Intel Core i9-10900K review: The ultimate gaming CPU — with one (big) caveat
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central
Intel debuted the Comet Lake microarchitecture in 2022 with low-power designs in the Comet Lake-U series, and followed it up with Comet Lake-H for notebooks before this twelvemonth. But nosotros're interested in the desktop side of things, and Intel rolled out a slew of exciting options in the Comet Lake-S series 2 months ago.
A item standout is the Core i9-10900K, a 10-cadre 20-thread CPU that Intel is dubbing the world'southward fastest gaming processor. That's a assuming statement coming from Intel, because in the final ii years all the momentum in the enthusiast segment has been on AMD's side. AMD's resurgence caught Intel off-guard, and to brand matters worse, Intel struggled to make any meaningful headway in shifting to a 10nm node.
Then, like Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake, Comet Lake is a derivative of the 14nm Skylake architecture. With AMD leading the way with the 12-core Ryzen nine 3900X and 16-core 3950X — with both designs built on the 7nm node — Intel has its work cut out in this category. So should yous pick up the Cadre i9-10900K or stick with AMD? That's what nosotros're here to find out.
At a glance
Intel Cadre i9-10900K
Bottom line: The Cadre i9-10900K delivers outstanding gaming performance and holds its own in single-core workloads. With 10 cores and 20 threads and a boost frequency that goes all the way up to 5.3GHz, this is one of the fastest processors Intel has introduced to date. If yous're interested in a high-end processor for gaming, the Core i9-10900K is the 1 to crush.
The Expert
- 10 cores and xx threads
- Unlocked multiplier
- Outstanding gaming performance
- Better thermal performance than predecessors
- Excels at single and multi-threaded workloads
The Bad
- LGA1200 socket needs new motherboard
- No PCIe four.0
- High ability consumption
- No cooler bundled in the box
Intel Cadre i9-10900K Specs
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central
The Core i9-10900K is one of the most powerful CPUs Intel has introduced in its mainstream lineup to appointment. You lot get a base frequency of iii.7GHz, and information technology goes upwardly to iv.8GHz for all cores via Turbo Boost ii.0. Intel is using Turbo Boost Max 3.0 to exist able to run two cores at 5.20GHz, and there'due south now a Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) boost algorithm that lets you hit 4.9GHz on all cores and five.3GHz for a single core in short bursts. The caveat here is that TVB merely works if the chipset is running at under 70°C.
Intel does non provide a cooler in the box, and y'all volition have to employ an aftermarket solution with the Core i9-10900K. Although the fleck has a TDP of 125W, in near usage scenarios yous'll see power shooting up to twice that effigy. Hither'due south the hardware on offer with the Core i9-10900K:
| Category | Intel Core i9-10900K |
|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | x/20 |
| Base Frequency | 3.7GHz |
| Turbo Boost 2.0 | 4.8GHz (all cores) |
| Turbo Boost Max iii.0 | 5.2GHz (ii cores) |
| Thermal Velocity Boost | 5.3GHz (single core) 4.9GHz (all cores) |
| Integrated Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
| Retentiveness | DDR4-2933 |
| TDP | 125W |
| L3 Cache | 20MB |
| Manufacturing Node | 14nm |
| Socket | LGA1200 |
Intel Core i9-10900K Comet Lake-S overview
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central
Intel has 32 distinct SKUs in the Comet Lake-S series, and that's because each design is available in diverse flavors. Intel is targeting a wide range of customers with its offerings in the 10th-gen series, and the event is that you'll discover a decent choice of parts in the Core i9, i7, i5, i3, Pentium, and Celeron series. Hither's the breakdown:
- Grand: Unlocked design with integrated graphics
- KF: Unlocked design without integrated graphics
- No suffix: Regular model with integrated graphics — no overclocking here
- F: Regular model without integrated graphics
- T: Low-ability choice
The high-end tier sees the i9-10900K with 10 cores and twenty threads, and there's too a Cadre i7-10700K with 8 cores and 16 threads. The 10700K has a base frequency that goes upwards to 3.8GHz, and boost of up to five.1GHz.
