In the world of computer silicon, speed is king, which means every company with a foundry likes to make claims about its latest and greatest. Intel is no different and this week has announced its new 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS Special Edition.
The company claims that this is the “world’s fastest desktop processor.”
As Engadget correctly notes, the new 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS Special Edition features the same 16-core architecture as the i9-1200K, with it split evenly between efficiency and performance cores.
“It delivers up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency — in spec with Intel Thermal Velocity Boost and features Intel Adaptive Boost Technology (Intel ABT) to provide the ultimate gaming experience,” the company pointed out in a press release.
As such, this new CPU is aimed squarely at the PC gaming community.
“The unlocked i9-12900KS processor is the ultimate processor for enthusiasts and gamers who want the fastest processor available. With 16 cores (eight Performance-cores and eight Efficient-cores) and 24 threads, and up to 5.5 GHz max turbo frequency, 150W processor base power and 30MB Intel Smart Cache for even more gaming power and performance,” Intel highlighted.
“Intel continues to push the envelope for desktop gaming with the new 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900KS processor. Based on Intel’s 12th Gen performance hybrid architecture, this processor can hit 5.5 GHz on up to two cores for the first time, giving the most extreme gamers the ability to maximize performance,” Marcus Kennedy, GM of Gaming, Creator & Esports Segment at Intel, added.
Whether gamers will want to reach for Intel silicon remains to be seen, especially given some of the waves that AMD has made of late. In fact, the company’s recently released Ryzen 7 5800X3D is said to be its “most advanced gaming desktop processor” to date.
For now we will need to wait to see what appetite is like for the 12th Gen Core i9-12900KS Special Edition, which is recommended to retail for $739 (~R10 788) and available in selected markets from 5th April. Local availability has not been disclosed at the time of writing.
