13th & 12th Generation CPU Support
The Intel 14th Gen CPUs are the last desktop family to hit the LGA 1700 socket. The socket adds more pins to the socket and changes the dimensions entirely. The LGA 1700 socket offers 500 more pin connections to the CPU, allowing for more communication channels with the board itself and accommodating electrical pin configurations that are required to support 14th, 13th & 12th Gen CPUs.
The Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU is going to be a beast of a desktop chip in all regards. It will offer the highest clock speeds ever seen on a desktop CPU to date along with the highest power ratings that we have seen on a chip designed for a mainstream platform. The CPU is designed to cater to pure enthusiasts who are looking for the best binned dies to achieve the fastest overclocking results and performance possible.
- Up to 6.2 GHz max turbo frequency with Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost – the fastest desktop processor speeds available on the market.
- Twenty-four cores (eight performance cores and 16 efficient cores), 32 threads, 150-watt processor base power, 36MB Intel Smart Cache, and 20 PCIe lanes (16 PCIe 5.0 and four PCIe 4.0 lanes).
- Expanded Intel APO support for the i9-14900KS – providing up to 11% performance uplift in supported titles4. Intel is continuing to expand support for APO, which now includes 14 gaming titles.
- Support for up to 192GB of DDR5 5600 mega transfers per second (MT/s) or DDR4 3200 MT/s memory.
- Compatibility with Z790 and Z690 motherboards, with the latest BIOS, recommended for the best gaming and content creation experience.
Starting with the specifications, the Intel Core i9-14900KS is very similar to the Core i9-14900K & Core i9-13900KS/13900K chips that came before it. It features a total of 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores, a cumulation of 24 cores and 32 threads. The chip comes equipped with 32 MB of L2 cache & 36 MB of L3 cache. The clock frequencies are rated at 3.2 GHz base, a boost clock of 6.2 GHz for the P and 4.5 GHz for the E-Cores. The CPU also incorporates the Intel UHD Graphics 770 chip and offers 20 PCIe lanes with support for DDR5-5600/DDR4-3200 memory in up to 192 GB capacities (up to 256 GB with the latest BIOS).
As for the power draw, the Intel Core i9-14900KS CPU has a base power rating of 150W which is up to 253W (PL2) and multi-threaded workloads will see the chip exceed the 400W barrier as seen in early tests. The CPU will be priced at $699 US which is the same as the MSRP of Core i9-13900KS chips.
In terms of performance, Intel has compared the Core i9-14900KS against a range of AMD Ryzen 7000 offerings including the 7950X3D, 7950X, and the 7800X3D along with its 13900KS. The Core i9-14900KS offers up to 15% better gaming performance than the 13900KS and up to a 26% lead over the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is shown to be very competitive against the Core i9-14900KS given its price point in Intel's benchmarks but from a multi-threaded stand-point, the 14900KS should be a very powerful solution. It's up to 16% faster in multi-threaded apps versus the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-core CPU.
In addition to the flagship CPU, Intel is also announcing its latest APO (Application Optimization) games with 12 new verified titles which include:
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Marvel's Guardians of The Galaxy
- Watch Dogs: Legion
- World of Tanks
- World of Warcraft
- Dirt 5
- F1 22
- Dream Three Kingdoms 2
- Serious Sam 4 (VLK)
- Strange Brigade (VLK)
- World War Z
APO optimized the CPU so that games can take full advantage of the E-Cores onboard the chip for faster processing, enabling up to double-digit performance gains. The Intel Core i9-14900KS will be available now from leading retailers.
Intel 14th Gen CPUs Official Performance Versus The Competition
In terms of performance, Intel is claiming up to 23% performance gain and a 2.5% average gain for the Core i9-14900K CPU over the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D across several games at 1080P High. Intel goes on ahead to compare the 14900K against the Ryzen 9 7950X and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D where the chip seems to offer similar or better performance in both average FPS and 99th percentile lows however one major metric that isn't shown here is the gaming power efficiency which we know for certain is going to be strong on the Ryzen side.
Intel's 14th Gen CPUs are mostly going the brute force route by upping the clock speeds and that is going to result in more power draw and higher thermals than the competition since there are no major architectural or process node changes involved over the existing 13th Gen chips.