Source: Intel
The Core i5-10600K is particularly interesting as information technology offers the ideal balance betwixt value and performance. With six cores and 12 threads, base frequencies of four.1GHz and 4.8GHz boost, there's enough to similar here. Similarly, the Core i3-10300 is a decent value.
Source: Intel
Rounding out the list is the Pentium and Celeron offerings, and nosotros're seeing ameliorate value here over previous generations.
Source: Intel
Intel is offering low-power T designs across its portfolio, and while the TDP of the Core i9-10900T is listed at 35W, information technology is probable to be significantly higher than that when in turbo style.
Source: Intel
I good point is that hyperthreading is standard across all parts in the Comet Lake-S series. Intel also added more cores, threads, and L3 cache to make the higher-end products that much more enticing, and positioned the mid-tier and lower-end products at more affordable price points versus previous generations. It's evident that AMD's stiff showing over the last two years was the driving forcefulness behind these moves, only the good news is that the Comet Lake-S serial has plenty to offer across various price tiers.
Intel is betting on more cores and college frequencies to evangelize better performance.
An interesting alter with Comet Lake-S designs is the apply of a thinner die and a thicker heatspreader, with Intel now using a solder thermal interface material (STIM) to manage thermals more effectively. In that location's also the option to adjust hyperthreading settings for each individual cadre.
Intel still doesn't have enough volume of its 10nm node to exist able to run across the demands of its desktop CPUs, and that's why the Comet Lake-S designs are based on the 14nm++ Skylake architecture. The 14nm design is clearly showing its historic period at this point — Skylake debuted five years ago — and Intel is basically adding more cores and increasing frequencies to satiate customers with every new release. There are no meaning gains in IPC, simply Intel is betting on the higher frequencies to deliver better performance over 9th-gen designs.
This time around, Intel added more pins to the LGA1151 socket to handle the increased power requirements of the Comet Lake-Southward designs, and called it the LGA1200. So if y'all are looking to selection up whatsoever of Intel's 10th-gen parts, you will have to purchase a new motherboard as the Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake boards based on the Z390, Z370, and Z270 chipsets do not piece of work with Comet Lake-S. The 1 upside is that coolers based on the LGA1151 socket will work only fine on LGA1200.
Intel Cadre i9-10900K Performance
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Key
The Core i9-10900K is billed as the world's fastest gaming processor, and that particular merits holds up in real-world use. With Intel not quite property its own in the high-finish segment against AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X in terms of value, it focused on gaming being the differentiator with the Core i9-10900K.
| Category | Intel Core i9-10900K |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Intel Core i9-10900K |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Aorus Z490 Master |
| Cooling | Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Pro XT |
| Memory | 4 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro (DDR4-3000) |
| Storage | 1TB Samsung 860 QVO |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 FE |
| PSU | Corsair RM850x |
The Cadre i9-10900K too fares very well against the Ryzen 9 3900X for single- and multi-threaded workloads. I'm going to focus on how the i9-10900K performs against the 3900X and Intel's concluding-gen i9-9900K. Starting with Cinebench R20, the 10900K fared ix% better than the 9900K, and 5% better than the 3900X in single-core scores. Because the 3900X has 12 cores, information technology netted a stronger score in multi-core testing, outmatching the 10900K by 18%. The 10900K still pulled ahead of the 9900K past 15%.
The Cadre i9-10900K delivers outstanding gaming and unmarried-core functioning.
In almost multi-threaded synthetic tests, the 3900X scores 10% to 20% higher than the 10900K, with the 10900K in plow edging out the 9900K by a similar margin. At that place are isolated tests like Photoshop where the 10900K pulls ahead because of its strong single-core performance, but in well-nigh cases the 3900X is still in the lead.
The gaming performance is where the Core i9-10900K comes into its own. You'll see ameliorate performance beyond the board at 1080p and 1440p resolutions, with minor gains at 4K. The 10900K consistently delivers up to x% amend frame rates over the 3900X at 1080p, with that number coming downwardly to 7% at 1440p.
