The Intel Core i9-9900KS Review: The 5 GHz Consumer Special
by Dr. Ian Cutress on October 31, 2019 10:45 AM ESTTest Bed and Setup
As per our processor testing policy, we take a premium category motherboard suitable for the socket, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the manufacturer's maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.
| Test Setup | |
| Intel 9th Gen | Intel Core i9-9900KS |
| Motherboard | MSI Z390 Gaming Edge AC (A.60 BIOS) |
| CPU Cooler | TRUE Copper |
| DRAM | Corsair Vengeance 2x8 GB DDR4-2666 |
| GPU | Sapphire RX 460 2GB (CPU Tests) MSI GTX 1080 Gaming 8G (Gaming Tests) |
| PSU | Corsair AX860i |
| SSD | Crucial MX200 1TB |
Many thanks to...
We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our multiple test beds. Some of this hardware is not in this test bed specifically, but is used in other testing.
| Hardware Providers | |||
| Sapphire RX 460 Nitro | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X OC | Crucial MX200 + MX500 SSDs |
Corsair AX860i + AX1200i PSUs |
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| G.Skill RipjawsV, SniperX, FlareX |
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 |
Silverstone Coolers |
Silverstone Fans |
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Alistair - Thursday, October 31, 2019 - link
Correction: If I check my 3700x, it uses 65 watts. So my 9700k uses 2.6x times more power, and yes, it is faster (not in MT, but in ST) than my 3700k, but not overall. That's all fair to point out, and not propaganda.Alistair - Thursday, October 31, 2019 - link
3700x damn it, hard to read on the phone...vMax65 - Friday, November 1, 2019 - link
Take a look at TDP and power consumption for the 9900KS for gaming at an all core 5GHz and you will notice it is between 98w and a 126w and thats 5GHz all the time....The power consumption figures start at 3 minutes 45 seconds...ish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWSn0cHauJ4
Korguz - Thursday, October 31, 2019 - link
the same can be said about the intel chips and the fact practically the only thing left for them to brag about, is single core performance, cause intel pretty much looses every where else.TEAMSWITCHER - Friday, November 1, 2019 - link
Sure Zen 2 is great, but not great enough to spend almost $1000 on a new Motherboard and Processor right now. My Intel Core i9 9900K seems to hit 5GHz easily, which is nice boost for every workload. I'll make that AMD vs Intel decision again though someday ... maybe in a couple of years.Korguz - Friday, November 1, 2019 - link
$1000 ??? nice try... maybe if you were going from amd to intel...AshlayW - Friday, November 1, 2019 - link
The difference between 9900KS and 3900X in gaming is unnoticable. The difference in everything else (in 3900X's favour) very much is. And people are starting to get mad at Intel for being so arrogant as to charge over 500 bucks for this garbage CPU that doubles as an immersion heater. They won't even include the 150 bucks worth of cooling you need to actually have it run at 5 GHz.'AMD propaganda artistis'? Nah; people are finally waking up to Intel and their stranglehold on the consumer CPU market.
shompa - Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - link
Factual: There is no difference in gaming in 2160P. We are limited by graphic cards. In 1440/1460P its +/- 3%. In 1080P: Only there Intels 5ghz is faster than AMD, since this is not limited by graphics. But still: P = 60hz. So Intel can produce 10-15% more frames that you can't see. "but... maybe I want to game in 1920x1080 with 240hz". Well. Then again, there is no difference since its graphic card limited. Maybe next gen graphics a fast CPU in 1440/1460/2160P can make a difference. But then again: maybe games can be threaded better over more cores.Korguz - Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - link
source for your post.. or is it your own " facts " and there fore.. your own opinion ??Korguz - Friday, November 1, 2019 - link
maybe you are just to used to the intel propaganda.. and intel bs ???