CPU

Intel Core i9-10900K CPU Review

A new King of Gaming is born

Intel Core i9-10900K CPU Review 1 10th Gen, Core i9, i9-10900K, Intel, LGA1200, Z490

Intel’s new Core i9-10900K CPU is an interesting product. While some of the more vocal fans of a certain red competitor may give Intel some flak about reusing their 14nm node yet again, Intel has learned how to really polish a product and extract every bit of benefit from the silicon. This is Intel’s first 10-core mainstream product, with previous 10+ core chips locked entirely in the server and HEDT realm. The i9-10900K also boasts the highest stock Turbo clocks ever released at 5.2Ghz. If that wasn’t enough speed, the new Thermal Velocity Boost can kick the clocks up a bit higher yet to 5.3Ghz, pending your cooler can handle it. All this speed did require a small boost in TDP, up to 125W from the past ~95W ceiling the previous gens have tried to stay at. With more core, more clock speed, and more power, you would think this chip is destined to melt right? No. To help with cooling such concentrated performance, Intel took a page out of “I-void-warranties” extreme over-clockers book of tricks and shaved the actual silicon die down about as thin as it can go. With less physical silicon between the actual transistors and the heat spreader, every watt can get out as fast as possible. A new socket, LGA 1200, houses Intel 10th gen chips and paves the way for some exciting things slated for the next generation. Even though there are few more pins, all of your existing coolers will work with the new socket, which is great news to anyone with a beefy aftermarket cooler.

We want to thank Intel for sending us over the new Core i9-10900K to test out!

Intel’s take on the Core i9-10900K:

The new 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K leads our new family of processors and takes the crown as the world’s fastest gaming processor, delivering speeds of up to 5.3GHz. New overclocking controls allow gamers to get more from their unlocked 10th Gen Intel® Core processor and get the best overclocking experience.

Built for serious gamers, 10th Gen Intel Core desktop processors bring the right balance of frequency, cores, and threads, plus support for the latest technologies and advanced tuning flexibility to help put users in control of the real-world gaming experiences that matter most to them.

Obligatory Die Shot:

Intel Core i9-10900K CPU Review 2 10th Gen, Core i9, i9-10900K, Intel, LGA1200, Z490

Important features:

Intel Thermal Velocity Boost: Gamers and creators get an opportunistic and automatic boost across single-core and multi-core workloads, up to a blazing 5.3GHz, right out of the box.

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0: Get an automatic performance boost on lightly threaded applications with Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0.

Intel Hyperthreading Technology: Do more simultaneously across 10th Gen Intel Core i9, i7, i5, and i3 processors.

Intel Quick Sync Video: Uses integrated processor graphics to optimize gameplay while gamers stream and record and provides creators with the hardware acceleration they need for the latest video codecs.

Memory Support up to DDR4-2933 Memory Speeds: For smooth gameplay, immersive realism, faster multitasking, and productivity when creating.

Intel Graphics Command Center: Optimizes your Intel® graphics experience.6

Enhanced Core & Memory Overclocking: Gain ultimate control when overclocking your processor and key system components with features enabled by new unlocked and overclockable 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors.7

Per-Core Hyperthreading Control for Overclocking: allows experienced overclockers to decide which hyper threads to turn on or off on a per-core basis.

Intel Ethernet Connection I225: Now available on the 10th Gen platform, 2.5G Intel Ethernet Connector I225 delivers greater than 2X the network speeds of 1GB Ethernet on existing cabling.

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201: Now integrated into 10th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) delivers responsive gameplay, nearly 3X faster downloads and more reliable connections. Delivers best-in-class wireless experiences with the freedom and flexibility to game or create anywhere throughout the home or office.

Intel Performance Maximizer: Offers an active core group tuning feature that overclocks each core group tuning feature that overclocks each core group, increasing their performance potential, for maximum gaming performance.

Intel Extreme Tuning Utility: Push performance desktops in new and innovative ways with a new Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility benchmark targeted for experienced overclockers. Now with the Intel Speed Optimizer that is a one-click overclocking feature within Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU). Intel Speed Optimizer will be new for 10th Gen processors and takes advantage of power delivery and thermal headroom within a given chassis or design. Intel Speed Optimizer helps more an unlocked processor’s cores reach nearer to the single-core turbo boost frequency.

Intel Smart Cache: Up to 20M of shared lowest level cache allowing faster access to your data by enabling dynamic and efficient allocation of the cache to match the needs of each core, significantly reducing latency to frequently used data and improving performance.

Thunderbolt 3 support: Thunderbolt 3 ports are the fastest USB-C available, so you can take Thunderbolt 3 SSDs to LAN parties and play games with lightning-fast data transfers.

Intel Optane Memory H10 with SSD Support: Launch apps, games, and project files faster, and stay productive while multitasking.

 

Quick Specs:

# of Cores – 10

# of Threads – 20

Processor Base Frequency – 3.70 GHz

Max Turbo Boost 3.0 Frequency – 5.20 GHz

Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost Frequency – 5.30 GHz

Cache – 20 MB Intel Smart Cache

TDP – 125 W

Max Memory Size – 128 GB

Memory Speed – DDR4-2933

Max # of Memory Channels – 2

Processor Graphics – Intel UHD Graphics 630

Scalability – 1S Only

PCI Express Revision – 3.0

Max # of PCI Express Lanes – 16

Sockets Supported – FCLGA1200

TJUNCTION – 100°C

 

For full features and specs, click here: 

 

Intel 10th Gen SKU Table

10th Gen SKU Table

 

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