The Intel Core i9-12900KS has been on the market for a few weeks now and is, at least on paper, actually just an even more highly selected variant of the i9-12900K with a slightly higher clock and base power out of the box. Enthusiasts argue about whether this is a sensible expansion of the product portfolio. Overclockers are naturally keen on the even higher clocking silicon, while the average gamer questions the purchase price and power consumption.
We won’t be able to answer all these questions today, but we will take a closer look at the SKU and what really makes the difference to a “normal” i9. As a data basis, we again used some trays of CPUs that were kindly provided to us for our research and tests. At this point, once again an incredible thank you goes to the generous lender, the system integrator MIFCOM!
Specifications K/KF vs. KS
But before we dive into the binning data, a look at the CPUs’ spec sheet and a comparison of them should not be missing. As with previous generations, the 12900KS is actually just a K CPU with a particularly high silicon grade, which makes the higher clock rates from the factory possible. The E-cores run with a base clock of 2.4 GHz and a boost clock of 4.0 GHz, which is 100 MHz higher than a conventional i9. The clock rate of the P-cores has even been increased by 200 MHz in the base and up to 300 MHz in the Boost, which allows the CPU to reach a fabulous 5.5 GHz at its peak. However, the last 200 MHz of this are only achievable in “Thermal Velocity Boost”, i.e. only when the core temperature is below 50 °C.
This info can be found further down in the data sheet, where a modified specification for the cooling solution is also listed. The integrated heat spreader of the CPU gets a new standardization as “PCG 2022E” with the KS SKU and the maximum core temperature “Tjunction” is now specified with 90 instead of 100 °C. Background information about this change cannot be found in the detailed documentation of the Alder Lake CPUs. Intel might be reacting to the problem of bent sockets and CPUs with this, which we have already discussed in detail. Anyway, a stiffer IHS would make sense as a potential solution and explain the change in specification.
The modified form of the IHS, which is found on KS CPUs and many Alder Lake CPUs with a manufacturing year of 2022, would also fit to this. While the K and KF still mixed milled and stamped manufacturing processes, sometimes even within one manufacturing batch, only the stamped heat spreaders with rounded edges are used in the new CPUs. The chips from this year have also changed a few small things in the engraving of the heatspreader, such as the added QR code and the newly stylized Intel logo “Swirl”.
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