Of course, the functioning in this category is reliant on the GPU you use. For the all-time results, utilise one of the best graphics cards y'all can afford. If you are eyeing the Cadre i9-10900K you're interested in a loftier-terminate build, and NVIDIA'southward RTX 2080 is still a decent choice in 2022.
While the 10900K has a big lead when information technology comes to gaming, Intel doesn't come shut to AMD in operation-per-watt figures. The 3900X goes up to 140W nether load, and because of the higher frequencies of the 10900K, it will get as high equally 250W. Equally stated earlier, the but manner for Intel to deliver amend figures while notwithstanding on the 14nm node was to heave the frequencies, and that means the 10900K needs more much ability than the 3900X.
Intel Core i9-10900K Competition
Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Central
The obvious challenger to the Core i9-10900K is AMD's $430 Ryzen 9 3900X. The chip has 12 cores and 24 threads, comes with a bundled cooler, and delivers outstanding value. Information technology has a base of operations frequency of 3.9GHz and a heave of 4.6GHz, offers PCIe 4.0, and has better efficiency cheers to the 7nm node.
If y'all're looking for a more value-focused part, the $290 Core i5-10600K is a slap-up alternative equally well. Y'all don't get the same level of functioning as the i9-10900K, but information technology is still great for gaming. Of course, AMD'southward Ryzen 5 3600X gives you a similar performance for $seventy less.
Intel was unchallenged for such a long fourth dimension; information technology rested on its laurels content in the knowledge that it was in a dominant position in this segment, and AMD defenseless information technology unawares. In that location's likewise the fact that Intel's continued troubles with the shift to a 10nm and 7nm node have severely affected its production lineups.
This industry needs a duopoly because without a healthy contest chip vendors get complacent. A lot of the positive changes with Comet Lake-Southward were a direct result of Intel trying to see AMD's offerings across several categories.
Intel Cadre i9-10900K Should you buy?
Source: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central
Who it's for
- If yous demand the best CPU effectually for gaming
- If you lot're looking for fantabulous single and multi-core performance
- If y'all want an unlocked function that'southward easy to overclock
Who it isn't for
- If you want to slot a new CPU into your existing build
- If you're looking for a chipset with small power consumption
- If you need PCIe iv.0
Intel is finer in a holding blueprint in one case again with Comet Lake-South — the changes from terminal generation are evolutionary — just it managed to eke out more performance. This may well be Intel'south final design on the 14nm platform before information technology switches to 10nm; information technology never intended to reuse the 14nm architecture for such a long time, but the upside is that Intel knows how to optimize the platform.
If you want the best processor for gaming, the Core i9-10900K is the way to get.
All things considered, the Core i9-10900K is a fantastic production that gets a lot right. There are sizable gains here from the 9900K, and while you lot will come across increased ability draw, there is an uptick in functioning across the board. If y'all're looking for a high-end processor for gaming, the i9-10900K is the 1 to beat right now.
The increased frequencies along with improved thermal management permit the processor to outmatch AMD's Ryzen R3900X in gaming and single-threaded workloads. AMD nevertheless comes out ahead in terms of value, merely if you're in the market for a high-cease processor aimed at gaming, the Core i9-10900K should be at the summit of your list.
Availability problems continue to plague Intel, and the result is that the i9-10900K is not available at well-nigh retailers. If y'all're looking to pick up the processor right now, you'll take to beat out a premium — it retailed for $500 at launch, just is now selling for $600 — or wait for information technology to exist restocked.
Gaming creature
Intel Core i9-10900K
The best gaming processor
The Core i9-10900K delivers outstanding gaming performance and holds its own in single-cadre workloads. With 10 cores and xx threads and a boost frequency that goes all the way up to v.3GHz, this is one of the fastest processors Intel has introduced to date. If you're interested in a high-cease processor for gaming, the Cadre i9-10900K is the one to crush.
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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/intel-core-i9-10900k-review
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