Intel announced plans to launch its eight-core Core i9-9900KS processor along with its performance specifications quite a while ago, but the company did not disclose the TDP. As the processor will have an all-core base frequency of 4.0 GHz and an all-core turbo of 5.0 GHz, this number is vitally important for motherboard support. This week ASUS released a new BIOS version for some of its motherboards that adds support for the Core i9-9900KS and revealed the number. 

The Intel Core i9-9900 processor has a base frequency of 4.0 GHz as well as an all-core turbo frequency of 5.0 GHz, which essentially makes it an eight-core Coffee Lake Refresh silicon binned to hit higher clocks when cooling is good enough. As it turns out, in a bid to enable higher frequencies, Intel has increased the TDP all the way to 127 W (according to a listing at ASUS.com), which is considerably higher when compared to any existing (or historical) Intel’s CPU for mainstream platforms.

One thing that should be noted is that Intel only guarantees base frequency at a rated TDP (e.g., 4.0 GHz at 127 W), so everything above base (i.e., turbo clocks) means a higher power consumption. As a result, not only will the Core i9-9900KS require a motherboard that can supply 127 W of power and a cooling system that will dissipate 127 W of power, but it will need an advanced platform to hit the turbo clocks. Fortunately, there are plenty of high-end motherboards and coolers around to support the Core i9-9900KS. 

Intel 9th Gen Core 8-Core Desktop CPUs
AnandTech Cores Base
Freq
All-Core Turbo Single
Core Turbo
Freq
IGP DDR4 TDP Price
(1ku)
i9-9900KS 8 / 16 4.0 GHz 5.0 GHz 5.0 GHz UHD 630 2666 127 W ?
i9-9900K 8 / 16 3.6 GHz 4.7 GHz 5.0 GHz UHD 630 2666 95 W $488
i9-9900KF 8 / 16 3.6 GHz 4.7 GHz 5.0 GHz - 2666 95 W $488
i7-9700K 8 / 8 3.6 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.9 GHz UHD 630 2666 95 W $374
i7-9700KF 8 / 8 3.6 GHz 4.6 GHz 4.9 GHz - 2666 95 W $374

One thing to keep in mind is that the information about the TDP of the Core i9-9900KS comes from a third party (albeit a very reliable one), not from Intel. Intel has confirmed that the new Core i9-9900KS will be released in October.

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Source: ASUS

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  • Nanosection - Thursday, September 19, 2019 - link

    Ok, idk if I even want to get involved here... But we are talking about leading edge technology from 2 competitors... of course we as the enthusiasts will “split hairs”! If the F1 race car from Mercedes is 5-10% better than the one from Ferrari then that means it’s the champion! This isn’t an emotional judgement about which we like more... many people like the Ferrari more than the Mercedes for example. But you can’t call yourself an enthusiast if you argue against the validity of 5-10% margins! Let’s just be real and judge these products together for what they are worth and learn what tasks they are best at.
  • Hifihedgehog - Monday, September 23, 2019 - link

    Correction: AMD Zen 2-based Ryzen 3000 processors have higher IPC meaning they get approximately the same frame rates at slightly lower frequencies than Intel Skylake-based products. See the latest AMD Ryzen 5 3500X reviews that are trickling onto the web for a prime example of. The 3500X is clocked identically to the Core i5-9400F and yet it gets higher frame rates chiefly because its IPC is higher than Intel's.
  • yeeeeman - Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - link

    According to this site zen2 has between 5-10% ipc compared to Skylake. Do you need glasses?
  • Karmena - Thursday, September 19, 2019 - link

    he is using buldozer @5.5GHz highest frequency = THE BEST CPU
  • Dug - Friday, September 20, 2019 - link

    And AMD can't boost all cores to advertised frequency like this can. Who's the love suc.
  • Korguz - Friday, September 20, 2019 - link

    obviously, you havent read this : https://www.anandtech.com/show/14873/reaching-for-...
  • DrKlahn - Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - link

    More expensive chip, more expensive board, more power consumption, zero upgrade path to next generation and a small performance advantage in a few corner cases = no thanks
  • Dug - Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - link

    Not much different than getting a top of the line amd and x570 motherboard. No upgrade path with intel- you are correct.
  • Karmena - Thursday, September 19, 2019 - link

    you are not locked into just x570 motherboard. You can have any x470 or even x370 mobo. As tests show, you are only losing PCIe gen 4 when using much cheaper mobo from previous gen.
  • AshlayW - Thursday, September 19, 2019 - link

    Please do not be stupid. LGA 1151 is essentially EOL, AM4 is not. A user buying AM4 now, can expect to be able to drop a 4000-series Ryzen CPU in it later, which will humiliate the 9000 series, even more than the 3000 series is already doing. WIth Intel, you are stuck having invested in a dead-end platform with security flaws until you can fork out for a new platform that is coming next year.

    How people can defend Intel these days is absolutely beyond me.

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