The blue team also compares the content creation performance across various applications which show the Core i9-14900K leading against the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and the Core i7-14700K nearing it in performance in multiple workloads. The Core i7-14700K also delivers up to 63% uplifts over the Core i7-12700K so it does seem to be a worthy upgrade over the 12th Gen i7 chips. Even i7-13700K owners would see a nice boost with the 14700K so if you were planning to buy the 13700K, you'd much rather buy the 14700K now since they'll both be priced the same.
Intel 14th gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPU Specs & Prices (Official):
| CPU Name | Cores | Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock | L2 / L3 Cache | TDP (PL1) / (PL2) | Price (RCP at Launch) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core i9-14900K | 8+16 (24) | 32 | 3.2 GHz | 6.0 GHz | 32 / 36 MB | 125W / 253W | $589 US |
| Core i9-13900K | 8+16 (24) | 32 | 3.0 GHz | 5.8 GHz | 32 / 36 MB | 125W / 253W | $589 US |
| Core i9-12900K | 8+8 (16) | 24 | 3.2 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 14 / 30 MB | 125W / 241W | $648 US |
| Core i9-14900KF | 8+16 (24) | 32 | 3.2 GHz | 6.0 GHz | 32 / 36 MB | 125W / 253W | $564 US |
| Core i9-13900KF | 8+16 (24) | 32 | 3.0 GHz | 5.8 GHz | 32 / 36 MB | 125W / 253W | $564 US |
| Core i9-12900KF | 8+8 (16) | 24 | 3.2 GHz | 5.2 GHz | 14 / 30 MB | 125W / 241W | $620 US |
| Core i7-14700K | 8+12 (20) | 28 | 3.4 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 28 / 33 MB | 125W / 253W | $409 US |
| Core i7-13700K | 8+8 (16) | 24 | 3.4 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 24 / 30 MB | 125W / 253W | $409 US |
| Core i7-12700K | 8+4 (12) | 20 | 3.6 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 12 / 25 MB | 125W / 190W | $450 US |
| Core i7-14700KF | 8+12 (20) | 28 | 3.4 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 28 / 33 MB | 125W / 253W | $384 US |
| Core i7-13700KF | 8+8 (16) | 24 | 3.4 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 24 / 30 MB | 125W / 253W | $384 US |
| Core i7-12700KF | 8+4 (12) | 20 | 3.6 GHz | 5.0 GHz | 12 / 25 MB | 125W / 190W | $422 US |
| Core i5-14600K | 6+8 (14) | 20 | 3.5 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 20 / 24 MB | 125W / 181W | $319 US |
| Core i5-13600K | 6+8 (14) | 20 | 3.5 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 20 / 24 MB | 125W / 181W | $319 US |
| Core i5-12600K | 6+4 (10) | 16 | 3.7 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 9.5 / 20 MB | 125W / 150W | $318 US |
| Core i5-14600KF | 6+8 (14) | 20 | 3.5 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 20 / 24 MB | 125W / 181W | $294 US |
| Core i5-13600KF | 6+8 (14) | 20 | 3.5 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 20 / 24 MB | 125W / 181W | $294 US |
| Core i5-12600KF | 6+4 (10) | 16 | 3.7 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 9.5 / 20 MB | 125W / 150W | $290 US |
The Intel 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs were tested on the GIgabyte Z790 AORUS Master X motherboard.
