Intel Core i9 14900K evaluate

For the quickest chip ever to grace a gaming PC the Intel Core i9 14900K is about as boring a CPU refresh as one could possibly be. We have seen all of it earlier than. The large core rely, the structure, the 6GHz clock pace; the 14900K may do some issues higher than the thirteenth Gen however it hardly ever issues for a lot. That does not make it any much less of an superior gaming chip—it’s—it simply does not push the needle ahead a lot, if in any respect.

That is why PC builders have a troublesome determination forward of them: do you purchase a thirteenth Gen chip and save a pair bucks or spend money on a shiny new 14th Gen for the usually intangible efficiency profit and bragging rights?

The 14900K comes with the identical really useful buyer pricing as its predecessor, the Core i9 13900K, at launch. That is $589, give or take. The large query for any PC builder is whether or not the 14900K’s distinct model of bland is value spending more money on high versus the Core i9 13900K? Not less than $30 cheaper in the present day than it was at launch, the 13900K would be the higher deal whereas shares final.

I’ve benchmarked each gaming CPUs under, and I’ve included AMD’s best 3D V-Cache processors, that are nonetheless proving powerful to beat outright, to weigh up all of the high-end choices.

Intel Core i9 14900K specs

What’s new with the Core i9 14900K? Not all that a lot. Because the flagship processor of a refreshed Raptor Lake technology it’s nearly a carbon copy of the Core i9 13900KS.

You are taking a look at a 24-core processor, break up between eight Efficiency-cores (P-cores) and 16 Environment friendly-cores (E-cores). Every of these P-cores has entry to 2MB of L2 cache and every E-core cluster (4 E-cores sharing a standard cache) has entry to 2MB. In complete, that is 32MB of L2 cache throughout your entire chip.

The iGPU current on the 14900K (not discovered on the 14900KF, or any chip denoted with the KF or simply plain F suffix) is the UHD Graphics 770. In contrast to the shiny new Arc Xe-LPG iGPU discovered on Intel’s new Meteor Lake cellular processors, this iGPU does not pack the punch required of it for 1080p gaming in lieu of a discrete graphics card.

You should utilize each 600-series and 700-series motherboards with this processor. Naturally, Intel would advocate a Z790 board for the utmost energy supply, alongside a 360mm cooler, although you may get away with much less. I have been testing the 14900K with the identical Asus ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming Wifi motherboard I’ve used throughout your entire LGA 1700 lineup and it is labored nice.

Naturally, this implies you’ll be able to persist with a DDR4-compatible motherboard with the 14th Gen. This may absolutely be the final chip technology to make this supply, nonetheless. Intel formally helps as much as DDR5-5600 or DDR4-3200, although you’ll be able to typically run a lot sooner kits with out challenge.

There have been a number of enhancements by means of sooner clock speeds on the 14900K. The P-cores and E-cores are each sooner at Max Turbo: a rise of 200MHz on the P-cores and 100MHz on the E-cores. This is a desk to clear issues up:

It is really in energy draw the place issues get slightly extra fascinating for the 14900K. The 14900K has a decrease Processor Base Energy at 125W in comparison with the 13900KS at 150W, regardless of being marginally sooner. This, alongside modifications to Intel’s Excessive Energy Supply Profile for this chip, spotlight some energy financial savings that Intel says are made doable by miscellaneous optimisations to the Intel 7 course of node (although we weren’t informed what these had been, precisely, however presumably not sufficient to be calling this an Intel 7+ node).

Let’s check out the brand new Excessive Energy Supply Profile for a second. First launched with the thirteenth Gen, specifically to permit customers to entry the total potential of the 13900KS, these profiles are suggestions for 3 processor energy administration values: PL1, PL2, and ICCMax.

PL1 and PL2 are limits on how a lot wattage a processor can draw at any given time. 

PL2 is the utmost energy draw a processor can attain underneath Increase situations, although is barely sustained for a set time interval, determined by the Tau worth (Turbo Time Parameter). On fashionable Intel processors, the Tau is ready to 56 seconds.PL1 is the utmost energy draw a chip can maintain after the Tau is reached.Confusingly, PL1 and PL2 on fashionable Intel processors at the moment are set to the identical worth. This makes PL1 and Tau nominal settings, although they’re nonetheless listed by Intel.

ICCMax is the utmost present {that a} processor can draw from a motherboard, and is used  to set Increase speeds at any given time. Intel says that by rising the ICCMax, it is doable to permit the CPU to soundly draw a better present, if a motherboard permits it, to maintain greater multithreaded efficiency.

