• Intel has released its beastly 14th Gen i9-14900KS onto the world with a ludicrous max turbo frequency of 6.2GHz.
• When hitting that frequency, the CPU is expected to draw as much as 253W.
• The CPU launches in the US at a price of $699.

Extreme. That’s the best way to describe a new CPU Intel is releasing onto the desktop PC market.

That CPU is the Intel Core 14th Gen i9-14900KS which can hit a max turbo frequency of 6.2GHz out of the box with no overclocking. Of course this is when turbo is engaged so you won’t be running that clock speed constantly. That’s a good thing because when you hit that upper limit, the i9-14900KS is expected to draw 253W, a 103W addition to the base power of 150W.

The CPU houses 24 cores (eight performance and 16 efficiency) and 32 threads along with a 36MB Intel Smart Cache. As far as memory support goes you can plug up to 192GB of DDR5 at 5600.

The i9-14900KS also features Intel UHD Graphics 770 though we’d hope that anybody building a PC with this CPU is using a discrete GPU.

Intel says that this new chip outperforms its predecessor – the Core i9-13900KS – by 15 percent in gaming while content creators will enjoy a 73 percent improvement in compute-intensive workflows.

The CPU also features Intel Thermal Velocity Boost which intelligently increases performance when the CPU has thermal and voltage headroom.

“The Intel Core i9-14900KS showcases the full power and performance potential of the Intel Core 14th Gen desktop processor family and its performance hybrid architecture. Extreme PC enthusiasts – especially gamers and creators – can now enjoy the i9-14900KS’ record-breaking 6.2 GHz frequency while taking their desktop experience to higher levels of performance than ever before,” Intel vice president and general manager, Enthusiast PC and Workstation Segment, Intel Client Computing Group, Roger Chandler said in a statement.

This beast of a CPU launched on Thursday, but we suspect it will take a few weeks to arrive at local retailers. The price starts at $699 which translates into R13 100 at current exchange rates. However, given that Evetech is selling the Intel 14th Gen Core i9-14900K for R14 499, we suspect that the Intel Core 14th Gen i9-14900KS will fetch a higher price.

While many, including AMD, are laser-focussed on developing AI solutions, it’s refreshing to see Intel sticking to its guns and focusing on what most folks build a PC need – raw performance.