Wccftech Test Rig 2026:
| Processors | Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Intel Core Ultra 5 245K Intel Core i9-14900K Intel Core i7-14700K Intel Core i5-14600K Intel Core i9-13900K Intel Core i7-13700K Intel Core i5-13600K Intel Core i9-12900K Intel Core i7-12700K Intel Core i5-12600K AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D AMD Ryzen 9 9950X AMD Ryzen 9 9900X AMD Ryzen 7 9700X AMD Ryzen 5 9600X AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D AMD Ryzen 9 7950X AMD Ryzen 9 7900X AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D AMD Ryzen 7 7700X AMD Ryzen 5 7600X AMD Ryzen 9 5950X AMD Ryzen 9 5900X AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D AMD Ryzen 7 5800X AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z890 AORUS Master (Intel Core Ultra 200S) Gigabyte Z790 AORUS Master X (Intel 14th Gen) MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk (Ryzen 7000 X3D) MSI MEG Z790 ACE (Intel 13th Gen) ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E HERO (Ryzen 9000 & 7000) Z690 AORUS Master (Intel 12th Gen) ASRock X570S PG Riptide (Ryzen 5000 / X3D) MSI MEG X570S ACE (5600X3D) |
| Power Supply | MSI MEG Ai1600T PSU |
| Storage | Samsung 9100 Pro 1 TB Gen5 SSD |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO 32 GB (2x 16 GB) CL26 G.Skill Trident Z5 48 GB (2x 24 GB) CL40 8000 MT/s (Core Ultra 200S) G.SKILL Trident Z5 32 GB (2 x 16GB) CL36 7200 MT/s (Intel 12th/13th/14th Gen) G.SKILL Trident Z5 NEO 32 GB (2 x 16GB) CL36 6400 MT/s (AMD DDR5 Platforms) G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16 GB (2 x 8GB) CL17 4000 MT/s (DDR4 Platforms) |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X |
| Cooling Solutions | Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420mm AIO |
| OS | Windows 11 64-bit (25H2) |
Our test rig includes the Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB SSD that boots up our main OS while a 2 TB Seagate HDD is used for the storage of games and applications. In addition to these, we are running an MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X graphics card and an ASUS ROG Thor 1200W power supply. For this specific review, we used G.Skill's latest Trident Z5 NEO DDR5-6000 memory kit running at CL30 timings. We also got an AM5 mounting kit for the Corsair H150i to use as a cooling solution for our test setup.
3DMark CPU Profile Benchmark
Instead of producing a single number, the 3DMark CPU Profile shows you how your CPU's performance changes and scales with the number of cores and threads used. The 3DMark CPU Profile has six tests that help you benchmark and compare CPU performance for gaming and other activities.
3DMark CPU Profile (Max Threads) (Higher is Better)
Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.
Blender 2.8 (Lower is Better)
Cinebench 2024
Cinebench 2024 utilizes the power of Redshift, Cinema 4D's default rendering engine, to evaluate your computer's CPU and GPU capabilities. Cinebench 2024 is designed to accommodate a broad range of hardware configurations - while it seamlessly supports x86/64 architecture (Intel/AMD) on Windows and macOS.
Cinebench 2024 (Higher is Better)
Cinebench R23
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R23 (Higher is Better)
CPU-Z
CPUz is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system such as the Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache levels, Mainboard, chipset, Memory type, size, timings, and module specifications (SPD), and Real-time measurement of each core's internal frequency, memory frequency.
CPU-z (Higher is Better)
Geekbench 6
Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures your system's performance with the press of a button.
Geekbench 6 (Higher is Better)
HandBrake
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
Handbrake (Higher is Better)
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing, and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
PCMark 10 (Higher is Better)
POV-Ray
The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.
POV-Ray 3.7 (Higher is Better)
SuperPI
Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
SuperPi (Lower is Better)
WinRAR
WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can back up your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from the Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
Winrar 5.8 (Higher is Better)
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.
Battlefield V
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customizable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The game uses CD Projekt Red's in-house Red Engine which is one of the most visually breathtaking and also one of the most graphics-intensive engines designed to date.
Cyberpunk 2077
DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
DOOM Eternal
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 carries on the open-world racing tradition of the Horizon series. The latest DX12-powered entry is beautifully crafted, amazingly well executed, and a great showcase of DX12 games. We use the benchmark run while having all of the settings set to non-dynamic with an uncapped framerate to gather these results.
Forza Horizon 5
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra setting with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.
Metro Exodus
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It features huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed-out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2 is the latest addition to Valve's CS series with a complete visual overhaul, bringing the FPS to a new generation of gamers.
CS2
Intel's Core i9-14900KS has two power modes which we have tested, a standard "Performance" and a full power "Extreme" mode. The default mode is rated at a PL1 & PL2 rating of 253W with an ICCMax of 307A while the extreme mode is rated at a PL1 & PL2 rating of 320W with an ICCMax of 400A.