The rationale why it solely issues for multithreaded efficiency is that solely when utilizing many cores for a demanding multithreaded workload will that type of energy draw be required. Much less demanding or single-threaded workloads will not get anyplace shut.

What Intel recommends for the Efficiency (inventory) and Excessive Energy Supply Profiles are as follows:

It is all fairly dense; made worse by the truth that completely none of that is paid any consideration by motherboard producers. They have been setting energy limits to regardless of the heck they like for generations; it is solely extra lately that Intel has made an effort to sanction a better energy draw on its high performing processors.

Take my Z690 motherboard from Asus I am utilizing for the needs of this evaluate. It presents Asus Multicore Enhancement, a setting that successfully overclocks your CPU and that completely ignores Intel’s really useful energy limits. With this enabled, the board is given carte blanche to play with ICCMax and PL2 with subsequent to no restraints.

Asus does not even observe Intel’s recommendation when set to what you may take into account inventory values. Even then, the ICCMax is ready to 360A.

My level is, it is good to know what is going on on together with your processor underneath the hood, and what values Intel recommends as inside spec to your CPU. Nevertheless, in actuality, all of those values might have little or no bearing on how a chip really runs as soon as put in in your motherboard. 

Settings like ICCMax are a sure-fire method to enhance the facility consumption of your chip, however do they actually profit efficiency all that a lot? For my part, no, probably not. You see marginal positive factors in multithreaded efficiency that principally makes for greater scores in artificial benchmarks, however precise gaming efficiency seems typically no higher. In return, you gobble up a lot energy it is akin to operating two high-end graphics playing cards in SLI. However you be the choose; I’ve examined with each Multicore Enhancement enabled and disabled within the charts down under.

Thread Director, the advice engine behind the scenes making an attempt to nudge Home windows into utilizing the very best core for the job, additionally stays the identical on the 14th Gen because it was the earlier technology. All of which ought to largely be anticipated of what’s a generational refresh, not a generational shift.

Intel has thrown a pair options on the 14900K on the software program aspect to see if it could’t push efficiency slightly additional. This consists of AI-guided overclocking through Intel’s Excessive Tuning Utility, or XTU. This can be a characteristic completely on the 14900K proper now, although Intel says it’ll come to chips additional down the stack, and it recommends utilizing this as both your one-stop store for a secure overclock or for getting a baseline on which to construct a greater OC.

The opposite probably thrilling factor is Software Optimization, a brand new characteristic that can work with choose 14th Gen processors—together with this one—to spice up efficiency through scheduling enhancements. Forward of those chips’ launch, this characteristic requires early entry BIOS and driver recordsdata I am but to obtain, so I am unable to communicate to how useful it really is in observe. 

Software Optimization is extraordinarily restricted by its sport assist in the present day, regardless. It solely works with two video games: Metro Exodus and Rainbow Six: Siege. Intel says it is working with additional builders so as to add to the checklist.

Intel Core i9 14900K benchmarks

The 14900K is commonly the quickest gaming CPU in benchmarking. It tops the charts in Metro: Exodus, Far Cry 6, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and that is with out going past what my motherboard considers inventory energy limits.

The kicker is that it is solely marginally sooner than the Core i9 13900K, and infrequently no faster in any respect. In F1 2021 and Far Cry 6, the 14900K made the most important positive factors, however there are simply as many titles wherein these two chips are neck-a-neck. Not a convincing leap in gaming efficiency, sadly.

The phrase of the second is ‘body consistency’. One thing of a catch-all time period for minimal and 1% low body charge efficiency, it is vital to placed on a superb present in these metrics to make sure a easy gaming expertise. 

On that entrance, the 14900K delivers easy gameplay all through my testing. You can make the same case for AMD’s 3D V-Cache gaming CPUs, nonetheless, as there are video games that favour both Intel or AMD’s high chips on this metric. There are a number of titles the place AMD nonetheless has Intel beat when it comes to gaming efficiency, too, although there’s often little between these rival processors. A few exceptions: In F1 2021, AMD’s X3D chips pull a shocking lead; in Far Cry 6, Intel comes out on high.

The 14900K exhibits its greatest efficiency in non-gaming benchmarks. It is principally within the extra conventional benchmarks that you just see the advantage of mildly elevated clock speeds. It is the quickest gaming CPU we have ever run via the X264 encoding benchmark, and it almost knocks AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D off the highest spot in Blender.

It is efficiency in these types of intense workloads that you should care about to justify shopping for the 14900K. In any other case, simply seize a 14600K—it is critically nearly nearly as good for gaming and nonetheless an ideal runabout for multitasking and modifying.

The 14900K is fairly dominant in Cinebench R23, and if you begin throwing limitless powah at this chip it’s going to offer you slightly extra in multithreaded exams. It isn’t all that convincing, nonetheless, as a superb run on a juiced up 13900K had it beat as soon as.

You will discover that the 14900K with Multicore Enhancement enabled will not be performing any higher for its greater energy attract most benchmarks, and that is indicative of the particular profit to a PC gamer. It actually will not make any distinction except the chip would often be restricted by some type of energy wall, which it typically is not in gaming or single-threaded workloads.

Additionally you may want a critically succesful cooler, at the least a 360mm AIO, if not a correctly hard-tubed loop, to really run this juiced up chip to its full potential with out hitting some thermal throttling restrict. That stated, it was artificial, extremely demanding benchmarks that actually push this chip into thermal throttling limits.

Pumping a great deal of energy via this chip is about as really worthwhile as pumping it stuffed with toothpaste—I am starting to suppose these inventory limits had been the boundaries for good motive. You will possibly rating your self a body that is under no circumstances value it for considerably greater energy draw. It additionally attracts much more energy underneath load with Multicore Enhancement enabled than a 13900K, hardly ever for a lot efficiency achieve in any respect.

Extra usually what you are seeing right here is the 2 totally different approaches of Intel and AMD to their desktop CPU architectures and the way they play in another way between gaming and extra normal artistic or encoding benchmarks. Intel has a ton of cores to throw at an utility if it wants them, although not all of them are as fast because the myriad full-fat Zen 4 cores in AMD’s high chip. For these purposes the place L3 cache is vital, which does embrace many video games, AMD’s Ryzen 9 additionally will get a kick out of its 3D V-Cache that Intel cannot all the time match, although Intel’s P-cores stay loads good for gaming.

It stays an actual shut match between these two firms’ high chips.

Intel Core i9 14900K evaluation

I discover I’ve a scarcity of issues to say concerning the Core i9 14900K. There have been far more thrilling releases in recent times, and I dare say this technology can be simply forgotten. Keep in mind Kaby Lake? I doubt it, however that technology got here with a brand new video decoding/encoding block and reasonable clock enhancements, and I would nonetheless say it introduced extra to the desk than the 14th Gen.

However this isn’t a nasty chip, per se, only a fairly generic refresh. It is a near-carbon copy of an ideal chip with marginally faster clock speeds and it performs about as you’d anticipate for such minimal changes. 

If you happen to take into account that the competitors asks roughly $100 extra for its competing chip, possibly it’s kind of imply to name the 14900K boring. From a wholly empirical standpoint, its efficiency is definitely very good; a sure-fire method to hold an RTX 4090 or RTX 4080 fed for easy body charges. However, sorry, it’s boring.

We have been spoiled with a few nice chip generations back-to-back, and this type of refresh simply does not actually encourage me to wax lyrical about how splendidly adept it’s at this, that, or the opposite. Moreover a few neat tips, it appears like we have seen this chip earlier than—it is the Core i9 13900K dressed up in a monocle and high hat.

The 14900K does not transfer the needle sufficient to problem AMD in these video games the place it lately took a lead courtesy of 3D V-Cache, although I do not really feel Intel might’ve ever claimed that with merely a refresh alone. It will take greater than a pair hundred megahertz to compete with heaps of cache. Cache is king, in any case. If you happen to had been contemplating shopping for an AMD 3D V-Cache chip earlier than studying this evaluate—maybe as a result of its strengths fit your wants greatest—I do not see this specific Intel chip altering your thoughts.

If you’re dedicated to an Intel processor you must also weigh up whether or not the 14900K is value shopping for over the 13900K. You may be paying extra for the 14900K for some time, at the least. You’ll find the 13900K for $550 and I do not see you getting a materially worse chip for saving your money.

If you have already got a Core i9 or Core i7 from any of LGA 1700 technology there isn’t any good motive to improve to this chip, both. However earlier than it feels like I am piling in on this poor refresh, I am going to notice it is vitally handy providing three CPU generations all on the identical socket. Although the circumstances for eager to improve from a reasonably current twelfth Gen to a 14th Gen chip are fairly unlikely, it is perhaps value doing for some, particularly if you happen to’re going from, say, an Alder Lake i5 and wish one thing stronger. I will not knock the chance that the LGA 1700 socket presents for a easy swap-in improve.

The Core i9 14900K, then—boring, however not unhealthy. A gaming CPU constructed on the shoulders of different actually nice gaming CPUs—what issues most is that you would be able to hit excessive body charges, encode video, construct a home in Blender, and stream to your adoring followers all of sudden. With this high-end CPU, you’ll be able to. Although that is as true of the earlier high Raptor Lake chip as it’s this one.