Power Consumption (Stock) Stress Test (Full system)
Power Consumption (Stock) Gaming Test
In terms of packaging, Intel's Raptor Lake Desktop CPUs ship with a Solder TIM interface and higher-quality gold plating under the IHS. The thermal testing was carried out with the Corsair H150i AIO liquid cooler:
Temperatures (Stock)
The Intel 14th Gen CPUs mark the end of the LGA 1700 platform and I must say that it has been a really good run for the blue team. Introducing its first hybrid desktop design, offering a huge jump in core counts, ramping up the clock speeds beyond 6 GHz, and offering a platform with a robust set of features.
The last hurrah for this platform comes in the form of the Intel Core i9-14900KS, a stupendously clocked chip that operates at up to 6.2 GHz and it's a king of the hill, dethroning the 14900K and several of the top-end AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs off of our multi-threading benchmarks suite. In terms of SKU-vs-SKU performance, the Core i9-14900KS is around 5% faster in multi-threading and about 2% faster in single-threaded applications which comes from the 3.3% clock speed bump and higher power limits.
What's interesting about the Intel Core i9-14900KS is that it has two modes, a default rating that sets the PL1 and PL2 directly at 253W and an extreme profile that essentially unlocks the full power limits by setting the PL1 & PL2 at 320W. This does give the CPU a whole lot of headroom but the gains are bare minimum at best. We saw at best a 1% gain which I think isn't that great when you factor in the higher wattage and temperatures that are associated with this chip. When it comes to cooling, this chip is just crazy hot, hovering over 95C in the default mode and almost touching 110C with the extreme profile.
I had to ramp up our test cooler up to 100% RPM to limit the temps below its 115C peak limit. This limit was also possible thanks to MSI's Fast Throttle Threshold feature on its top MEG Z790 boards. The motherboards also offer the P-Core Beyond 6.4 GHz features which squeezes additional clocks out of this chip but given that we were already struggling to keep this chip running at extreme modes, we avoided it for now (maybe we'll revisit this as an update to this review in the future).
For gaming performance, the Intel Core i9-14900KS is about as fast as you can get. It topples the Ryzen 7 7800X3D in several titles where it was leading over the 14900K and while the 3D V-Cache proves beneficial in certain games, the bigger advantage that you get with the 7800X3D is its price and efficiency. Those are two big reasons why gamers should consider the 7800X3D over the Core i9 chips. But going the 7800X3D route does nets you way slower multi-threaded app performance and the 14900KS is the faster solution versus AMD's top 7950X chip.
The one major issue that comes with such as power limits and temperatures is stability within games. We have encountered various issues running Core i9-14900K/13900K chips that occur over time and after prolonged uses. The auto/default settings on certain motherboards along with Intel's own high power limits can cause lots of instability while running games and many game developers have asked users with such chips to underclock/undervolt their chips to ensure good stability. The 14900KS already has high power limits and temperatures out of the box so as you use this chip, there are chances that stability can degrade over time leading you to underclock the chips below its rated clock frequencies.
The pricing of the Core i9-14900KS is set at $699 US ($671 US retail as of 3/31/24). This is a fairly large sum to pay for but here's the thing, some would see this as a killer multi-threaded chip and some enthusiasts/gamers will get this chip because it's the best of the crop but underneath all of these, the 14900KS is essentially a tuner's dream. It is a highly binned Raptor Lake silicon that has been made for overclockers and tuning specialists who want to set some records. There's also the fact that binned silicon is now harder to come by ever since the closure of the silicon lottery and this is why Intel knows that it can charge an extra sum for a chip that is fully unconstrained and meets the requirements of overclockers.
The Intel Core i9-14900KS is a very dangerous chip with a massively huge power envelope, crazy high temperatures, and speeds that would've been unheard of just a few years back. It takes a lot to tame this chip but for those who are experts, this is a dream chip to own and tune to your liking.
- For Tuners & Overclockers: Core i9-14900KS
- For Gamers: Ryzen 7 7800X3D / 14600K/13600K
- For Multi-Threaded Use: Ryzen 9 7950X / Core i9-14900K
- For Both Gaming & MT Use: Ryzen 9 7950X3D/7950X / 14900K/13900K
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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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